$14 billion Georgia parts conglomerate joins AutoZone and Advance Auto in pumping another $6.5 million into Massachusetts data grab
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 – As questions continue about the legitimacy of claims made by Question 1 backers, out-of-state, Wall Street-backed retail chains contributed an additional $6.5 million in support of Question 1, increasingly divorcing the measure from any connection to independent repair shops in Massachusetts.
Fourteen-billion-dollar, Georgia-based Genuine Parts Company (GPC), the international conglomerate that owns the Napa Auto Parts brand, contributed $2.5 million in the past two weeks to support Question 1, according to new reports filed with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance (OCPF).
AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts each contributed an additional $1.5 million, increasing their total contributions to a combined $5 million. CARE, a national group led by AutoZone executives, also contributed an additional $1 million, bringing the group’s total contribution to more than $4.1 million.
“Since Question 1 was filed last year, local supporters in Massachusetts have contributed thirty-three hundred dollars, while out-of-state retail parts chains have contributed $15.7 million. That alone should tell voters that Question 1 is not about local repair shops, it is about increasing profitability for national retail chains,” said Conor Yunits, spokesperson for the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data.
The Yes on 1 campaign has received a total of $15,748,487 in contributions – $15,745,000 (or 99.9%) of which has come from just seven entities: the Maryland-based Auto Care Association, Automotive Warehouse, Inc. and CARE, Georgia-based GPC, Missouri-based O’Reilly Automotive, Tennessee-based AutoZone, and North Carolina-based Advance Auto Parts
“The Massachusetts Right to Repair law is not on the ballot in November. Right to Repair is already the law in Massachusetts and it ensures that local mechanics can access all the information they need to diagnose and repair your vehicle. Question 1 will not change that. All Question 1 will do is make consumer information more easily available to third parties and increase risk for Massachusetts drivers.”
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