1 May, 2019
BOSTON— Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland) appointed three members to serve on a newly-created Citizens Commission to advocate for a potential constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United, with the goal of curtailing corporate political donations.
“Big money has been shown to have a corrupting influence in our politics, and I am excited to see the work of the new Citizens Commission get underway,” said Senate President Spilka. “These three individuals are experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated to public service. I have every confidence they will ably advocate for Massachusetts’ interests when it comes to the regulation of Citizens United.”
Noval Alexander serves on the Framingham School Committee and Framingham School Building Committee. He is a substitute teacher in the towns of Needham, Wellesley and Natick. Alexander is a decorated retired Army veteran who served 25 years in the Army Reserves and two tours of Active Duty.
Jay Marsden serves as Chair of the Holliston Board of Selectmen. He is an estate planning lawyer at Marsden Law P.C. and works as a financial planner at Solares Hill Advisors.
Costas Panagopoulos is a Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University. He previously directed the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy at Fordham University.
Massachusetts is the first state to create a Citizens Commission. Appointments were made by Senate President Spilka, Governor Charles Baker, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Secretary of State William Galvin. The application process was public and on a website created by the Governor’s office.
All appointees to the Citizens Commission serve on a voluntary basis without compensation. A report with recommendations for constitutional amendments is due by December 31, 2019.
A 2018 ballot measure, which passed with 71.4% of the vote, created the non-partisan, 15-member commission.
