Yoon Seeks to End Pay-to-Play Culture
Introduces Measures on City Contracts, Campaign Finance Reform
March 4, 2009
BOSTON – City Councilor-at-Large Sam Yoon introduced two items in the Council today that would seek to end Boston’s pay-to-play culture and begin moving the city toward meaningful campaign finance reform.
“City contracts should go to the companies with the best bid, not the ones with the biggest bank account,” said Yoon. “We have to make sure that a privileged few cannot buy city contracts by bankrolling elected officials. Especially in light of the fiscal crisis we’re facing, we need to make sure that City Hall is clean, open, and accountable. These measures would reduce the influence of money in our government and provide real cost savings on city contracts.”
Yoon’s “Ordinance on Fair and Open Contract Procedures” requires evaluation of city contracts over $5,000 using competitive sealed bidding, the strictest criteria allowed by the state. The ordinance forces the city to review bids based only on criteria listed in the bid invitation and requires that they publish, online, all companies who receive invitations for bids, the names of all bidders, the amounts of their bids, and which companies ultimately are awarded city contracts.
The hearing on campaign finance reform would set the stage for a ban on campaign contributions to elected officials from vendors who do business with the city.
“Those who are in power have an enormous advantage when it comes to staying in power,” said Yoon. “An incumbent raising money for reelection should have nothing to do with who profits from city contracts. Unfortunately, that is not the case in our current system, and it hurts our city.”
Many states, including New Jersey, Illinois, and Colorado and increasingly major US cities, including New York City and New Haven, CT, have implemented various forms of legislation to curb pay-to-play. Across the country, lawmakers are enacting reforms that combine campaign finance and public contract laws to reduce corruption and political influence in government business.
Yoon was first elected to an at-large seat on the City Council in 2005. He has been at the forefront of numerous issues, including affordable housing, youth violence, senior safety, and making city government more open and accountable. Prior to serving on the City Council, he worked for over ten years in community-based non-profits as a community organizer and development project specialist. He lives in the Fields Corner neighborhood of Dorchester with his wife, Tina, son, Nathan, and daughter, Naomi.
