The map above illustrates the extreme level of outside influence in an election to pick who represents south side (GREEN AREA) as state rep. While the stars do not accurately depict where exactly the donors live physically, the number of stars and what color they sit on, is based on public data.
92% of the money raised by the Margareth Shepard for State Rep campaign comes from people who do not live in the 6th Middlesex district, for which Shepard and two other candidates are running to represent.
The takeaways:
15 of the 134 donors to the Shepard campaign will be able to vote in the election. That’s 89% of the donors to the campaign who hoping to get someone elected in a district they do not lie in.
$1735 of the $21285 raised by the Shepard campaign comes from within the 6th Middlesex district. That’s 92% of the funds that are not coming from the people in the district. Who will Shepard really be working for? Who does she owe favors to?
We believe that when Spicer lost her bid for re-election she decided to push the only person she though had a chance to win, who lived in the newly created 6th Middlesex district, to run for state rep. Prior to Spicer’s loss, Margareth Shepard had stated that the reason she was not running for city council again, was to focus on her house cleaning business. Immediately after Spicer’s loss, it was announced that Shepard was running for the position. We Believe that Margareth Shepard’s campaign is being run by essentially the members of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee, and their members. Most members of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee live on the north side. Campaign data supports that money is being donated by many of the most active members of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee, ones who have been implicated in a ploy that we had unearthed, to undermine the District 7 City Council election in 2021. Margareth played a central role in that plot and earned herself a referral to the state ethics commission for it. This election isn’t about the people of south side. This is about the people of north side – controlling south side.
The map below is based on finance data from the Priscila Sousa for State Rep campaign.
Of Sousa’s donors, 51% of her donors can actually cast ballots for her. This means that 51% of Sousa Donors live in the district. Only 11% of Shepard’s donors can vote in this one.
Of Sousa’s donations, 40% of the money raised comes from residents in the district for which she will serve. A whopping 92% of Shepard’s money comes from residents not in the district.
The Shepard campaign wants you to think that she is the best thing since sliced bread, the bee’s knees, and a five-star cat’s meow. Dozens of north side residents put on blue shirts and head to the south side to knock on doors. They want to be seen. They want south side residents to believe that south side residents want Shepard. They want people to assume that Shepard has already won, and that it is not worth voting. Do not be fooled.
Priscila Sousa is the bee’s knees for south side. She is young, energetic, and is who the south side needs right now. She is actively working as the school committee chair, and running her campaign. She is the future of Framingham and beyond. Make sure to vote on September 6th.
This is why I think you should only be allowed to donate money to political candidates YOU can vote for. I know it would never happen, but it really should be that way. You live in another town or state, you can’t donate money to candidates there.