4th Bristol District Candidate for State Legislature Paul Jacques Calls On Opponent to Sign Clean Money Pledge

On October 13,2016, Paul Jacques called on his opponent Steve Howitt to join him by pledging to refuse campaign contributions from major fossil fuel and utility companies.  “The undue influence of climate polluters has no place in any legislative system,” said Paul Jacques, Candidate for State Representative in the 4th Bristol District. “As a legislator, it is a responsibility to create effective policy for those in the Commonwealth by using sense and science. I fully support the work of 350 Mass Action and when elected look forward to swiftly moving ahead with a clean energy future for Massachusetts.”

The pledge, organized by climate advocacy group 350 Mass Action, calls on candidates running for office in Massachusetts to refuse campaign contributions from executives, lobbyists, and others employed by ten major fossil fuel and utility companies through the duration of the 2016 election cycle; to include Spectra Energy. As of October 11th, seventy candidates for the state legislature had signed on to the pledge, including twenty-eight candidates in contested races across the State. Paul Jacques signed this pledge back in August 2016.

“This pledge is about one thing: fidelity to the interests of constituents”, said Andrew Gordon, Political Coordinator at 350 Mass Action. “We aren’t served when fossil fuel interests are calling the shots on Beacon Hill. Candidates like Paul Jacques from across the State and from every party have stepped up to stand with their district. I hope that Steve Howitt will soon do the same.”

The 350 Mass Action volunteer network is working with partnering groups to make sure every candidate running for office in the state of Massachusetts has the chance to sign the pledge. Constituents can see a full list of pledge signers, sign up to participate, and use the Clean Money for Climate Candidate Tracker to submit real-time updates on which candidates have been asked to sign how many times at betterfutureaction.org.