Posted on the
Green-Rainbow website
The Green-Rainbow Party stands with Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, who has been a tireless servant in the broad struggle for justice, and who has a distinguished history fighting on behalf of the people of Boston and beyond. Councilor Turner has unswervingly taken the side of the disadvantaged and disempowered, steadfastly refusing to take the side of wealthy interests accustomed to buying influence through campaign contributions and lobbying.
Turner has been a courageous leader in the fight for principles of justice and peace. He has been at the front lines in the struggles to save peoples’ homes from cruel foreclosures, for the right to decent jobs, the right to live free from violence in our communities. Chuck Turner has been willing to go to jail on principle, and has consistently and selflessly led the way on issues of vital importance to the well-being of his community.
The widespread legalized corruption on Beacon Hill is well-documented. This system permits wealthy interests – from Big Dig contractors to health insurers -to obtain favors through campaign donations and lobbying. Those officials who have most consistently betrayed the public trust in this regard were not targeted by FBI sting operations to see which rules they might violate. Instead, the FBI has targeted members of the black community who have often been impediments to the plans of the well-connected special interests. This raises questions of whether discriminatory, politically-motivated influences are at work. Hence it is important that the planning and execution of the FBI initiatives be investigated. Furthermore, Councilor Turner’s outspoken criticism of the federal government, including the FBI’s own illegal, covert COINTELPRO program, raises additional questions about the FBI’s motivations for this sting operation.
“We call for a thorough investigation of the buying of political influence through campaign contributions and lobbying. This is the vast landscape of legal corruption that has undermined the very foundations of our economy and environment,” added GRP co-chair Nat Fortune. “We urge Chuck’s many supporters to share their experiences over many years of witnessing his honest and selfless commitment to the well-being of our world and all its people. We insist that his strong voice for justice be treated with respect in an open and fair process,”
“Chuck Turner’s whole life has been devoted to public service, starting decades before he was elected to public office,” said Green-Rainbow Party co-chair Merelice. “Our experience with him — while working on serious matters facing our communities — has been one of complete integrity. We find these charges simply unbelievable.”
“Any charges of corruption worry us, because our security, the quality of our lives, our jobs, health, and communities have long been undermined by the legal corruption of a political system awash in big money,” said GRP communications director Eli Beckerman. “But these accusations against Councilor Turner simply do not fit with our longstanding and consistent experience of his impeccable integrity and devoted service to the community.”