Thomas Calter, III
Thomas J. Calter, III is a former Democratic member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the Twelfth Plymouth district from 2007 to 2018. He stepped down in May 2018 to become the town administrator of Kingston, Massachusetts.[1]
Biography
Calter's professional experience includes working as a business consultant and executive coach.[2]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Global Warming and Climate Change |
| • Technology and Intergovernmental Affairs |
| • Community Development and Small Businesses Joint |
| • Export Development |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Calter served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Global Warming and Climate Change |
| • Community Development and Small Businesses Joint |
| • Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint |
| • Higher Education Joint |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Calter served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Community Development and Small Business Joint |
| • Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint |
| • Higher Education Joint |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Calter served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Community Development and Small Business Joint |
| • Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint |
| • Higher Education Joint, Vice chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Calter served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Higher Education Joint |
| • Veterans and Federal Affairs Joint |
| • Personnel and Administration |
Campaign themes
2012
Calter's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
Economic Development
- Excerpt: "I have built businesses and created good jobs for more than 25 years. I have learned that economic expansion cannot occur without economic justice for all."
Tax Policy
- Excerpt: "I support tax policies that are fair, generate the revenue needed to pay for those services provided to our citizens, and promote economic development."
Children and Families
- Excerpt: "I am a passionate advocate for the vital needs of all children and for the preservation of the family unit."
Education K-12
- Excerpt: "The children of the Commonwealth are our most precious assets and it is our moral duty to provide them with the best education we can afford. The quality of public school education today will directly influence the health of the economy tomorrow."
Higher Education
- Excerpt: "Recognizing that affordability is a key element of the public higher education model, I support capping tuition and fees at the inflation rate and increasing financial aid to students."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 8, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.
Incumbent Thomas Calter, III defeated Peter J. Boncek in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Twelfth Plymouth District general election.[4][5]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives, Twelfth Plymouth District General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Thomas Calter, III Incumbent |
59.94% | 13,908 | |
| Republican | Peter J. Boncek | 40.06% | 9,297 | |
| Total Votes | 23,205 | |||
| Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth | ||||
Incumbent Thomas Calter, III ran unopposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Twelfth Plymouth District Democratic Primary.[6][7]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives, Twelfth Plymouth District Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Thomas Calter, III Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Peter J. Boncek defeated Michael E. Cowett and Ian F. Murphy in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Twelfth Plymouth District Republican Primary.[6][7]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives, Twelfth Plymouth District Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Peter J. Boncek |
45.35% | 678 | |
| Republican | Michael E. Cowett | 44.82% | 670 | |
| Republican | Ian F. Murphy | 9.83% | 147 | |
| Total Votes | 1,495 | |||
2014
Elections for the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Thomas Calter, III was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election. Calter also won the Republican nomination through write-in votes.[8]
2012
Calter won re-election in the 2012 election for Massachusetts House of Representatives Twelfth Plymouth District. Calter was unopposed in the September 6 Democratic primary and defeated Debra Betz in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Thomas Calter, III Incumbent |
62.5% | 13,436 | |
| Republican | Debra Betz | 37.5% | 8,053 | |
| Total Votes | 21,489 | |||
2010
Calter won re-election to the Plymouth seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition. He defeated Joseph Truschelli (R) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[11]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives General Election, Twelfth Plymouth District (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Thomas Calter, III (D)
|
10,107 | |||
| Joseph Truschelli (R) | 8,421 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Calter won re-election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Twelfth Plymouth, unopposed.[12]
Calter raised $59,213 for his campaign.[13]
| Massachusetts State House of Representatives, Twelfth Plymouth (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Thomas J. Calter III (D)
|
17,032 | |||
| All Others | 145 | |||
| Blanks | 7,455 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Massachusetts General Court was in formal session from January 3 to July 31. The legislature was in informal session from August 1 to December 31.
- Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes."
- Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through November 15. The legislature held an informal session from November 16 to January 2.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 6 through July 31.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 7, 2015, through January 5, 2016.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 14 through August 1.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through July 31.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 5 through November 16.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Calter is the father of three adult children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Thomas + Calter + Massachusetts + Legislature
See also
- Massachusetts House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Joint Committees
- Massachusetts state legislative districts
- Massachusetts State Legislature
External links
- Campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2008, 2006
- Tom Calter on Facebook
- Tom Calter on LinkedIn
Footnotes
- ↑ Wicked Local Kingston, "New Town Administrator Tom Calter to officially start May 14," April 20, 2018
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Calter
- ↑ "tomcalter," Official Campaign Website
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 State election candidates," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Election data lookup," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Candidates (Democratic)," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Secretary of the Commonweath of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Election Statistics," accessed October 14, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2014 State Primary Candidates," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2012 State Primary Results," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 4, 2008," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ 2008 Massachusetts Election Fundraising, Candidates
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Massachusetts House of Representatives Plymouth 12 2007–2018 |
Succeeded by Kathleen LaNatra (D) |
