Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, a new statewide organization is urging people to volunteer for and contribute to the campaigns of six candidates for the state legislature. The candidates will be present and available for interviews at the PDM statewide meeting at the Carpenters Union Hall in Millbury on August 28th. (directions and program here ).
PDM selected these candidates from the “priority” list of candidates endorsed by the Commonwealth Coalition. They all embrace a broad range of progressive values and, PDM believes, an additional infusion of volunteers and financial support could make a decisive difference in the outcomes of their races.
“We hope that people will see the importance of looking beyond their district, just as people travel to New Hampshire and other ‘battleground’ states to support John Kerry”, said PDM Coordinating Committee Chair Peter Dolan of Gloucester. “If we want to end the neo-Republican era, and have a legislature that speaks for the values of progressive reform,” he continued, “then we must help progressive reform candidates, wherever they may be. The place to start,” Dolan concluded, “is our web site, www.progressivedems.org“. An updated version of the site featuring the PDM Half Dozen will be unveiled on August 28th.
The PDM Half Dozen includes: Ed Augustus, candidate for an open senate seat from Worcester; incumbent State Sen. Pam Resor of Acton; Monica Palacios-Boyce, candidate for an open house seat from Wales; Carl Sciortino who is a primary challenger for a house seat representing Somerville; Katherine Clark, who is challenging a conservative republican in the Middlesex–Essex Senate District; and Melissa Murgo who is running in the democratic primary for a house seat from Worcester.
PDM is a statewide organization that is engaging people in the democratic process by recruiting voters, training activists and assisting progressive Democrats running for state offices. PDM is currently working to build local groups in Ashland, Amherst, Brookline, Cape Ann, Jamaica Plain, Lexington, Newton, Northampton, Northern Berkshires, South Hadley, Springfield, and Worcester, and will be launching more this fall.
(click here for the Update in PDF format)
In this issue of PDM Update:
1) Chair's Letter
2) PDM Statewide Campaigns
3) Peter Vickery's Campaign for the Governor's Council
4) News From Local Organizing Committees
5) Western Mass PDM Events August 6th
6) PDM Membership Meeting
7) Convention Social
8) Organizer Training Workshops
9) PDM Mailbox
10) PDM's Interim Coordinating Committee Members
Dear PDM Members and Friends,
I was asked the other day, "Shouldn't you be devoting all your energy to defeating George Bush?" My response, without hesitation, was, "No." Governor Romney and the Republican Party certainly understand the importance of state and local races to the success of their radical right-wing agenda. They offered $75,000 to everyone willing to carry the Republican banner in a Massachusetts legislative race. That money could certainly have found its way to the Presidential campaign in Ohio, Missouri, or Florida instead of to State House races in "liberal" Massachusetts.
PDM will make its first modest forray into Massachusetts politics this fall with a campaign from Labor Day to Election Day in support of progressive candidates for the State Legislature. In the coming months, many of you will donate money, and travel to neighboring states to support John Kerry's campaign. Our hope is that you will contribute time and money in a similar way here in Massachusetts, and that this support will extend beyond the candidates who will appear on your local ballot.
Just over forty years ago, Martin Luther King was criticized for traveling from Atlanta, Georgia to Birmingham, Alabama to engage in a political action. His reply remains one of the clearest explications of our duty to our neighbors:
... I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I. compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.
The reasons for supporting our progressive allies in the Legislature, though, run deeper than simply a list of important issues that might be considered in the State House next year. PDM's central goal is to actively engage people in the political process, and build political strength that transcends the current year's elections. State and local races provide an opportunity for people to be active in politics in a very tangible way, getting to know a candidate on a personal level, engaging in political dialogue with their friends and neighbors. Ultimately, our success or failure in creating government that reflects true American values, government whose actions promote the good of our communities rather than narrow self-interest, will depend on our ability to actively engage those friends and neighbors in their democracy.
Peter Dolan
In addition to the local campaigns mentioned in the next section, PDM will be launching two campaigns in the coming months. One will be a membership and fundraising campaign. Robert Reich has agreed to write a letter in support of our efforts.
The second, in partnership with the Commonwealth Coalition, will be a campaign to support progressive candidates for the legislature. PDM is now member of the Commonwealth Coalition, and we have been working with them to identify key races around the state.
Watch your mailboxes (USPS and email) for more information about both of these campaigns.
The eight member Governor's Council has the power to approve judicial appointments. It can serve as a firewall against efforts by Governor Romney to reshape our judiciary. Peter Vickery of Amherst is running for the Governor's Council (www.progressivelawyer.com), and would be a welcome addition to that body. Peter is also working to build Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts in the western part of the state, and Leo Maley, of Amherst PDM is his campaign manager.
Robert Reich and Warren Tolman have both endorsed Peter. Can you contribute to the campaign. Do you know people in Western Massachusetts: Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Amherst, Pittsfield, Williamstown, North Adams, the Berkshires? Ask them to learn about Peter and his campaign for the Governor's Council.
The Democratic primary will be held on Tuesday September 14th. His campaign's website is www.progressivelawyer.com.
Here is a sampling of some of the activities planned by our local organizing committees this fall:
On Cape Ann, PDM will be supporting Paul McGeary's campaign for the State Senate (www.McGeary2004.com), and participating in Gloucester's All Hands on Deck voter enrollment campaign (www.gloucesterdems.org).
The PDM group in Jamaica Plain, in the spirit of PDM's fall campaign, is sending support across the Charles River to aid Carl Sciortino (www.electcarl.org). On Tuesday, August 3 from 6:30 to 8:30pm they are holding a houseparty. If you would like to attend or get involved, please contact Terry Mason at nocynic@hotmail.com.
Lexington has taken the lead in our fall membership and fundraising efforts, on the heels of a successful proposition 2 1/2 override campaign. They will be actively supporting both Jay Kaufman and Tom Stanley in their respective races in the September primaries for state representative.
In Northampton PDM will be mounting a campaign to reach out to infrequent voters. They will be supporting Peter Vickery's campaign for the Governor's Council (www.progressivelawyer.com), along with other PDM members from Western Massachusetts.
Friday August 6th will be an exciting evening for PDM in Western Massachusetts:
5:00 pm The Lone Wolf, Main Street in Amherst. Reception and fundraiser for Peter Vickery, featuring Robert Reich. Vickery has been endorsed by Progressive Democrats of Northampton in the September 14th Democratic Primary for Governor's Council.
7:00 pm. Book Signing by Robert Reich @ Oddessey Bookstore, South Hadley: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America.
8:45 pm Thirsty Mind at the Village Commons, South Hadley. PDM Reception and Fundraiser, with Robert Reich and Clare Dalton. Please join us and help match a challenge grant of $500!
A statewide meeting for PDM members will be held in Worcester on August 28th. Details and directions will be sent in a separate email.
PDM hosted a reception following the State Democratic Convention on May 8th in Amherst. Over one hundred people attended. The event was covered by the Daily Hampshire Gazette. You can find the story in the News section of the PDM website www.progressivedems.org. Here is the link directly to Mary Carey's article: www.progressivedems.org/documents/mary_carey.htm.
Over 40 people attended PDM workshops in Lexington and Northampton on hosting successful house meetings this spring. The workshops were facilitated by Jeremy Bird, who organized house meetings for Howard Dean's campaign in New Hampshire, and who is now leading field organizer trainings for the Kerry campaign.
We would like to hear from you. Our email address is:
letters@progressivedems.org.
Randy Block, Newton
Cathleen Cavell, Brookline
Fred Clarkson, Northampton
Peter Dolan, Cape Ann, Chair
Peter Enrich, Lexington
Pat Evans, Northern Berkshires
Tom Hidalgo, Springfield
Joan Lancourt, Boston
Leo Maley, Amherst
Jack Moran, Worcester
Pat Vinter, Ashland