STEPS FROM THE HEART of Cambridge’s Harvard Square, the Greek Revival-style structure at 45 Mount Auburn Street has been shuttered for months. A dead rat is visible off the wheelchair-accessible entrance.
But going by state campaign political finance records, checks have been flying from two entities headquartered inside the building. They’ve collectively donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the ballot campaign behind Question 5, which proposes changes to the way tipped workers get paid. An additional $50,000 contribution came in just a few days ago.
The building dates back to 1846, and has a sordid past as a male social club, but these days it offers a window into how some campaigns are run in the modern political era, with entities that raise money – sometimes known as “dark money” – and funnel those funds to political efforts.
The ballot committee behind Question 5, One Fair Wage Plus Tips, and the two donating entities that have called 45 Mount Auburn home share similar names and one person: Saru Jayaraman, a California activist who started the overarching organization more than 20 years ago to help restaurant workers fight for higher wages.
Question 5 would allow tipped workers, who make $6.75 per hour plus tips, to earn the $15 minimum wage. Supporters say the restaurant industry is rife with wage theft and mistreatment, while local restaurant owners and national chains have funded the “no” side, disputing their claims and saying it would upend a sector still recovering from the Covid pandemic.
Jayaraman says her ballot effort’s two donating entities – one a charitable nonprofit and the other, a 501c4, specially set up for political activity — both moved earlier this year to New York, where most of their funders are. The Mount Auburn Street building, owned by a separate nonprofit with ties to the wealthy Pritzker family, closed for renovations in July. Her spokesman says there is a lag in the updates to campaign finance records.
Jayaraman’s charity organization, One Fair Wage Inc., was set up in Massachusetts last year, with Jayaraman as the president, and Nika Soon-Shiong, the daughter of the owner of the Los Angeles Times, as a director. The other organization has an IRS designation of 501c4, a tax category under which entities can hide who their donors are.
But Jayaraman, when asked to name some of the donors, said the list included the Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Rural Democracy Initiative, and Solidaire Action.
Meanwhile, the ballot committee, One Fair Wage Plus Tips, has been operating out of the downtown Boston offices of Field First, a company specializing in campaigns, she says.
Stars enter ballot debate fray
Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting and the Bourne films) is backing Question 2, which would eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement, while Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is all in on Question 4, which would legalize psychedelics.
“Psychedelic-assisted therapy really changed my life and it is something that is being so widely researched at every major medical establishment in the country, if not the world,” said Dushku, who has donated $350,000 to support the ballot campaign. “We know that it’s an effective breakthrough treatment for a myriad of mental health disorders and it’s time that it’s an option for people in Massachusetts.”
Dushku, a Massachusetts native, left her acting career behind to pursue a path to becoming a licensed mental health counselor soon after she had her own transformative experience with psychedelics.
“I was in a really bad way and I had been diagnosed with full-blown PTSD about six years ago,” said Dushku. “I went and had my experience with psychedelic therapy and it was so transformational for me that it felt very clear that I should share this with other people, especially after having had a lot of challenging experiences before I left my former career many years ago.”
Since then, she has become certified in psychedelic-assisted therapies from the California Institute of Integral Studies and has pursued a master’s in counseling and clinical mental health. Currently, she is working as a clinical mental health intern at Mass General Brigham’s health clinic for veterans.
If the ballot question does pass, Dushku plans to actively participate in the therapeutic psychedelic model that the measure would create. She hopes to become a licensed facilitator who would help guide people through their psychedelic mental health journeys.
The post Political Notebook: Empty house, full campaign coffers | Damon and Dushku appeared first on CommonWealth Beacon.