Don Humason Watch

Participating on Don Humason Watch just got a lot easier. Registering with this site is no longer required to post comments which means you can share your thoughts about Representative Humason anonymously.

I received two emails from Don Humason dated April 26 and May 3, 2008. These emails are copies of his columns that appear in the Westfield Evening News on Saturdays. He also posts them onto his website here.

I have not received any emails since his May 3rd column and I'm wondering if Humason has stopped sending emails. Has anyone out there received his columns by email since May 3rd?

This November, Massachusetts citizens will likely have the opportunity to pull the trigger on themselves and vote to end taxation on wages, interest, dividends and capital gains in our state. If the measure passes, you can say goodbye to about 40% of the state's annual budget and to a huge chunk of funding for neighborhood schools, police and fire departments and other crucial services here in Westfield. The question is, where does Representative Humason stand on this measure?

Recently, State Representative Humason started sending emails to constituents. I applaud him for it. Communicating with voters is a good thing, not to mention good politics. I'm sure the communication effort will help him at the polls. I've sure got nothing against a politician hustling for votes.

However, I do take exception if a politician uses misleading information in order to win votes. Humason appears to do just that in his last email where he bemoans the increase in the state budget since 1991 from just over $13 billion to almost $28 billion today and blames Democrats.

But are Democrats who "love to spend other peoples' money" really to blame as he claims? What crucial information did Humason neglect to mention? I challenged Representative Humason on these numbers in an email response to him. Here's what I wrote: