For Immediate Release
February 25, 2013
Contact:  Jennifer Beltz
(617) 780-0821
jbeltz@falchuk2014.org

UNITED INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE EVAN FALCHUK ENTERS MASSACHUSETTS RACE FOR GOVERNOR

AUBURNDALE, MA – Massachusetts native Evan Falchuk, Founder of the United Independent political movement launched late last year, today announced he will be a candidate in the November 4, 2014 election for Governor.

United Independent (UI) supporters have achieved political designation status from Massachusetts, and have efforts actively underway to achieve the same official Party standing in the state as Democrats and Republicans.  Both the United Independent PAC and Falchuk for Governor candidate committee have launched, and the UI movement has considerable resources on hand in the early stages of campaign season.

Under current state law, Democratic and Republican party candidates enjoy an over three-to-one fundraising advantage over any new candidates from new parties that are attempting to join the legislative and democratic process.  As such, UI’s growing list of supporters say they are well aware that their new approach, hard work and pragmatic solutions that respect both voters’ needs and tax dollars will be required to win the day.

“United Independent supporters are tired of the outdated ‘big government versus small government’ debate between Democrats and Republicans,” Falchuk stated. “It leads to complacency and a status quo climate where there aren’t any real alternative solutions or candidates, and where often, the best we can hope for are temporary ‘band-aid’ fixes to our state’s serious policy challenges.”

Falchuk noted that many people he’s met across Massachusetts feel a great longing for common-sense fiscal solutions and innovative ideas – even if they are new or go against the grain. “They want a different way of doing things if alternative ideas are thought out and can be backed up, and if candidates and officials will take the time to actually communicate clearly to voters what they’re calling for, exactly, and why,” he said.

Today, a record 53% of Massachusetts voters are independent “Unenrolleds,” belonging to no party; that number has been growing year after year. Falchuk believes this is partly due to how many voters seem to be considered an afterthought by too many lawmakers today.

“Given hard issues like our financially strapped school systems, multigenerational poverty, and needing to help our state’s small businesses thrive, we just can’t afford to continue down this same path using the same thinking,” he noted. “The majority of people say they want independent candidates with different ideas – people who aren’t an ingrained part of the established parties in Massachusetts that have been the norm for so many decades.”

Falchuk cited as evidence a January 2013 United Independent poll of 600 registered voters from counties statewide, conducted by DAPA Research Inc.’s nationally renowned pollster David Paleologos.  According to the statewide poll:

• Seventy-three percent of respondents said they would support a “non-traditional” candidate for statewide office who had no formal political experience, but who brought to the table a successful business track record in Massachusetts and a centrist party platform focused on fiscally sane solutions and social freedoms.
   
• The majority of respondents (58%) also said they believe Massachusetts should have a third official independent party committed to fiscal sanity and protecting civil liberties.

• Sixty-three percent of independent/unenrolled voters felt that as an independent their vote is more in demand, while 69% of independent/unenrolled voters said the biggest reason they are not registered as a Democrat or Republican is because they want to keep their options open. (margin of error within +/- 4.0% given the universe of registered voters in Massachusetts)

Survey participants covered a wide, diverse range: union households, full-time and part-time workers, single and married people, and voters ranging in age from 18 to over 75 years old all were represented. Fifty-one percent of respondents labeled themselves “Unenrolled,” not committed to either Republican or Democratic party options.

Falchuk noted that in addition to a more pragmatic, common-sense fiscal approach calling for greater accountability to taxpaying voters, the UI movement also centers on protecting and strengthening hard-earned civil liberties and social freedoms.  “At a time when some vocal politicians in Washington, DC and federal law place civil rights like marriage equality, reproductive freedom and other issues under threat, some politicians, even in Massachusetts, continue to pander and hedge on these issues or do nothing at all. Discrimination still exists on the basis of race, gender, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, and health,” he said.

“We see some lawmakers actually describe themselves as ‘socially tolerant,’ almost like that’s some sort of special gift we should all be grateful for,” Falchuk added. “I believe our hard-won freedoms in Massachusetts are not some sort of favor, and are not up for political debate.  We need to recognize that, in spite of the law and the tremendous progress we have made, there are still too many disparities in how people are treated in our state. This needs to be tackled, plain and simple, and this needs to start at the top. If our own current or potential lawmakers are ‘tolerating,’ for example, gay citizens, that doesn’t say much for actively tackling discrimination.”

Stronger communities working with better government is also a key United Independent focus, Falchuk noted, and struggling neighborhoods in Massachusetts should be viewed as a central issue worthy of greater focus. “We don’t want to live in what are in effect gated communities where we turn a blind eye to the very real challenges faced by families who need help,” he said. “We need to be brave enough to ask hard questions: Are our programs working?  What do the innovations and research of the last decades tell us about what makes a real, meaningful difference in the lives of people – and communities – in underprivileged areas?  How do we get government to more effectively work with private-sector advocates to help build up struggling neighborhoods, and work to better educate and equip people to care for their families? A lot more attention needs to be paid to these defining areas – not just because of state budget issues, but because it’s the right thing to do.”

Married to Felicia Falchuk, the 43-year-old father of three has served in executive leadership roles since 1999 at Boston-based global health company Best Doctors, Inc. The company, named to Inc. magazine’s 2012 and 2011 lists of the “Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America,” has grown to serve over 30 million members in every major region of the world. Highly regarded for his expertise in health care and pro-employee business strategies worldwide, Falchuk’s perspective has been featured in high-profile outlets ranging from The Wall Street Journal, CBS Boston, Wired and AARP Prime Time Radio to The Boston Globe, Forbes, NBC Radio and USA Today.

About the United Independent Party

Founded in 2012 by Evan Falchuk and enthusiastic supporters from around the state, the United Independent Party (UIP) is a bold new movement on the Massachusetts political map. It is committed to changing the conversation from “small government versus big government” to one focused on greater accountability to voters, stronger protection of social freedoms, and more innovative, fiscally sane solutions that improve the day-to-day lives of individuals, families and communities. For more information, visit www.UnitedIndependent.org, or visit United Independent on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

To schedule an interview with UIP Founder and 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Evan Falchuk, contact Thom Householder:  thouseholder@falchuk2014.org or (207) 653-6122.