Thursday, October 28, 2010

Kara Fratto Candidate for State Rep received CLT 2 1/2 PAC Endorsement

The Woburn Advocate (www.wickedlocal.com/woburn/news/x294022837/This-weeks-campaign-notes) reported:

"Kara Marie Fratto, the Reading resident who is challenging incumbent State Rep. James Dwyer, D-Woburn, for the 30th Middlesex House seat, has won the endorsement of CLT’s 2 1/2 Political Action Committee.

CLT’s 2 1/2 PAC, the political arm of Citizens for Limited Taxation, was originally created to support candidates who would defend Proposition 2 1/2 in the State Legislature. It now endorses candidates who support taxpayers on a variety of issues, and uses the CLT Legislative rating to identify pro-taxpayer legislators.

Francis J. Faulkner, executive director of the PAC, said the group endorsed Fratto based on her strong support for tax limitation. “We need to put people like Kara Fratto in the State Legislature to continue the fight for the income tax rollback and to block any attempt to impose new taxes. Kara has also taken the taxpayer protection pledge. This pledge asks candidates to ‘oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.’ “

“In serving the best interests of the taxpayers and the economy, we urge the voters of the 30th Middlesex District to vote for Kara Marie Fratto on Nov. 2,” Faulkner said.

Fratto has also been endorsed by Mass Citizens for Life."

Reception for Bill Campbell at Tanners Tavern in Woburn

Reception for Bill Campbell, Candidate for Secretary of State

When: Thursday, October 28th, 2010
Time: 6 - 8PM
Where: Tanners Tavern
474 Main Street
Woburn, MA

The Campbell Committee invites you to join Bill as he enters the last week of the campaign. They will have "Dear Friend" cards and campaign literature if you want to do a drop in your neighborhood this weekend.

Hors d'Oeuvres and cashbar

Bring a friend!

Donations accepted and appreciated.

If you can't attend please contribute:
http://www.billcampbell2010.com/contribute.php

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Campbell & Dembrowski to Speak at Greater Waltham Tea Party

The Greater Waltham Tea Party is sponsoring a super sized Tea Party on the Waltham Common at the intersections of Main St. and Moody St. Oct.24 from 1-4 PM.

Over a dozen candidates will be making their final campaign pitches. Among them are: Richard Tisei for Lt. Gov; Karyn Polito for Treasurer; Mary Z. Connaughton for Auditor: Bill Campbell for Secretary of State; Jim McKenna for Attorney General and Gerry Dembrowski for US Congress, 7th District.

The John Penny Band will provide live music. Radio personalities Howie Carr and Jeff Katz will rouse the crowd.

Ed King, the founder of Citizens for Limited Taxation, will be the keynote speaker. Arlington High School senior, Sean Harrington will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Bring your flags, candidates signs, voices, ears and enthusiasm. Sign up to win a great patriotic themed gift basket. Free

Tea Party interest has gone international with Euro News reporter, Valerie Zabriskie and her film crew covering this event this Sunday.

With only 8 days to go before the election, organizers are preparing for a great time for all. For more information go to: www.greaterwalthamteaparty.com

Features: Families, Free, Kids, Open to All, Outdoor, Seniors, Teens

Website: http://greaterwalthamteaparty.com

Where: Main St & Moody St, Waltham, MA 02451
Date: October 24, 2010
Time: 1:00pm–4:00pm

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Dr Mildred Jefferson, dead at 84

From the Medford Republican Party blog

"Mildred Fay Jefferson a Doctor and life-long activist died peacefully this morning at age 84. Doctor Jefferson, whose father was a Methodist minister, was born in Pittsburg Texas in 1927. Despite growing up in the Jim Crow era, she nevertheless became the first African American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School in 1951. In addition, she was the first woman to become a member of the Boston Surgical Society, the first woman to be a surgical intern at the Boston City Hospital and the first woman to receive the prestigious Lantern Award for Patriotism from the Massachusetts State Council Knights of Columbus. In addition, she also received twenty-eight honorary degrees. Jefferson served as a general surgeon with the former Boston University Medical Center as well Assistant Clinical Professor at the BU Medical School.

In spite of all these accomplishments, she is probably best known for her support for the right-to-life movement. Jefferson helped found the National Right to Life Committee and served three terms as its president. She was a member of Black Americans for Life and led the Right to Life Crusade for the last 33 years. She was held in high esteem by Feminists for Life and other pro-life feminists. At the time of her death Dr. Jefferson was serving on the Board of Directors for more than 30 pro-life organizations. Years ago, she ran unsuccessfully for the Repblican nomination for United States Senator in Massachusetts. More recently in August, Jefferson was named as an adult supervisor to the newly formed Massachusetts Assembly of Teenage Republicans and the New England Federation of TARS."

Dr. Jefferson's gave a magnificent speech at the Massachusetts Republican Convention in April. Her presence and dedication will be missed.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Dembrowski Reception at Ristorante Lucia

Supporters and interested voters from Woburn and the surrounding communities in the Seventh Congressional District are invited to attend a dinner reception with Dr. Gerry Dembrowski which will be held at Ristorante Lucia, 13 Mt. Vernon Street, Winchester, on Tuesday October 5, 2010 at 7PM.

For further information or to make reservations RSVP Jessbarnes@gerry2010.com.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sen Jehlen laughs about forgetting Woburn, but are we laughing?

As reported by JRafferty56 an attendee of the event: "In an apparent lapse of memory, State Senator Pat Jehlen, who has represented the 2nd Middlesex District for more than 5 years, forgets Woburn when lisitng the towns she represents. State Rep. Jason Lewis throws her a life-raft only to have Woburn laughed at by the exclusively Winchester audience (at the Jenks Center) in an obvious display of arrogance--Sen. Jehlen not-excluded."

Friday, August 27, 2010

Reception for Bill Campbell with Special Guest Scott Brown

Fundraiser reception for

Bill Campbell
Candidate for Secretary of State

with special guest
U.S. Senator Scott Brown

Sunday, September 19th
4-5:30PM

The Hilton, 4 Forbes Rd, Woburn

RSVP: 781-281-0658

Suggested Donation:

Friend: $50
Booster: $100
Inside Circle: $250
Maximum/person: $500

DEMBROWSKI FOR CONGRESS FUNDRAISER AT THE GREAT MANDARIN

Join us for a Reception for

Dr. Gerry Dembrowski
Candidate US Congress - 7th district

at the Great Mandarin Restaurant
186 Cambridge Rd (second level), Woburn

Sunday, September 12th
5:30 - 7:30pm

Minimum Donation:
$25 in advance, $35 at door

RSVP to Jess: jessbarnes@gerry2010.com

Let's set the next Tea Party success in motion!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Campbell on NECN discussing campaign with Michael Graham

Secretary of State Candidate Bill Campbell was on NECN discussing his campaign and his effort to have military ballots for our service men and women counted in election results. Here is the link:

http://www.necn.com/08/10/10/Broadside-Military-ballot-controversy/landing_politics.html?blockID=287533&feedID=4212

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Woburn's Campbell to run for Secretary of State

Woburn’s Campbell to run for Secretary of State

By GORDON VINCENT
Published: Thursday, March 25, 2010 10:17 AM EDT

http://www.homenewshere.com/articles/2010/03/26/middlesex_east/features/doc4bab6f4fbc744647088722.txt

WOBURN - Woburn City Clerk William Campbell is making a historic, and perhaps unprecedented, bid to become a Woburn resident elected to a state office.

Last month, Campbell officially announced his candidacy for Secretary of State, who among other duties serves as Massachusetts’ top election official, keeper of records and regulator of securities.

Campbell, 49, has been the Woburn City Clerk since 1997, and served two terms on the Woburn City Council from 1988-92. He was elected president of the council for his second term.

He also ran an unsuccessful bid for state representative from what was at the time the 33rd Middlesex district in 1990, and lost a mayoral race in 1993.

Thus far, Campbell is the only candidate from the Republican party to formally announce his candidacy for Secretary of State. The idea of running for the office was formed in February, when he attended a conference of the Mass. City Clerks Association, of which he is a past president and a current member of the executive board.

“My (colleagues in the clerks’ association) had been encouraging me to run for awhile, and then there was kind of a running dialog at the conference about me putting my name in,” said Campbell, during an interview at Woburn City Hall. “It had been on my mind, because I think we’ve needed a change in (the Secretary of State’s) office.”

The next step was bringing the idea to his wife, Joanne, and two children, Elizabeth, a senior at Nazareth Academy in Wakefield, and John, a junior at St. John’s Prep in Danvers.

“There was a lot of discussion, especially with Joanne, because it is a big commitment,” he said. “If my kids were younger, I wouldn’t do this. By far the most important thing is my family, and they’re excited about it. They want to take an active role.”

His daughter can do more than just campaign for her dad. She recently turned 18 and is eligible to vote.

“I’ve asked her to consider voting for me,” he dead-panned.

So far, most of the activity in the Campbell campaign has been geared toward collecting signatures, which must be garnered from 5,000 registered voters by May 4 in order to qualify for the ballot in the Republican primary in September.

Campbell is also required to get at least 15 percent of the delegates in the Republican state convention. One of the things he’d like to change is removing some of the obstacles that impede qualified candidates from running for state office.

“Five thousand signatures is a lot, and you need 10,000 signatures to run for governor,” said Campbell. “We’ve already had to disqualify some of the people who have signed our nomination papers because they’re not registered voters, or they’re Democrats. I can only accept signatures from Republicans or unenrolled voters who are registered.”

In the past, the ‘R’ designation on a ballot in Massachusetts almost always meant underdog status, but Sen. Scott Brown’s upset of Democrat Martha Coakley last year has given new hope to GOP candidates who are eying the state election this year.

The incumbent Secretary of State is William Galvin (no relation to Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin), who has not officially announced his candidacy but is reportedly collecting signatures in a bid for a fifth 4-year term.

“It (Brown’s victory) was definitely a factor for me,” said Campbell. “I’m challenging an incumbent who’s been in office for 16 years and has spent 40 years on Beacon Hill. It’s good to have a turnover in an elected office from time-to-time, and given the political climate that’s out there this may be the right time.”

That’s as critical of his opponent as Campbell will get, though. He prefers to accentuate the positive of his own campaign rather than denigrate Galvin, though it is clear he has some different ideas about how the office should be run.

“I want to open a dialog not only with the election community but with the general public about how we can serve them better,” said Campbell. “I see television commercials about your vote being important, but I think everyone knows that. We should be using those resources to tell people how to vote, to inform them of the process.

“The limited resources that we have should be used to educate the voters, not promote the office,” said Campbell.

He said he’d also like “to get rid of the intricacies” involved in the voting process along the guidelines of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

“The HAVA system is expensive, and it confuses people,” he said. “Look at something like same day registration. It adds another level of bureaucracy, and invites fraud.”

He’d also like to limit the number of special elections, which are costly to the communities that are required to hold them. In about a year, Woburn had to hold four special elections - two to replace state Sen. James Marzilli, who quit after charges that he sexually assaulted a woman in Lowell were brought, and two for U.S. Senator after the death of Edward Kennedy.

“What the secretary told the governor was that it only cost the state $5 million to conduct (the U.S. Senate) election, but it cost the cities and towns between $7 million and $10 million,” said Campbell. “The secretary should have been more open with the Legislature. We should know how much and where our money is being spent.”

Campbell would also like the Secretary of State’s office to provide more transparency when it comes to the disclosure of securities brokers, who must be registered.

“That information ought to be available more openly to the public,” he said. “You go to the website and there’s a section for security settlements, but when you click on it all you get are 62-page complaints that are difficult to understand for the reader.”

So far, he’s taken his message to city and town committee meetings in about a half-dozen communities, where he says he’s been well-received. His foray was in Brown’s hometown of Wrentham.

“I usually get about 5 to 10 minutes to state my case,” said Campbell.

He hopes to expand his speaking efforts to organizations like local business associations and Rotary Clubs. Campbell has also set up a fan page on Facebook, “so people can keep track of the campaign.”

“It’s all been very positive, especially here in Woburn,” said Campbell. “People who are just going to the post office or walking to their car say things like ‘Good luck with your campaign.’”

In addition to his duties as City Clerk, Campbell is also a renowned source and published author of Woburn history. A 1978 Woburn High graduate who earned his bachelor’s degree from Boston College, his law degree from the University of Bridgeport, and practiced law before being chosen City Clerk, he believes he will be the first Woburn resident to hold a state-wide office.

“I’ve talked to all the aldermen (on the City Council) and the mayor, and they’re all supportive of me,” he added. “They think it’s good for the city to have someone on the state ballot.”

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Woburn GOP congratulates Senator-elect Scott Brown

The Woburn Republican City Committee is pleased and proud to congratulate Senator-elect Scott Brown on his outstanding victory in the Special Election on Tuesday January 19th. His positive attitude and boundless energy were impressive. His tireless campaigning makes him a role model for Republican candidates running for the November elections.

To all who held signs, hosted a lawn sign, sported a bumper sticker, made phone calls or passed out literature - thank you for your efforts. Without your hard work and support we would not have won Woburn and added to the victory state-wide!


The Woburn Republican City Committee meets on the first Wednesday of the month at the Woburn Senior Center at 144 School St at 7:30 PM. All republicans are welcome to participate. All others are welcome to join us as guests.

Fratto, Candidate for State Rep, "No New Taxes"

Kara Fratto, Candidate for State Representative, pledges support against "No New Taxes"

State Representative Candidate, Kara Fratto pledges that she will not raise taxes if elected by signing the Citizens for Limited Taxation No New Taxes Pledge. “Our representatives need to represent and listen to us! We want reforms in state spending, not more taxes,” Fratto said.

Fratto believes our elected officials are raising taxes rather than living within the state’s means. In the past year, the State Legislature considered all sorts of new taxes, ultimately raising the sales tax, which passed with the support of Representative James Dwyer, the incumbent in the 30th Middlesex District. The Massachusetts Legislature is now considering a 50-cent hike in the state’s gas tax. “This has to stop. Government has to understand that real people with real budgets are footing the bill,” Fratto said.

“The sky will not fall if our taxes are not raised. We know the difference between wants and needs and now it is time for government to learn the difference. There will never be enough money for government to fund everything it wants to do, but there is already more than enough money for government to do everything it needs to do. If it is not an essential function of government, then we should not be paying for it,” said Fratto.

In November 2009, the legislature overrode the Governor’s veto, with the support of Rep. Dwyer, to give the Legislature $18.8 million in funding for its operations rather than to fund vital human service agencies. The $18.8 million was in addition to the $53 million in the regular budget that the Legislature appropriated to itself to run its operations for the year. Representative Dwyer later said in December that “government is learning to live within its means.”

In December 2009, the legislature held hearings on proposals on up to a 50-cent increase in the state’s gas tax. The electorate then learned of hundreds of thousands spent in legal fees for the investigation of former speaker Salvatore DiMasi. We also learned that hundreds of thousands of tax dollars are also being spent to defend the Treasurer’s Office to fight a lawsuit brought by a lottery vendor. This vendor alleges that it was shut out of state contracts in favor of a company that donated to Treasurer Tim Cahill’s political campaign.

“We do not need new taxes. We need to reform the spending,” Fratto said. With just under ten months to go until the November 2010 election, Fratto is putting together an organizational team. For more information, to get involved or to donate to Kara Fratto’s campaign, go to www.karafratto.com or call 781.205.4895.