Teacher unions have put up $1 million to fight a sales tax rollback on the November ballot.
BOSTON - Teacher unions are putting up an initial $1 million to fight a tax rollback while state Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati is dipping into his campaign money to pay for legal representation in the face of two state investigations.
The spending is included in campaign finance reports filed with the state before a midnight deadline on Tuesday.
Petrolati, the speaker pro tempore, is running unopposed this year, but the Ludlow Democrat still raised $68,732 and spent $45,245 this year, more than any other candidate for the state Legislature in Western Massachusetts.
Even though he has faced no opposition since 2000, Petrolati has $537,206 in campaign funds on hand, one of the largest balances of any state legislator and only a little less than the current House speaker.
Petrolati reported that he paid $5,776 of campaign funds to Fierst, Pucci and Kane in Northampton, the law firm representing him before an independent lawyer investigating legislative patronage in the state Probation Department. Petrolati is contesting a subpoena to answer questions from independent counsel Paul F. Ware Jr. about his possible role in winning jobs for his wife, the husband of his chief of staff, and political supporters. The full state Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to hear the case on Tuesday.
The representative also paid $5,750 to lawyer Jack St. Clair, of Springfield, who represents him in a case involving Richard Vitale, a friend of a former House speaker who is facing state charges, including failing to register as a lobbyist, while promoting a bill regulating the resale of tickets to events. Petrolati dealt with Vitale on the bill and could testify if the case goes to trial. St. Clair has said that Petrolati spent virtually no time on the bill and won’t be charged.
Petrolati previously reported that he used campaign money to pay St. Clair an additional $40,000 since November 2008.
During the reporting period from Jan. 1 to Aug. 27, Petrolati also reported raising $3,700 from 13 employees of courts or the Probation Department including $100 from a court custodian from Springfield.
Jason A. Tait, a spokesman for the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, said campaigns are allowed under state law to pay for legal expenses. Since January of last year, for example, various elected officials, including House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, have spent $500,000 on legal services, according to campaign finance records.
In a high-stakes issue that will be decided by voters, the Massachusetts Teachers Association contributed $562,000 and the National Education Association in Washington donated $500,000 to a group created to oppose a question on the Nov. 2 ballot that seeks to cut the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. Another public employee union, the Service Employees International Union in Washington, gave $150,000 to the Massachusetts Coalition for Our Communities, which has $1.044 million as a balance.
Stephen Crawford, spokesman for the coalition, said the question would strip away $2.5 billion in state revenues.
Crawford said teachers understand that a cut of that magnitude would be devastating to education and other services that people value in their local communities.
The Alliance to Roll Back Taxes, the sponsor of the ballot question, has only $16,246 as a balance, but a new poll shows it is receiving some broad support.
In a poll of 400 Massachusetts adults, including 362 registered voters, conducted for the State House News Service in Boston, 54 percent supported the proposed rollback of the sales tax, 44 percent opposed and 2 percent were undecided.
The survey, taken on Aug. 29 to 31, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.
Carla Howell, chairwoman of the Alliance to Roll Back Taxes, said she is pleased with the poll results, but not surprised.
Howell said people are looking for the opportunity to lower taxes and reduce government spending to stimulate the economy and create jobs.