Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund Launches Six-Figure Effort to Elect Gun Sense Sheriffs in Massachusetts and New Mexico
10.21.2022
Effort Follows Successful Pilot Engagement Program in Erie County, PA in 2021
Sheriffs Are Key to Enforcement of Gun Safety Laws
NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Massachusetts IE PAC announced a new effort to elect sheriffs who will enforce gun safety laws. The effort is kicking off today with a $300,000 investment into the Bristol County, MA and Bernalillo County, NM sheriff elections. The digital ads will run in each county, including YouTube pre-roll, Roku, Facebook, and Instagram, and will be in addition to paid search ads.
“Sheriffs are elected to enforce the law, not make them,” said John Feinblatt, head of Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund. “We’re going to make sure voters know the truth about candidates like Tom Hodgson in Massachusetts and Paul Pacheco in New Mexico, who are hell-bent on using the office to suit their own ‘guns everywhere’ agenda.”
Building on Everytown’s first major investment in sheriffs elections as part of a pilot program last year in Erie County, PA, Everytown has expanded the program this year to include two races where there is a clear contrast on gun safety. In Bristol County, Massachusetts, Sheriff Tom Hodgson has a record of extremism, is a board member of a group founded by a white supremacist and part of another group founded by a far-right militia member. In Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Paul Pacheco stands with the gun lobby and will put our families and communities at risk.
AD TRANSCRIPT “RECORD”
Sheriff Tom Hodgson…let’s look at the record
Promoting conspiracy theories like denying the 2020 election results
On the board of a group founded by a white supremacist
Part of another group founded by a far-right militia leader
A history of abusing detainees and violating their civil rights
Hodgson’s department is under federal investigation
And the Secretary of Homeland Security said there is ample evidence of unacceptable conditions.
Tom Hodgon’s record? Extreme and dangerous.
AD TRANSCRIPT “PROTECT”
If Paul Pacheco becomes our sheriff, who will he protect?
Our families? Or the gun lobby and special interest he’s taken thousands of dollars from.
They gave him an A-rating.
And Pacheco said he was “honored” and “proud” to receive their endorsement
Even as they push to flood our communities with weapons of war
And make our streets more dangerous, putting our families and communities at risk.
Paul Pacheco stands with the gun lobby — not us.