[News] ‘Dark money’ and local vote

The following Letter to the Editor appeared on MassLive:

There they go again – a “dark money” group has sprung into action just when a community decides to ensure that its residents have universal, affordable and robust broadband Internet access.

Local leaders in Longmeadow, like many across western Massachusetts, are trying to solve a problem residents experience every day: unreliable service and limited competition. Instead of engaging transparently on the facts, outside groups like the Domestic Policy Caucus attack communities with old myths and propaganda while providing little to no information about their staff or who funds them.

In a feeble attempt to appear Massachusetts-based, the Domestic Policy Caucus calls itself “Mass Priorities,” but the caucus is based in Minnesota. The organization, which for years has targeted multiple communities across the country that have built, or have considered building, their own broadband networks, has consistently refused to disclose its donors.

That lack of transparency matters.

Communities like Longmeadow deserve an honest debate about costs, governance and accountability, not recycled myths designed to spread misinformation, protect the status quo and discourage local choice.

My nonprofit organization, the American Association for Public Broadband, will continue to defend communities’ ability to empower their citizens without interference from deep-pocketed dark money groups.

GIGI SOHN, Washington, D.C.

Gigi Sohn is executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband.