Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
Dissertations that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2076-2382
Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Political Science
Degree Type
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2020
Month Degree Awarded
May
Abstract
The 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.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/17544038
First Advisor
Justin Gross
Second Advisor
Ray La Raja
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
LaLiberte, Tristan, "Footing The Bill: an Empirical Look at the Correlation Between Campaign Contributions and Councilor Votes on Split Tax Rates in Massachusetts" (2020). Masters Theses. 919.
https://doi.org/10.7275/17544038
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/919
Included in
American Politics Commons, Economic Policy Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Public Policy Commons