As we’ve written before, March 15th’s special primary in the 18th Suffolk district (Allston-Brookline-Brighton) represents a terrific pickup opportunity for progressives in the MA House of Representatives. The previous rep, Finneran loyalist and Bush supporter Brian Golden has moved on to, uh, greener pastures, taking a job with the Romney administration. Important issues are hanging in the balance, like the freedom to marry, education reform, and expansion of health care to more uninsured folks. On each of these issues, our blue blue state has the chance to be a national example of how to do it right.
But good things never happen by accident. Folks of good faith, creativity and energy have to bring them into being.
Of all the candidates in the Democratic primary (the winner of which will very likely win the general election on April 12), Tim Schofield is clearly the best man for the job. He’s a lawyer (BC law grad) and former aide to Congressman Richard Swett of New Hampshire. He is a big supporter of public schools, especially smaller class sizes; folks in Allston and Brighton particularly could use a strong advocate for their schools. He’s got an endorsement list a mile long and deep: MA Sierra Club, Robert Reich, Boston Teachers Union, UAW, and so on and on and on. He supports the freedom to marry and is against the death penalty. By implication, his views clearly stand apart from Mitt Romney’s race-to-the-bottom ideal of economic development; he seems to understand the adage, "If it’s good for everyone, it’s good for everyone."
We’re also hearing that Tim is a stand-up guy, unafraid to state his views. The word is that he came off very well at a candidate’s debate last Wednesday. We need our progressive representatives to be comfortable in a role of leadership, not to simply become a cog in the machine. That’s how reform happens.
There are other fairly progressive candidates in the 18th district primary, but Tim Schofield has experience, eloquence, and the highest leadership "ceiling" of any of them. He’ll be a terrific representative.
With that, we’d like to invite you (yes, you) to a reception/fundraiser with Tim Schofield himself:
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
6:00 ? 8:00 pm
At The Kells
161 Brighton Avenue
Allston, MA 02134
It’s a mere $25 a head, and there’s a good chance you’ll be able to meet Tim. I’ll be there, and would love to see some fellow folks from the blogosphere. You don’t have to be from the 18th district, you just have to care about the direction of our beautiful Blue MA.
You can RSVP to me here. It would be great to get a head count, but heck, don’t hesitate to just show up.
And if you want more info, here’s a Tim Schofield recent press reading list from Google News.
Wow charley. That sounds like morethan an endorsement. Obviously you have some conection to the candidate. No problem with that, but shouldn’t you inform the reader.Also he is runing for state rep, not pope. Big deal. Someone atending his two bit a head fundtion should expect to meet him so he can thank them for coming. Not “good chance you will meet him.” Like he is a rock start or something. Come back to earth Charley, he is not Fabian.
why doesn’t this guy tell us where he is from. I do not know the ansdwer and I can’t find it on his web site. where did he go under grad. What gives?
I don’t know where he went undergrad, but his biography is a big part of his story. He grew up in Somerville, the youngest of eight kids, and since he enlisted in the armed forces right after high school, he got his degree through the G.I. Bill. Where specifically I couldn’t tell you, but he did get his law degree from either BC or BU Law (I forget), so he’s been in the area almost his entire life and in Brighton specifically for a good long while. As for the excitement of this blog, it makes sense given that this is a special election and there is so little else going on in the state. It’s a clear opportunity for a progressive to win a seat once held by a true DINO.
Great post. If we’re going to rebuild a true Progressive Majority, no race is too small or too local for the attention of dedicated activists. Furthermore, with issues like same sex marriage, and perhaps the death penalty, coming before the MA legislature this session, the 18th Suffolk race is extraordinarily important. As for Tim Schofield, I’ve heard great things about him and word has it that he’s working harder than the rest of the candidates combined.
Can we progressives not lower ourselves to the name calling so popular with the right. No need to call Golden a “Dino”. We can respect his opinion. An elist attitude, like the one I sense on this blog, will insure that we will never “rebuild a true Progressive Majority” and that is too bad.By the way, it is obvious the the two postings above are shills for Schofield. Nothing wrong with that. Just observing that it is obvious. Will Charley ‘fess up to his Schofield ties?I doubt it.
Sorry, I stand by my assessment. I respect conservative Democrats who support our party and are part of our coalition, even if they work for their own goals which are in conflict with mine. That’s fine.Golden is not a conservative Democrat. A Massachusetts Democrat who actively campaigns for a Republican Presidential candidate in 2000 and 2004, to the point of going to Florida after the first election to work with him on overturning the state’s results, is in fact a Democrat in name only. Especially when he jumps to join the local Republican administration when the federal appointment he wished for never materialized. A conservative politician who doesn’t even support his party is not a Democrat in any meaningful sense except that he needed to get reelected in his district with that label. So I will happily call Philip Travis a conservative Democrat I disagree with, I will happily call Tom Finneran a corrupt conservative Democrat who I disliked but who was still a member of the party, but I will call Brian Golden a DINO for as long as he continues to pretend to be a Democrat, which is probably not much longer. I am not a shill for Schofield; I post regularly to all sorts of political blogs with this moniker, including PolState, Daily Kos, and Political Animal. I call them as I see them. Judge me as you will. It looks like you have your own axe to grind on this issue for whatever reason, so we’ll take that into account too.
And I am not shy in saying I support Schofield and hope he wins in March, and will do what I can to help him win. If you want to devalue my opinion because you think it’s elitist or makes me “a shill”, big whoop. This is the Internet, people express their opinions, and for damn sure the Schofield campaign has no clue who Brittain33 is or that I’m posting about their candidate on a blog. I have to ask what your affiliations are and why you’re so involved in this thread–who are you supporting? If you don’t have a candidate in this race, then you need more fiber in your diet.
Sorry Britain. I just commented that it was obvious you were on the Schofield team. Plus i am ignorant. I thought DINO was a dinosaur. Because he didn’t follow the progressive line. I stand corrected.I am a Democrat, but i do not see it as a religion. The party is here for me. I am not here for the party. And sometimes i feel my party is very elitist and does not get it. By the way…When was Tom Fineran corrupt? The fed grand jury redistricting investigation is a joke and most criminal defense attorneys will tell you that. He did not perjure himself when the testimony is taken as a whole. Which is how it must be taken.
I apologize then for the vehemence of my response–RINO is in common use at Free Republic and other conservative web sites and when you responded to my comment I assumed you’d understood the usage when I shouldn’t have assumed people would recognize it.
Britain, i do not have a candidate in the race and have not been following it. It is just that Chaley’s post and some of the comments from his supporters, made Mr. Schoefield seems like the “wait til they get a load of me” candidate. The reference in Chaley’s post that you might get to meet Schoefield if you attend his fund raiser really got my goat. State legislator is blue collar job. Unfortunately some legislators, such as the senator from cambridge, are mostly show and no substance. Headline grabbers who can’t work well with fellow officials. I hope Schoefield is different. Big deal, the guy is running for rep. The voter does not benefit from meeting the candidate, especially first time candidates, the candidate benifits from meeting the voter. I would expect him to meet and personally thank every person who shows up at his fund raiser. I am probably older then you Britain, and seen many more stae rep. and other campaigns in and out of boston neighborhoodsI have seen too many campaigns treat it like a cause celebrity. But Charley’s comment smacked of intelectual elitism, and my experience is that the celebrity politician who is markets himself as being morally and intellectually superior then those that disagree with him is usually full of it and offers little to the process.That is the axe I have to grind Britain.p.s.i like the fiber in the diet suggestion.
Brittain33, I don’t know who you are, but I do for damn sure know that you’re posting about my candidate on a blog. I thank you for your support here and elsewhere. And I’ve added a link to this blog at http://www.timforrep.org/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=29.DavidTim Schofield’s volunteer webmaster
So Brittain, you are a seriel schofield for rep blog poster
I suppose I’ve hit the big leagues.
Brittain, because you post on many blogs does not mean you have credibility. Because i do not and you do does not make you beter, smarter, or more credible than me. God. this self importance is mind boggling.
“A good Long time” Mr. Schofield has been in the district for two years. Tell him to parachute into another district that doesn’t care where it’s representation comes from. This district would rather have someone represent them who doesn’t need a mapbook to find Brighton Center.
Well, David (not our David), that brings up an interesting point, certainly not limited to this race:What’s the cutoff of years in a district for you to consider a candidate to be legitimate? And are there other factors in one’s life that may be more important than that? Since you say that Schofield is a relative newcomer (and I don’t know if what you say is true or not), these are honest questions for you.I might add that we have a governor from Utah, we once had three senators (RFK from NY), and Deval Patrick has “only” been in Milton sixteen years. So, I’d say it’s all relative. But give us your best shot.
This district would rather have someone represent them who doesn’t need a mapbook to find Brighton Center.I live in Brighton Center. Brighton Center is Ward 22 Precinct 3 and not in the 18th District.http://www.timforrep.org/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=28I can’t vote for Schofield but still hope he wins. We must concentrate on state rep and school board races as we rebuild the TrueBlueMajority.