MA GOP Sues Sen. Eldridge Over State Referendum Opposition

MARLBOROUGH, MA — The state Republican party is suing state Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough) over his efforts to impede a Republican-led campaign to repeal a recent law that, in part, allows undocumented state residents to apply for driver licenses.

State Republicans are attempting to collect more than 40,000 signatures ahead of an Aug. 24 deadline to put a question on the November ballot asking voters to repeal the recent Work and Family Mobility Act.

Eldridge and other Democrats have mounted a campaign called "Decline to Sign," where they stand near signature gatherers and ask voters not to sign on to the repeal effort. The Fair And Secure Massachusetts committee is behind the signature gathering effort.

The state GOP filed lawsuits Tuesday in federal and state courts against Eldridge, Waltham Ward 9 Councilor Jonathan Paz and union organizer Wes McEnamy. The federal suit also names Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey. The suit claims she hasn't intervened to stop the decline campaign.

Eldridge said the decline campaign is an attempt to educate voters about the benefits of the Work and Family Mobility Act and called the Republican lawsuit "frivolous."

"We have helped organize volunteers to practice direct action to call out the xenophobic language and inaccurate statements in order to repeal the Work and Family Mobility Act, and educate voters about the importance of making sure all drivers are licensed, and how many immigrants without legal status will have more dignified and secure lives," he said in a Tuesday Facebook post.

Eldridge also on Tuesday change his Facebook profile photo to one of him standing next to a Fair And Secure Massachusetts committee signature gathering table in Hudson.

The state House and Senate both voted in June to override a Gov. Charlie Baker veto to pass the mobility act. By next summer, any qualified Massachusetts resident, regardless of immigration status, will be able to apply to get a standard driver's license. Proponents say it will improve road safety because undocumented residents are already driving unlicensed with no training on state laws.

A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll released this week found that about 58 percent of Massachusetts residents support allowing undocumented residents to apply for licenses.

Eldridge represents the Middlesex and Worcester District, which includes 14 cities and towns including Marlborough, a portion of Sudbury and Westborough.

Eldridge will face Wayland Republican Anthony Christakis in the November election. Due to redistricting, the Middlesex and Worcester District will change after the election to include all of Wayland and Sudbury, but will no longer represent Westborough.