Driscoll, Liss-Riordan, Galvin and Dempsey Are the Best Choices in the Democratic Primary
Dear Editor,
In the upcoming Democratic State Primary on September 6th, there are several good candidates for the contested statewide offices of Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Auditor.
The questions that voters have to answer for themselves are: Who has the best executive experience to serve as Lieutenant Governor with Maura Healey as Governor? Who has the most experience as a successful practicing attorney to be “The People’s Lawyer†as Attorney General? Who can you trust to oversee our elections and the other important functions of the Secretary of State’s Office? Who has the best experience and vision to do the job of Auditor?
Executive positions such as Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and Auditor require different skills from that of a state legislator, city councilor, or advocate.
These positions require real management experience in addition to leadership skills.
Kim Driscoll was elected Salem’s first woman Mayor in 2005 on a platform of professional, inclusive, and transparent government and she has been enthusiastically re-elected as Mayor every term since. Kim took office when Salem was in tough shape and turned its government around with efficiencies and revitalized Salem’s downtown. She has been endorsed for Lieutenant Governor by the Massachusetts Democratic Party, labor unions and progressive organizations, and elected officials at the state, county, and local level across the Commonwealth. Kim Driscoll knows how to get things done in government and she will be a great partner to Maura Healey as her Lieutenant Governor.
Shannon Liss-Riordan has made a name for herself as one on the top plaintiff lawyers in the country, winning groundbreaking lawsuits on behalf of waitresses, truck drivers, firefighters, janitors, and Uber drivers who have been denied overtime, minimum wage, and other wage protections. She got used to being the only woman in the courtroom, up against better-funded, more experienced attorneys. Despite the odds, Shannon still found ways to win, and argued and won six landmark cases in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. That is why she has been endorsed by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and 50 other local unions, and elected officials around the state. Shannon Liss-Riordan has big ideas and the experience to deliver big results for the people of Massachusetts as their Attorney General.
Secretary of State Bill Galvin has become a national leader in elections administration and financial services oversight. As the Commonwealth’s chief elections official, he has a proven record of running fair, accurate, and secure elections. Secretary Galvin has been a supporter of Election Day registration and has been a strong advocate for making Vote by Mail permanent in Massachusetts. As Census liaison, he oversaw complete and accurate counts in 2000, 2010 and 2020 ensuring that our state is fully represented in Washington and gets its fair share of federal funding. Secretary Galvin also serves as the chief securities regulator in Massachusetts, and he has worked tirelessly to protect investors and the integrity of the financial markets, recovering millions on behalf of citizens who have fallen victim to financial fraud. Bill Galvin was recently endorsed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) for re-election stating, “Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has led an ambitious fight to protect and expand voting rights in Massachusetts…. He has also demonstrated the great value of experience in the post.â€
Chris Dempsey is a proven watchdog for the public interest who will make sure that state government uses its public resources effectively and fairly as your next State Auditor. In 2015, he led the grassroots campaign No Boston Olympics which was successful despite being outspent 1500-1 by some of the most powerful corporate interests in the state. Chris was named “Bostonian of the Year†by the Boston Globe Magazine for this work. He also served as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Governor Deval Patrick where he co-founded the MassDOT open-data program which launched smartphone applications that tell transit riders when their bus or train is going to arrive. Chris has been endorsed by the Massachusetts Democratic Party, current Auditor Suzanne Bump, elected officials at the state and local levels, and leading progressive and environmental organizations. Recently, The Boston Globe endorsed Chris Dempsey stating, “Dempsey is Democrats’ best pick for auditor…he has the experience to do the job with a fresh focus on new priorities fitting the times we live in.â€
Bill Schmidt
Time to Save Our Earth
Dear Editor,
Our home, Earth, is in great danger. Unfortunately, we have not been respecting nor taking care of it. In the past 10-20 years we have seen and felt catastrophic occurrences that have affected our planet. We are experiencing drastic, hotter temperatures; warm rising oceanic waters; increased flooding, severe droughts, destructive storms and fires. All of this has impacted us and those across the world detrimentally, resulting in hunger, destruction of homes, property, natural resources, and the loss of human life.
The culprit of this crisis is our use of fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal). Those fuels cause destruction of our atmosphere which compromises the air that we breathe, contributing to the drastic increase of respiratory diseases.
Wildlife, trees and their habitats are also being destroyed. The destruction of trees, one of our main sources of oxygen, allows the increased production of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide). These gases cause “solar energy†on our Earth’s surface to be absorbed instead of radiating back into space.
Research has shown:
• Over 18 million people in the Horn of Africa are suffering from severe hunger due to a 4 year drought. Children are dying from starvation all across our world.
• Wildfires are burning our precious trees and forests, depriving us of oxygen and habitats across our western states and across Europe and Asia.
• Arctic researchers have found that the climate change has increased temperatures four to seven times faster than previously recorded. This increased temperature has caused the ice caps to melt more quickly, contributing to rising seas which is having devastating effects on all of the habitats of the world!
Who is to blame? It is imperative that we stop the major corporate companies controlling the production of fossil fuels, including the leading banking systems who support them. It is up to us to spread the truth regarding pollutants and to force these indifferent companies to tell the truth.
Timing is critical. The need for grass roots organizations is now! We need to continue urging our country’s government to support Solar energy. Solar power does not emit any greenhouse gases and therefore does not contribute to climate change. The leading countries of the world must support third-world countries by helping them to install solar energy. We are all citizens of the world. The future of our planet and our children begins with us.
Maryalice Sharkey Mothers Out Front