The Bipartisan 'Sunshine Six'

As Sunshine Week 2023 kicks off, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance is reminding Massachusetts residents of the six state senators who bucked the Senate President’s will and voted to protect term limits for the office of Senate President. They are Republican Senators Bruce Tarr (Gloucester), Ryan Fattman (Sutton), Patrick O’Connor (Weymouth) and Democratic Senators John Keenan (Quincy), Rebecca Rausch (Needham), who represents Franklin, and Walter Timilty (Milton).

According to Wikipedia, Sunshine Week is a national initiative spearheaded by the News Leaders Association to educate the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy. It was established in March 2005 by the American Society of News Editors, now known as the News Leaders Association, with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Sunshine Week occurs each year in mid-March, coinciding with James Madison's birthday and National Freedom of Information Day on the 16th
[not, it would seem the 15th, which marks the assassination of `tyrant’ Julius Caesar].

During Sunshine Week, hundreds of media organizations, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and other participants engage public discussion on the importance of open government through news and feature articles and opinion columns; special Web pages and blogs; infographics; editorial cartoons; public service advertising; public seminars and forums. The purpose of the week is to highlight the fact that "government functions best when it operates in the open."

According to MassFiscal, the Bay State has one of the most notoriously opaque governments in America and is the only state where all three branches exempt themselves from public records laws. At the beginning of this year’s session, Senate President Karen Spilka followed the example of former House Speaker Bob DeLeo’s, by pushing to end term limits for her position during the senate rules debate. DeLeo infamously ran for speaker on the premise of term limits after the speakership became notorious for some unsavory characters, only to undo the limits when his term was set to expire.

“They say ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ and that is exactly what Senate President Spilka showed. The term limit rule for the powerful Senate President position was imposed in the aftermath of Senate President Billy Bulger’s reign of power and the term limit rule for the Speaker position was imposed after three Speakers in a row were forced to resign in disgrace. Now Senate President Karen Spilka gets to rule over the senate with the same leeway President Bulger enjoyed,” stated Paul D. Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

“While the State Senate as a whole may have taken a giant step away from transparency and good governance, it is worth noting that these six state senators stood up for what was right and tried to protect accountability in the legislature. As we enter Sunshine Week 2023, we’d like to recognize them for their vote. They took a position against a corrupt maneuver that would allow Spilka to become Senate President for life,” said Craney.

MassFiscal has showcased Sunshine Week over the years and this year will be showcasing the bi-partisan group of six senators who tried to stop any further consolidation of power.