New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Matt Murphy
State House News Service
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy have been unable to come to terms on a pledge to keep outside money from being spent in their primary race for U.S. Senate, but both Democrats agreed on Wednesday not to accept contributions from police unions.
Kennedy wrote on Twitter in the morning that he had signed the pledge drafted by College Democrats of Massachusetts. “Thank you College Dems for our activism and commitment to justice,” he said.
Later in the afternoon, Markey’s campaign sent a press release announcing that he, too, had signed the #nocopmoney pledge, which was initiated in the wake of protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “Police unions represent part of a system that needs fundamental change if our society is ever to see justice, which is why candidates and elected officials must reject police union money if they are serious about enacting reforms,” Markey said.
Candidates who sign the #NoCopMoney pledge are expected to reject campaign donations from police unions and to donate any past campaign contributions to community organizations. Kennedy’s campaign said it gave $1,000 from 2015 to the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. Markey’s campaign did not say if or where it planned to donate any money.
