Publication:
Footing The Bill: an Empirical Look at the Correlation Between Campaign Contributions and Councilor Votes on Split Tax Rates in Massachusetts

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dc.contributor.advisorJustin Gross
dc.contributor.advisorRay La Raja
dc.contributor.authorLaLiberte, Tristan
dc.contributor.departmentUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
dc.contributor.departmentPolitical Science
dc.date2024-03-28T20:06:21.000
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-26T18:36:28Z
dc.date.available2024-04-26T18:36:28Z
dc.date.issued2020-05-08
dc.date.submittedMay
dc.date.submitted2020
dc.description.abstractThe current literature regarding the relationship between campaign contributions and roll call voting by elected officials has primarily focused on the congressional level. This study begins to fill the holes in this topic by utilizing city councilor contributions from likely business owners and their stance on tax classification in their respective communities. In this study, I examine contribution data from municipal officials in fourteen communities in Massachusetts as well as the expressed opinions made by city councilors in the 2018 tax classification hearings in order to test the theories that (1) there is a correlation between the actions of political elites and the interests of campaign contributors at the municipal level and (2) that municipal candidates heavily rely on contributions from the business community to finance their campaigns. Though the results are limited, the evidence suggests that if any relationship exists it is negligible and unlikely to exist at any level that would validate concern. The findings also suggest that candidates for office in smaller municipalities are not as dependent on contributions from the business community as those in large cities or at the congressional level. Keywords: Massachusetts, tax classification, municipal, campaign contributions, municipal campaign donations, special interest contributions.
dc.description.degreeMaster of Arts (M.A.)
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.7275/17544038
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2076-2382
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/33986
dc.relation.urlhttps://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1966&context=masters_theses_2&unstamped=1
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.source.statuspublished
dc.subjectMassachusetts
dc.subjecttax classification
dc.subjectmunicipal
dc.subjectcampaign contributions
dc.subjectmunicipal campaign donations.
dc.subjectAmerican Politics
dc.subjectEconomic Policy
dc.subjectOther Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
dc.subjectPublic Policy
dc.titleFooting The Bill: an Empirical Look at the Correlation Between Campaign Contributions and Councilor Votes on Split Tax Rates in Massachusetts
dc.typeopenaccess
dc.typearticle
dc.typethesis
digcom.contributor.authorisAuthorOfPublication|email:tlaliberte@umass.edu|institution:University of Massachusetts Amherst|LaLiberte, Tristan
digcom.identifiermasters_theses_2/919
digcom.identifier.contextkey17544038
digcom.identifier.submissionpathmasters_theses_2/919
dspace.entity.typePublication
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