Brian Mannal
BOSTON – State Representative Brian Mannal (D-Barnstable) filed a complaint against a SuperPAC that he says broke a state law by making false claims meant to defeat a political candidate.
Jobs First Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee is challenging the constitutionality of that law tomorrow in federal court in Boston.
Mannal hopes the judge rules the law constitutional.
“My hope is that the judge in federal court will remand this back down to state court, so that the state court can look at my complaint on its merit as opposed to simply skipping to the constitutional argument,” Mannal said.
Jobs First was named on a flier that circulated in October that alleged that Mannal filed legislation to “help” sex offenders for the purpose of “helping himself.”
Mannal says he will keep fighting if the judge rules for the political action committee.
“If it is found to be unconstitutional, then it just gives me more motivation to return to the legislature next year with my colleagues and rexamine this,” Mannal said. “Because I think that it is a genuine issue and not something that just affects me.”
Jobs First says the comments made about Mannal in a political flier in October should be protected under the first amendment.
Mannal defeated Republican challenger Adam Chaprales in November.
