For Immediate Release
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Boston, Mass. – September 30, 2020 –
The ‘Yes on 2’ campaign is honored to announce today that Massachusetts entrepreneur and longtime corporate CEO, Ron Shaich, has joined the campaign as an Honorary Co-chair. Shaich is the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Panera Bread and is today the CEO and Managing Partner of Act III Holdings. More than a decade ago, Ron co-founded No Labels, an organization that promotes bipartisan political problem solving. He is also a board member of Unite America, an organization that backs reforms including ranked choice voting to increase competition and participation in our elections.
“Ron Shaich is a visionary who has spent his career successfully determining today what is going to matter tomorrow,” said Cara Brown McCormick, campaign manager for Yes on 2. “His leadership of our groundbreaking campaign to innovate our politics and help form a more perfect union for our children and grandchildren is very welcome indeed.”
“Ranked choice voting is an idea whose time has come,” said Ron Shaich. “As a Massachusetts voter, and especially as a resident of the 4th Congressional District, I couldn’t pass up the chance to do my part in bringing ranked choice voting to my home state. Candidates who get elected should always have the support of a majority of voters . Because when they’re forced to seek the support of a majority of voters they will offer solutions that meet the needs of the majority and not the extremes. I can’t wait to vote Yes on 2, and I urge my fellow citizens of Massachusetts to do the same.”
With the addition of Shaich, ‘Yes on 2’ Honorary Co-Chairs are as follows:
- Deval Patrick, 71st Governor of Massachusetts and Founder and Chairman of TogetherFUND
- Bill Weld, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
- Kerry Murphy Healey, 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and President of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream
- Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics
- Adrian Madaro, Representative for the 1st Suffolk District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Jesse Mermell, Former 4th Congressional District candidate and former Brookline Select Board Member
- Steve Pagliuca, Co-Chairman of Bain Capital and Managing Partner of the Boston Celtics
- Ron Shaich, Founder and former Chairman and CEO of Panera Bread and CEO and Managing Partner of Act III Holdings
- Tanisha M. Sullivan, President of the NAACP Boston Branch
- Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor, President Emeritus at Harvard University and former United States Treasury Secretary
- Andy Vargas, Representative for the 3rd Essex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Contact: Charlie@sqcomms.com, 617-894-6905
About the Yes on 2 Campaign
Yes On 2 is a citizen-led, nonpartisan campaign to adopt Ranked Choice Voting for Massachusetts elections starting in 2022. Ranked Choice Voting is a common-sense reform that gives voters more voice, more choice, more power and more freedom. It will strengthen our democracy by ensuring our leaders are supported by the broadest majority of voters and reflect the true will of the people.
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