View from the ‘Bridge

Governor - Deval Patrick
If you’ve been following this race at all, it probably comes as no surprise to you that I am supporting the candidacy of progressive-favorite Deval Patrick in the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor. To begin with, Deval is the most charismatic candidate of the bunch. He inspires not only excitement but real action among his supporters and I believe that, once given the chance to lead this state will have the same effect on voters across the political spectrum. There are key differences, but in many ways Deval Patrick sparks the same admiration in me that I always had for Paul Wellstone - the late Minnesota Senator that many of you know I have idolized so much.

As far as issues, I believe that Deval Patrick has the best agenda to lead Massachusetts. In particular, Deval has a been a strong early supporter in this race of particular initiatives that his primary opponents either still oppose or have only recent jumped on the band wagon in support of, these are:
* State Funding for Cities and Towns - As a community organizer in Somerville since 2003, I have seen first-hand the effect that the cut in local aid to cities and town under the Romney/Healey administration has had on local communities — this is, among other things, a drastic loss of affordable housing and the inability to create or preserve new housing, decreased funding for schools and other vital community services — all of which have pushed low-and-moderate income families out of Massachusetts. Deval has a thorough plan posted on this website to increase local funding and preserve communities. Most important to me is the admission of the hard truth that Massachusetts is not in a position to decrease the state tax rate to 5%. Every other candidate in the race for Governor (save the Green Party’s Grace Ross) talks about the importance on increasing funding to local communities while cutting the income tax. We simply can no afford this and candidates who say otherwise are simply pandering to voters. Only Deval Patrick has shown true leadership on this issue.
* Environment/ Cape Wind - Obviously our world is in global crisis and this is not something that one Governor can solve alone. But our next Governor must take leadership on this issue, and not play politics with the environment. Since the early days of this campaign, Deval has been a strong supporter of Cape Wind, a plan to develop a number of windmills off Cape Cop sound. Attorney General Tom Reilly, another candidate in this race, is flat-out opposed to the plan. So is Senator Ted Kenney — simply because it would hurt his view from the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport. Sometimes, environmental protection and investment in alternative energy is more important that millionares’ views.
* Immigrant rights - Deval Patrick has been a strong supporter of the in-state tuition bill which allows all teenagers who have gone to high school in Massachusetts for at least three years to attend all State Colleges and Universities for in-state rates — regardless of their immigration status. Chris Gabrieli opposes this plan, using Romney/Healy-esque language to suggest it would penalize “law-abiding” citizens. This is simply a lie and is a despicable assertion on his part. Tom Reilly supports it but has some other questionable immigration stances, like restricting public housing among undocumented residents. Deval Patrick has the most progressive, fair, and consistent immigration agenda of any Democratic candidate.
* Civil Rights - As the former U.S. Deputly Attorney General for Civil Rights, Deval konws a thing or two about this issue. In particular, he the strongest marriage equality proponent in this campaign, and is the only one to explicitly talk about the need to end racial and ethnic disparities in health care in Massachusetts.

For more information on Deval Patrick, please visit his website at devalpatrick.com.

Lt. Governor - Andrea Silbert
Regardless of who wins the gubernatorial nomination tomorrow, it is certain that the leader of the Democratic ticket will be a man. I believe very strongly that, as a party that claims to values gender equality and in a year that the GOP will have a woman as the head of their ticket, gender balance is critical for the Democratic ticket. While I would never vote for a person simply because of their gender, the presence of Andrea Silbert in this year’s primary fulfills that important need.

Andrea Silbert is the co-founder and former CEO of the Center for Women in Enterprise — one of the largest entrepreneurial training center in New England. In this role she was responsible for working with local women to develop effective business plans that led to such successful, Massachusetts based companies as Zipcar and the Rumba vacuum! Unlike Chris Gabrieli in the Governor’s race who claims to have created jobs simply by investing money in successful companies, I believe Andrea Silbert is the only candidate in either race who can actually take credit for developing businesses that have created thousands of jobs in Massachusetts . In a state where policies of the current administration have led to the loss of thousands of jobs around the state, and the profound loss of population (more than any other state), Andrea Silbert is the best candidate to join Deval Patrick in November.

More about Andrea Silbert at andreasilbert.com

Secretary of Commonwealth - John Bonifaz
Unlike Deval Patrick or Andrea Silbert, John Bonifaz is the only candidate in the precarious position of challenging an incumbent in this year’s election. However, incumbency alone is no reason to support his opponent, William Galvin. The fact is, the Galvin administration has been an absolute disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Over the last year, four of Massachusetts largest cities have been investigated by the BUSH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, for violations of election law. Boston will face federal election monitoring tomorrow and on November 7. Just a few weeks ago the Justice Department actually filed suit against Springfield. The fact is, when the Bush Administration is accusing you of violating election law, the blame must go to to the highest enforcer of election law — the Secretary of State. Furthermore, Galvin has simply refused to create a plan for adhering to the federal Help America Vote Act, the legislation passed after the 2000 Presidential election. The Globe reported just last month that disabled voters will simply be out of luck at the polls this year as the Galvin has missed a federal deadline for providing specially designed voting machines to these voters. This is unacceptable and Galvin needs to go, regardless of who his opponent is.

Luckily for us, John Bonifaz the best possible candidate for Secretary of Commonwealth that one could imagine. Bonifaz is the founder and general counsel for the National Voting Rights institute, a nationally prominent legal and public education center committed to preserving the right of all citizens to vote and to participate in the electoral process on an equal and meaningful basis. On the national stage Bonifaz sued the State of Ohio on behalf of the Libertarian and Green Parties in demand of a full recount of the 2004 Presidential Election. Here in Massachusetts, Bonifaz sued the State Legislature after they refused to fund the Clean Elections Law which voters passed overwhelmingly in 1998.

Katherine Harris of Florida in 2000 and Kenneth Blackwell of Ohio in 2004 make me question the very premise of political party-identified Secretaries of State. The top official in state elections should not seek to limit the participation of any individual, group, or political party. But as long as parties are active in this race we need John Bonifaz to make sure that elections remain fair and open to every single person who participates. William Galvin has been a disaster, and John Bonifaz is the proven answer.

For more information on John Bonifaz, please visit johnbonifaz.com.

Middlesex County Clerk of Courts - Michael Sullivan
This is one of those obscure elected positions that are probably a relic of some former era when county government actually had some role in the scheme of Massachusetts politics. The Clerk of Courts is responsible for managing the county court system, and just what qualities make a strong Clerk I do not know. To add to the mystery around the Clerk of Courts, this races is to replace the outgoing Clerk Edward Sullivan who has been in this position for 48 years!!

That being said, I do endorse Michael Sullivan for Clerk of Courts. He is a Cambridge City Councilor, former Mayor, and nephew of the outgoing clerk. While he is more of a moderate Democrat and probably wouldn’t chose him for a more policy-oriented elected position (I rated him low on my Cambridge City Council Proportional Representation ballot last year), I have been impressed with his constituent services. Whenever I’ve sent a complaint to the Cambridge City Council, he is always one of the first (if not only) councilors to respond. Even when he has not been able to directly respond to or solve my concerns, he has put me in touch with the appropriate city employee who can. Having met him once or twice before, I am impressed with how nice and down-to-earth he seems. Since the Clerk of Courts is really just an administrative and people-managing position, I believe these qualities make him best suited for Clerk of Courts.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 18th, 2006 at 11:24 am and is filed under Andrea Silbert, Deval Patrick, Endorsements, John Bonifaz, Massachusetts Politics, Michael Sullivan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.