The new speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives has taken campaign contributions from defense contractors, banks, police unions, and the alcohol industry, according to state records.
Ron Mariano (D-Quincy), 74, has served in the House since 1991. He recently took the place of former speaker Robert DeLeo, under whom he served as majority leader.
While Mariano is a liberal, some of his campaign contributors over the years are controversial in some progressive circles.
One of the top defense contractors in the country has helped fund Mariano over the years. Raytheon-affiliated PACs contributed $2,000 to him from 2003 to 2011, according to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. That includes $950 from Raytheon PAC and $1,050 from Raytheon MA PAC. Whether those political action committees donated funds to his campaigns before 2002 is unclear, because data before 2002 is not available on the state political finance agency’s web site. Neither Raytheon (which is headquartered in Waltham) nor Mariano’s office would confirm that detail.
The banking industry has also given money to Mariano over the years. State Street Bank & Trust Company Voluntary PAC donated to him four times from 2002 to 2016, totaling $1,750. Eastern Bank PAC gave him $250 in 2008. Both banks are headquartered in Boston.
As for the alcohol industry, the Beer Distributors’ PAC gave Mariano $5,500 between 2004 and 2017 in $500 contributions. That includes a $500 payment in 2016, the same year the group donated $25,000 to the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, which led the campaign to get people to vote No on Question 4 which legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older in the state.
Multiple law enforcement political action committees have donated money to Mariano, totaling $3,300 between 2002 and 2015. The Quincy Police Patrol Officers Association and MA Correctional Officers PAC gave him $100 apiece in 2002; the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union contributed $2,000 between 2003 and 2006, as well as an additional $500 in 2015. The MA State Police Commissioned Officers PAC gave him $100 in 2008. The Boston Police Officers Federation chipped in $100 in 2011, and, later that year, the Massachusetts Chief Probation Officers PAC gave him another $400.
Spokesmen for Raytheon, State Street Corporation, Eastern Bank, the Beer Distributors of Massachusetts, the Quincy Police Patrol Officers Association, the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, Massachusetts Chief Probation Officers Association, the State Police Association of Massachusetts, and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation could not be reached for comment on Tuesday or Wednesday. Nor could a spokesman for Mariano.
