Next Steps in the 2014 Elections

A little over a week after the primary, we are catching our breath!  September 9^th gave us the nominees in both parties who will face off in the general election on November 4^th.  In our previous post we endorsed seven candidates, some statewide, some local.  Primary night brought us mixed results, but we batted better than .500:  four of our endorsed candidates were victorious.  Our GOTV (get out the vote) efforts the weekend prior to the primary and primary day itself were devoted to Mary Keefe’s campaign, and we were delighted with her decisive win.  She does not have an opponent in the general election, so her re-election is now assured.  Dan Donahue also won his primary, and has no general election opponent.  Harriette Chandler won her primary handily, but faces a formidable Republican opponent in the general election.  We urge all of you who live in the 1^st Worcester State Senate district to vote for her on November 4^th and to work to support her if you can.  

Except for Attorney General candidate Maura Healey’s resounding win, our statewide endorsed candidates were less successful.  Nevertheless, we urge all of our friends and fellow travelers to support the Democratic candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor as well as the rest of the Democratic ticket.  While Martha Coakley and Steve Kerrigan were not our first choices, we feel that they offer a vision that we can enthusiastically support. 

Here is some of what Martha Coakley said in her speech on Primary Night:

“I’m in this fight for people who don’t have money or power…

Now it’s time to get to work. This election is going to be won on successful ideas and organizing – on our vision for a stronger Massachusetts, and with your voice.

We will provide earned sick time for all our working families.

We will deliver universal pre-K for all our children.

We will invest in regional economies and create jobs across all of Massachusetts.

We will increase clean energy sources and will continue to address climate change.

We will continue to ensure Massachusetts is a leader on LGBTQ rights.

And we will reduce the stigma around mental and behavioral health.”

She also pledged to fight for the rights of all workers, including the right to organize and closing the gender pay gap. 

At a unity event in Worcester the evening after the primary, we heard Steve Kerrigan give an inspiring speech embracing this same vision and outlining the differences between it and what we could expect from Charlie Baker and Karyn Polito, the Republican nominees.  Steve Kerrigan, who we really hadn’t gotten to know before, is a native and resident of Central Massachusetts and showed himself to be a person with a big heart and a sharp mind and an ability to speak to what is important to people.  

When Steve Grossman spoke to his supporters last Tuesday night he said, “I told Martha Coakley that I will do everything I can, and I hope everyone of you will do everything you can to make sure that Martha Coakley becomes the next governor of Massachusetts…I want to be sure that a Democrat is in the 3^rd floor corner office and I will do everything I can to make that happen.” 

We admire Steve Grossman tremendously and we worked for him in the primary.  He is a visionary as well as a mensch and a problem solver.  We join with him, and urge you to join with us, in making sure that we elect Martha Coakley as Governor.  After that we will work together to move forward his long range vision:  “I have a commitment to lifting every person up and giving them the tools to be everything they want to be…There is a breach in our society,” Steve said; and told us it is our job to work to heal it:  to work for social and economic justice, for opportunity for all, and for everyone being able to live with dignity. 

Some of our friends, we realize, voted for Don Berwick for Governor.  This is what Don wrote to his supporters yesterday: “To all of you, I have one request now:  join me in full support of Martha Coakley and the Democratic ticket on November 4^th.  Although we do not agree on all of the issues, I have no doubt at all that the Commonwealth’s future will be in excellent hands in a Coakley Administration.  I cannot say the same about the prospect of four years under Charlie Baker and the Republican Party.”

You can watch and listen to both Steve Grossman's speech and Don Berwick's speech on primary night, reflecting their progressive values and urging unity.  Take a listen! 

We hear a lot of people say, “I vote for the person, not the party,” and say Charlie Baker is a nice guy.  It really doesn’t work that way.  If you elect Baker, you get a Republican administration and a government driven by conservative and reactionary policy objectives.  You get Republican operatives, often losers in local elections, appointed to key positions running agencies whose mission they don’t believe in.  Nowhere will you find a commitment to the social, economic, and environmental justice agenda cited above.  We have work that isn’t finished.  It is no time to roll back the progress we have made. 

We have also come to admire Deb Goldberg, Democratic nominee for Treasurer.  She comes with extensive experience in business and a commitment to continuing Steve Grossman’s legacy of using the Treasurer’s office to increase economic opportunity for those who need it.  And we reiterate our support for Maura Healey for Attorney General, committed to becoming the people’s lawyer and knowing how to use the office to fight for justice. 

We remember well what it was like to lose a primary after Margot's campaign for State Representative in 2010. It was clear at that time, and still is, that we could make an important contribution by uniting behind the primary winner and using our influence to fight for the values that impelled us in our campaign.  

So join us; let’s elect a Democratic ticket in November and hold onto our progressive visions for the long haul.  And stay tuned; in future posts we will address several of the initiative questions which will be on our November ballots. 

Again, Many Happy Returns!

Margot and David