MASS GOP is recruiting Interns

The MASS GOP is actively recruiting interns to help out with the upcoming busy political season.

From the webpage:

The Massachusetts Republican Party is now seeking Election 2012 interns to work in an energetic and exciting political environment. Right now is a critical time in Republican politics in Massachusetts, with the 2012 electoral cycle already in full swing. We need your help!

The ideal intern candidate brings outstanding written and oral communications skills, an interest in Republican politics and policy, as well as strong academic, technology and research skills. The successful candidate will provide support by conducting media and issue research, project and event support in the field, and various office tasks such as phone banking, mailings and database entry.

This internship is unpaid, however school credit is offered.

Qualifications:

•A minimum commitment of 15 hrs/wk or 25 hrs/wk if obtaining school credit (unless specific requirement issued by institution)
•Time commitment between the hours of 9:30am-5pm.
•Enrolled in undergraduate degree program in a related field with an above average GPA
•Ability to prioritize work assignments and contribute to projects under tight deadlines
•Superior time-management skills and proven ability to execute long-term projects
•Avid interest and understanding of news media
•Proactive with a strong work ethic
•Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
Thank you so much and we look forward to hearing from you and having you part of our team here at the MassGOP!

Click here to learn more or to apply

Signature Drive begins for Republican Candidates

Are you interested in signing a nomination paper for a republican candidate?

What does that even mean?

Well, each candidate who wants to run for office must collect a certain number of certified signatures to appear on the ballot. A Signature is Certifed when the town or city clerk confirms that the person who signed the nomination paper is registered to vote in that community and is a member of the party for which the candidate is running or is an unenrolled voter.

Currently we have nomination papers for US Senator Scott Brown (requires 10,000 certified), US Representative candidates Jeff Semon and Frank Addivinola (requires 2,000 certified) and State Senate candidate Dr. Gerry Dembrowski (requires 300 signatures).

If you are willing to sign please email us at info@woburnrepublicans.com and we will make arrangements for you to sign.

Holmes: Closed doors, secret maps and political games under the Golden Dome

Rick Holmes, Opinion Editor for the MetroWest Daily, wrote the following about the redistricting machinations that have gone on for months, "On Beacon Hill, Transparency is a foreign language. Deep in the DNA of the place, the instinct for self-preservation overrides even the most virtuous rhetoric."

Click here to read more of his analysis of the redistricting process

Mass GOP Chair Nassour announces resignation

Mass Gop Chairwoman Jennifer Nassour has announced that she will be stepping down effective October 28 as she prepares for the birth of her third child in February. Her decision to resign will allow her successor to come up to speed in preparation for the next election cycle and commit the time needed to be chair. With her family situation changing she stated that family must come first.


Click here to read

Headline reads "Senate slashes pension benefits; House to vote next"

In an article found in various news sources including the Lowell Sun, the headline reads that the "Senate slashes pension benefits; House to vote next." When you read into the details of the plan, the proposed changes only affect new hires after Jan 1, 2012. The changes to the pensions are raising the minimum retirement age from 55 to 60 and eliminating incentives to retire at the early age. The proposal also extends the formula to calculate the pension from 3 year period to 5 years.

Comments from our State Senator Ken Donnelly, a former union official for state firefighters and a retired firefighter include, " he understands why state legislators are trying to address unfunded pension liabilities, but he claimed savings could be found elsewhere," although where was not elaborated in the article.

Click here to read

A Penny of Spending Cuts for Every Dollar of Debt

There has been quite a bit of discussion over the growing government debt and the battle to contain it. This article points out that the spin has come from both camps at our expense - literally.

From Newmax, "More than half the members of the House of Representatives avoided holding customary town hall meetings during their August vacation. No wonder they’re ducking the public. The spin Congress put on the debt ceiling deal doesn’t jibe with the facts."

Click here to read

Sen. Brown to Gov. Patrick — can gas tax plan

Senator Brown spoke out against Governer Patrick's plan to raise the gas tax. Citing that the increase would flatten the tourism industry and blow budgets for working-class families, Senator Brown wrote that he[Gov. Patrick] should cut spending and not raise taxes.

Click her to read more of Senator Brown's comments

Rep Kaufman talks taxes including online sales tax

At a recent public Forum in Lexington Rep Jay Kaufman discussed his revenue reform priorities for the upcoming Legislative year. Top on his list was the so called Main Street Fairness Act which would make paying the state sales tax on internet purchases mandatory, making Massachusetts the 25th state to pass such a law. And in keeping with his targeted approach to taxation, Rep Kaufman is looking to expand the property tax Circuit breaker to assist low-income seniors and "others."

Click her to read the full story of Representative Kaufman's plans

4th Middlesex State Senator Ken Donnelly and Greater Boston Tea Party's Christen Varley

On a recent episode of Broadside on NECN State Senator Ken Donnelly and Greater Boston Tea Party's Christen Varley debate the budget showdown in Wisconsin.

To listen to the full recording click here

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

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

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.

Dr. Gerry Dembrowski - Candidate for Congress in 7th District investigates Brazilian voting process for absentee voters

Dr. Dembrowski candidate for US Congress is impressed by Brazillian advanced absentee voting system

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.

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."

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!

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

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.”