Today Steven Ultrino, second-term Malden City Councilor from Ward 2 and a Democrat, announced his candidacy to represent most of Malden in the Massachusetts House. (This seat is currently held by Rep. Chris Fallon, who recently ran for State Senate [5th Middlesex] and, in spite of strong support in Malden, was bested by Rep. Jason Lewis of Winchester in the Democratic Primary.) As I write this, other local officials are rumored to be eyeing the seat, and it is not known whether Chris Fallon will defend it. My educated guess is that Ultrino will be the most progressive candidate in the field. I’ve spoken with a number of local progressives who are very enthusiastic supporters. He has a solid background in education and public service and balances deep roots in Malden’s past with a clear understanding of the difficult challenges and considerable opportunities facing today’s Malden—the second most diverse community in the state. I expect him to bring much-needed energy, dedication, and professional insight to the role.
http://malden.wickedlocal.com/article/20140314/NEWS/140317698
We have a reputation as the most liberal state in the country, that, sadly on economic issues, is increasingly a difficult one to defend. I wish we were as socialist as our critics contend, particularly in the areas of income inequality, our decaying gateway cities, our inequitable education and decaying transit systems. We got work to do before we are the liberal utopia people claim we are with envy or fear.
And to do that we have to primary guys like Fallon. His record of outright hostility to the Democratic party and it’s platform is well known. Anti-choice, anti-equality, regressively anti-revenue and anti-tax, pro-Scott Brown and anti-Liz Warren. Time to force him to run as the Republican he really is, or retire, forced if need be.
Moreover I welcome primary challengers even for reps and senators that vote the right way most of the time, but occasionally swallow bad votes or back hackery and patronage and the old guard on Beacon Hill. It is time to build a progressive coalition and only through contesting every race can we do it.
As one of my fellow Maldonians said today, “I’ve been looking forward to this day since the Brown endorsement” which, BTW, came immediately after the last primary and drew voters’ attention to other aspects of Fallon’s record. Both the primary and the general in November will draw a much higher turnout than the specials, and it will be interesting to see how that affects the Mass House race. Candidates will have to do some work to educate the voters and earn their support.
Avi Green ran a very close race to Tim Toomey who had increasingly voted into Fallon territory on a host of issues and was the lead point man on bringing back the MA death penalty, a foe of equality, and a foe of choice. After Avi Greens swept in we saw him underdo a tremendous evolution. Suddenly he was a progressive. He favored clean elections, backed marriage equality and defeated attempts to stop it at the ballot, he started backing choice, and started opposing the death penalty again. Maybe it’s cynical, or maybe he had an epiphany and realized how out of touch he was with his constituents and the campaign gave him an education he needed. Either way, it worked.
Or we could have a Carl Sciortino situation, where the DINO is truly extinct and replaced by a great rising star. Either way, it’s worth it. Time to see more.
I’m just confused by this comment. Where does/did Toomey represent? I take it Avi Green ran against him, but the Avi Green I know I’m pretty sure has never been elected. You say “After Avi Green swept in” which suggests Green won, but then you say “we saw him (Toomey? – so he was still there?) undergo a tremendous evolution. Are you saying that Toomey was scared by the seriousness of Green’s challenge into moving left?
Avi Green didn’t “sweep into” office but he made it a hotly contested primary. I understand jconway’s comment to mean that, yes, Toomey was sufficiently spooked by Avi Green’s near miss in a primary against him that he (Toomey) moved to the left to cover his flank.
Toomey had a conservative voting record on some major issues, was primaried by Green from the left, narrowly won, and swiftly moved to the left of the caucus. He has never dipped below 60% of the vote since then.
So even if Fallon wins, he may be forced to vote like a Democrat. Of course if we work hard and utilize Progressive MA, BMG, and other groups we can might earn a scalp to carry around to the offices of other DINOs to remind them that votes have consequences. This is the change we have been waiting for, the next Democratic Gov will be impotent without a network of activists ready to pressure the Leg and collect scalps if need be.
I have known Steve for several years.
He has been a very effective school committee member, and has taken his work ethic to the Malden city council. He understands how things really work, and will bring a pragmatic approach to public policy. He is also an honorable guy who will bring Democratic values to the Democratic line on the ballot.
Malden will gain excellent representation from Steve Ultrino, and I hope he wins the Democratic primary by 20 points.
Make no mistake: this is eminently winnable.
Sure, the incumbent has held the seat for nine terms, but he’s had serious opposition in only one of those races. Both candidates are life-long Maldenites, which matters in a town where so many people have lived their entire lives.
But lots of young Malden didn’t grow up in Malden; they went to school in Shenzen or not far from Ho Chi Minh City or in Port-au-Prince or Kiev. Or they grew up in Springfield or Marblehead or Berkeley. They’re a potential powerhouse for Progressive Malden, and Ultrino has six months (and plenty of support) to get them registered and to get them to vote.
It’s not just a gesture from the left; it’s the real deal.
I’m late to the party, but I just wanted to join my fellow Maldonians here in the comments in cheering Steve on and encouraging BMGers to support him.
One way or another, Steve will be taking on a very conservative opponent and he’s going to need our support, financially and otherwise.
Progressive grassroots activists in Malden, including myself and the fine author of this post, have been meeting with and advising Steve for several months now, getting to know his platform and his campaign strategy plans — and we’ve come away feeling impressed and hopeful — and determined to take on whoever he faces in the primary. The incredibly enthusiastic reception Steve received at Malden’s St. Pat’s Day breakfast over the weekend proves that he’s the candidate to help unite “old” and “new” Malden — and to really embrace what Malden has become, which is an incredibly diverse community that needs strong progressive leadership on Beacon Hill.
You can follow Steve at http://www.ultrinoforrep.com and @ultrinoforrep on Twitter to keep up with news from the campaign.
That coupled with what ltjmalden said about his School Com and City Council tenure lead me to believe he is Malden’s version of my good friend Councilor Marc McGovern in Cambridge. A lifelong resident of East Cambridge going back four generations (like my family in North Cambridge) who also appeals to the progressive newcomers and immigrant communities that have enriched our city. Sounds like Steve has done that in Malden. This will be an exciting shoe leather race and I am hoping BMG comes out in force to help him.
Rep. Chris Fallon today announced that he will not be seeking another term as State Rep. We’ll soon see whether the open seat encourages others to jump in.
http://malden.wickedlocal.com/article/20140318/NEWS/140316241
I think we should all just take a moment and congratulate ourselves on this news. Without all our hard work and organizing, this day would not have happened. Go team!
That said, we need to be very much prepared for one or more pretty conservative to flat out right wing “Democrats” to toss their hats in the ring. Time will tell…
Well that’s one down, still a lot of DINOs in the old Malden machine so we gotta make sure Steve gets passed the finish line-but force these guys to work and some of them are bound to quit.
I also be the blew a lot of dough on his failed State Senate run.