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The Arlington Democratic Town Committee is sponsoring a forum with presentations on the three questions on the Massachusetts ballot. The event, free and open to the public, is on October 2 at Robbins Library at 6:45 p.m.

A B C’s of Ballot Questions 1, 2, 3:
Know Your November Ballot Questions

Tuesday, October 2nd
6:45 – 8:45 pm

Robbins Library Community Room
700 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington

Question 1: This proposed law would limit how many patients could be assigned to each registered nurse in Massachusetts hospitals and certain other health care facilities. The maximum number of patients per registered nurse would vary by type of unit and level of care. Donna Kelly Williams, President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and Ari Puri, who represents the Coalition to Protect Patient Safety, will discuss this question.

Question 2: This proposed law would create a citizens commission to consider and recommend potential amendments to the United States Constitution to establish that corporations do not have the same Constitutional rights as human beings and that campaign contributions and expenditures may be regulated. Ben Gubits, Director of Political Strategy for American Promise, will review this question.

Question 3: A YES VOTE would keep in place the current law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in places of public accommodation. A NO VOTE would repeal this provision of the public accommodation law. Grace Stevens, author and trans activist, will cover this question.

WHAT: “Song of Resistance”, a concert/fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidates
WHEN: Saturday, September 8, 8 pm
WHERE: Pickman Hall at Longy School of Music of Bard College, 27 Garden Street, Cambridge
WHO: Singers and instrumentalists from some of Boston’s brightest musical lights
HOW: Tickets $35/$60/$100/$250/$500

Charles Blandy of Arlington, a distinguished tenor and one of the co-founders of BlueMassGroup, is organizing the concert. It aims to raise $10,000 for five candidates for Congress who will resist the corruption and cruelty of Donald Trump’s administration:

Jared Golden (Maine 2nd district)
Annie Kuster (New Hampshire 2nd)
Democratic nominee fund (New Hampshire 1st; primary is on September 11)
Antonio Delgado (New York 19th district)
Beto O’Rourke (Texas, US Senate)

Purchase tickets via ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/songofresistance

Musicians and program include:
Charles Blandy, tenor; Linda Osborn, piano
Copland: Old American Songs

Mara Bonde, soprano
Songs by Harold Arlen

Peggy Pearson, oboe; Diana Walsh, piano
Works by William Bolcom and George Gershwin

Kendra Colton, soprano: Songs by John Harbison

Elise Groves, soprano; Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano; Jason McStoots, tenor; Charles Blandy, tenor; Paul Guttry, bass
DeWert: Vox in Rama (A voice in Rama)
Byrd: Ne irascaris Domine (Be not angry, Lord)
Exsurge Domine
Non vos relinquam orphanos

Jesse Irons, violin
Program TBA

ACMI TV hosted a debate August 16 between State Representative Sean Garballey and Lori Lennon, who are running in the Democratic primary for the 23rd Middlesex State Rep seat. It will be shown on local cable many times between now and the September 4 primary, or you can watch it online at http://acmi.tv/, where candidate profiles are also posted, along with the schedule.

After passage by the state legislature, Gov. Baker signed the Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) bill on August 9, 2018. The ADTC endorsed the bill at our meeting May 18, 2017. Many thanks to our state legislators for their support. AVR is expected to go into effect in time for the 2020 election.

If you won’t be in town to vote in the September 4 state primary, you can request an absentee ballot by filling out the short form available at the Secretary of State’s Office and mailing it to the Town Clerk, 730 Mass. Ave., Arlington, MA 02476. Or you can go to the Town Clerk’s office in person. For details, see https://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/08/absentee_ballots_available_for.html.

If you’re new in town or are just turning 18, be aware that if you want to vote in the state primary election on Tuesday, September 4, you must register to vote by three weeks before that date: Wednesday, August 15. You can use the state’s Online Voter Registration system or do it the old-fashioned way by visiting the Town Clerk’s office on the second floor of Town Hall, 730 Mass. Ave., with its charmingly irregular hours of operation (Mon-Wed 8 am-4 pm, Thurs 8 am-7 pm, Fri 8 am-noon). Spread the word!

Some day, we may achieve same-day registration, but that day is not yet.

The candidates for Middlesex County District Attorney and for Governor’s Councillor for District 3 will debate on Tuesday, July 24 from 7 to 9 p.m. at First Parish Arlington, 630 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington. The event is free and open to the public.

District Attorneys are the most powerful people in the criminal justice system – and they are
accountable only to voters. Learn more about the power DAs wield in our communities – and hear from the Middlesex County District Attorney candidates.

You will also hear from candidates for the Governor’s Council, which has the power to approve the appointments of judges and Parole Board members.

The event is nonpartisan: co-sponsors are the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Leagues of Women Voters of Arlington, Lexington, and Winchester, Arlington Community Media, Inc. (ACMi), and the Mass Incarceration Working Group of First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, Arlington.

U.S. SENATOR ED MARKEY INVITES YOU TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS ACTION SUMMIT

Join Senator Markey and America’s leading climate change experts for a summit on one of the greatest crises of our time. Following a discussion of the current state of affairs of climate policy and solutions, questions will be taken from the audience.

We are honored to be joined by our distinguished panelists:

–Gina McCarthy, former EPA Administrator and current Director of C-CHANGE (Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

–Dr. John Holdren, former Chief Science and Technology Advisor to President Barack Obama and current Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government

–Todd Stern, former U.S. Chief Negotiator for the Paris Climate Accord and current Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Distinguished Fellow at the World Resources Institute

DATE:  Thursday, June 28th

TIME:  7pm – 8:30pm (Doors open at 6:30pm)

LOCATION:  Belmont High School

ADDRESS:  221 Concord Ave., Belmont

RSVP HERE

Associate Member Jordan Weinstein has conducted interviews with both Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor. You can find the interviews on Facebook (Massachusetts Progressive Forum) and YouTube.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/MAprogForum/videos/?ref=page_internal
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWtWZ1D3jtluyAJR1QqAbLQ