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
The ADTC and Common Cause Massachusetts sponsored a well-attended forum on voting issues in March at the Arlington Senior Center. Here’s a detailed report on the event.
Members of the large and appreciative audience (in front, Jimmy Tingle, candidate for Lieutenant Governor).
The voting issues forum speakers and the ADTC chair: Cheryl Clyburn Crawford of MassVOTE, Joyce Hackett of Lift Every Vote, Aimee Coolidge, and Greg Dennis of Voter Choice MA.
Associate Member Jordan Weinstein has conducted interviews with all three Democratic candidates for Governor. You can find the interviews on Facebook (Massachusetts Progressive Forum) and YouTube.
Concerned about how well our electoral system lives up to the promise of democracy? Looking for a way to ensure voting rights and fair elections in MA? Want to know what reforms will make a difference in MA and how you can be involved in current efforts to effect change?
THEN JOIN US!
The Arlington Democratic Town Committee is pleased to host a community event on elections and voting rights. The forum features leading experts and activists working on electoral reforms to ensure a fair, accessible, open, and functional democratic system. The event will include an interactive, working group component to equip you with the contacts, resources, and tools to get involved!
The forum, A Crisis of Democracy: A Forum on Elections and Voting Rights, will take place on Tuesday, March 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple St. Panelists include Cheryl Clyburn Crawford, Executive Director of MassVOTE, Greg Dennis, Policy Director of Voter Choice MA, and Joyce Hackett from Lift Every Vote. Pam Wilmot, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts, will moderate the panel discussion.
A crowd of nearly 160 packed Town Hall Auditorium February 10 and elected 36 delegates to the 2018 Massachusetts Democratic Convention. Almost a third of the crowd were newcomers to local Democratic politics, and 20 voters changed their registration to Democratic to participate in the caucus. Aimee Coolidge, Chair of the Arlington Democrats, cordially welcomed the newcomers and new registrants and encouraged them to stay involved.
Elected as delegates were Carole Allen, Thomas Allen, Robert Ames, Robin Bergman, Lynn Bishop, Shane Blundell, Colin Bunnell, Eric Chung, Stuart Cleinman, Maureen Crewe, Mary Cummings, Joseph Curro, Christopher Dimeo, Susan Doctrow, Anne Ehlert, Catherine Farrell, William Gardiner, Jeffrey Goldberg-Zieger, Mel Goldsipe, Amy Goldstein, Irwin Grossman, Sharon Grossman, Camilla Haase, Adele Kraus, June Lipton, Jeffrey Maxtutis, Thomas Michelman, John Page, Judson Pierce, Jennifer Roderick, Paul Schlichtman, David Swanson, Stephanie Swanson, Rieko Tanaka, Robert Tosi, and Sandra Vorce. Alternates are Arthur Goldsipe, Laura Kiesel, Lisa Pedulla, Arthur Prokosch, Susan Stamps, and Jordan Weinstein.
Chair Aimee Coolidge will serve as an ex officio delegate. Other Arlingtonians serving as ex officio delegates are Patricia Deal, Heather Fowles, and James DiTullio, all of whom serve on the Democratic State Committee, as well as State Representative Sean Garballey and State Senator Cindy Friedman.
Several candidates for office came to meet caucus attendees, as did current officeholders Congresswoman Katherine Clark and State Treasurer Deb Goldberg.
Well-organized, committed supporters of both Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie for Governor ran slates of candidates for delegate. (Bob Massie came to the caucus.) The Gonzalez supporters had a slight majority and elected most of the delegates.
Youth, minorities, and people with disabilities who were not elected as delegates or alternates may apply to be “add-on” delegates.
The Convention will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at the DCU Center in Worcester. Democrats from across the state will gather to endorse candidates for the September primary election.
For more details on the convention, visit the Massachusetts Democratic Party website.
At our Town Day booth Saturday, September 16, we welcomed Arlingtonians interested in getting involved with the Democratic Party for 2018. Our State Representatives and State Senator stopped by, along with at least one candidate for Governor. Thanks to everyone who visited!
This year we offered a political fun facts quiz with raffle prizes: books for children as well as books by Elizabeth Warren, Al Franken, and Hillary Clinton. Congratulations to the winners! If you’d like to play along, here are the questions:
The Arlington Democratic Town Committee heartily congratulates Cindy Friedman for her victory in the Democratic primary for the 4th Middlesex District State Senate seat left vacant by our loss of Sen. Ken Donnelly. We also congratulate Rep. Sean Garballey and Mary Ann Stewart for their fine and hard-fought campaigns and their commitment to public service.
The general election will be Tuesday, July 25. There is at least one opposition candidate, so make sure to vote!
From Gus Bickford, Chair, Massachusetts Democratic Party, (617) 939-0800
Since the announcement of our Massachusetts Resistance Summer initiative, we have solicited input from several of State Party subcommittees, formed Youth Advisory and Activist Advisory councils, and brought on a new Resistance Organizing Fellow, Lindsay Kenney. Earlier this month, we joined 125 Democratic organizers from across the nation at the DNC Resistance Summer conference in Washington D.C. and collaborated on ways to organize and win through grassroots initiatives.
Through these collaborative efforts, we are proud to launch a Massachusetts Resistance Summer program that channels the energy we have seen since Election Day and is focused on engaging and activating Democratic stakeholders and activists from across the Commonwealth. We will continue to solicit input and feedback on our program to ensure we are united, as a Party, throughout the process.
This Saturday we will engage in our first day of Grassroots Action in Lynn. State Senator and former Party Chair Tom McGee is running for Mayor against a Republican incumbent and we will be knocking on doors in the neighborhoods surrounding the McGee for Mayor Campaign headquarters (47 Myrtle Street) this Saturday, July 15 at 10 a.m. Let us know if you can make it by signing up here. Also, please share this information with your networks.
Also on the horizon is the special election for the Fourth Middlesex State Senate District, where Democratic nominee Cindy Friedman is running for the seat formerly held by the late Senator Ken Donnelly. Cindy will need our help heading into GOTV weekend and Election Day on Tuesday, July 25th. Click here to sign up to volunteer to make calls or canvass over the next two weeks for Cindy. Join us for:
These are the first of many grassroots campaign activities we will be helping to organize as part of Resistance Summer. Many of you have been organizing tirelessly already, and we know that organizing starts with you. To connect with other activists in your area or post an event to our calendar, please visit www.resistma.com. We will be using this site to engage activists with organizations in their area, publicize events and updates and support progressive activism throughout the Commonwealth.
Finally, the Resolutions Subcommittee will be hosting a hearing on submitted resolutions on Monday, August 28th at 6 p.m. at the Plumbers Local 12 hall (1240 Massachusetts Avenue, Dorchester 02125). The resolutions that will be taken up will be posted online ahead of the hearing. Those in attendance that are interested in testifying in favor or against a resolution will be given 2 minutes to do so and must sign in upon arrival.
At its May 18 meeting, the Arlington Democratic Town Committee voted unanimously in favor of a resolution supporting automatic voter registration legislation. Eight states and the District of Columbia now have automatic voter registration. For more information, see the Automatic Voter Registration Fact Sheet (slightly out of date) and a short summary of the bill. See the information about the Senate bill for full details.
At its May 18, 2017 meeting, the Arlington Democratic Town Committee voted unanimously in favor of a resolution supporting automatic voter registration legislation. Eight states and the District of Columbia now have automatic voter registration. For more information, see the Automatic Voter Registration Fact Sheet(slightly out of date) and a short summary of the bill. Our representatives, Sean Garballey and Dave Rogers, support the bill, as did the late Sen. Donnelly. See the information about the Senate bill for full details.
