Hi, this is Dorie Clark from the Andrea Silbert for Lieutenant Governor campaign. I wanted to let you know that we learned yesterday that Andrea has won the endorsement of Newton’s Democracy for America group.
The vote tally:
Andrea Silbert: 10 votes
Tim Murray: 1 vote
Deb Goldberg: 0 votes
Also, there are two upcoming LG debates. One airs tonight at 7pm on WGBH (Greater Boston with Emily Rooney); the other airs on WCVB this Sunday at noon (hosted by Natalie Jacobsen).
Please share widely!
hlpeary says
Dorie, Dorie, Dorie! 11 Deaniacs over to watch Rock Star: Supernova semi-finals and cast an endorsement vote during the commercial…I’m surprised Storm Large (who is a MA native) didn’t pull a few votes.
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Headlines herald 11 people making an endorsement…it could start a trend…we will be hearing from Milford book clubs and Woburn bowling teams next! ; )
highhopes says
Mayor Murray pulled away with 1 vote from the “N D F A”, stay tune for more endorsements. After having the a couple hundred or so, I guess you can expect to lose one once in awhile.
frankskeffington says
It still won’t change basic facts:
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Newton has the 3rd largest amount of Democratic primary voters in ’02 (2,000 more than “the second largest city in the state”)
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Newton is a very liberal community.
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One of the key networks of progressive politics in Newton OVERWHELMINGLY endorsed Silbert. At the very least, that is a strong indication of how liberal Newton will be voting.
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Who’s snickering now?
hlpeary says
Frank…Newton and Brookline will split between their 2 favorite females…only Deb’s commercials every second and a half and Andrea’s a bit odd debate performances may give Deb the edge…all to Murray’s benefit.
highhopes says
Newton will be split 3 ways, so please Andrea increase your media buys, please ! Mayor Murray needs you to help in the liberal cities,because Goldy is so well liked in these communties,just ask her.
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By the way, show me where Tim is a conservative D. Oh,maybe due to the fact he is tough on allowing social services/non paying taxes agencies into his city? Because he wants to make sure that they conform to the standards they say they are going to be conducting.
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Or is it the fact that bigger cities and towns have to face the burden of having to have more, and more once taxable properties, now taken off the tax rolls. But where Silbert comes from I am sure there are hundreds of soicial services in her neighborhood.
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Come on smell the coffee and wake up. People in this state deserve more then lip service, have Andrea come up with some real solutions.
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Also, tell her to sell one of her properties in Brookline to increase her media.
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Go Murray !
migraine says
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2. I would be curious to know your name and involvement in the social services issue… you sound pretty NIMBY to me. It’s one thing to believe that the Dover Amendment needs revision, it’s certainly a whole other issue to discriminate in application of Dover projects by only targeting social service agencies and not other Dover protected projects like tax exempt religious institutions, a huge amount of tax exempt state owned properties (if your concern really is revenue relating to tax exempt property, as opposed to people who are different than you) and so on. It seems to me that such selective use of Dover principles is veiled xenophobia.
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3. You said “People in this state deserve more then lip service, have Andrea come up with some real solutions.” I just want to point that Andrea is the only LG candidate who has come out with a comprehensive plan re: a serious issue facing our state (homelessness) — no other LG candidate has come out with a plan, just ideas, which is actually just fine with me, but since you brought it up I thought you should be corrected.
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Although I support Andrea and have from pretty much day one, I think Murray is a great candidate and has some great things to say. Like Andrea, he certainly has experience that would add something to the executive (sorry Deb). Moral of this: why the negativity towards Andrea? Maybe I’m reading you wrong but I read what you wrote thinking it was a big dig (so to speak) at Andrea and not particularly affirming that Tim is everything you seem to think he is.
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WR
highhopes says
I am not taking shots at Silbert. I was only saying that Murray has a proven record, yes there are things that we all will agree to disagree, but in the end he has shown that he is not afraid to make a tough vote. As far as the MCAS testing, untill one can show me that our children are at the levels of passing across the entire spectrum then we need to have some level to monitor our children.
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I have stated before that I think Andrea has alot to offer in public service, I feel that she should have started at a lower level. She has done and made some great points, as matter of fact if both Tim and Andrea by far have raised some great issues. But I think that Murray’s ability to hit the ground running without any assistance is a an asset that neither Silbert nor Goldberg can offer.
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will says
To say that Andrea Silbert should start in government in a lower level of government than Tim Murray, based on their qualifications, is absurd. You take Andrea Silbert from her non-profit organization to a private venture capital firm, and you have Chris Gabrielli. Lieutenant Governor is the lowest possible office Andrea Silbert should be running for.
smart-sexy-&-liberal says
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2. There is no Xenophobia going on here. Stop pointing fingers and lets get back to the facts. Worcester has a huge immigrant population from Brazil, Liberia, Albania, Ghana, Mexico, the Phillipines, the Dominican Republic, etc. Mayor Murray has worked with non-profits and government agencies to ensure that these communities have an opportunity to make it in this country just as his own grandparents did when they came over from Ireland. As for the Dover Ammendment, I think we can all admit that at the Keller debate, Silbert did not understand the issue of homelessness nor the role of the Dover Ammendment in cities & towns.
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3. I think what Highhopes was referring to was the fact that Mayor Murray has released 6 proposals on Public Safety (MASS C.O.P.S.), Jobs & Community Development, Education, Commuter Rail, A Municipal Bill of Rights, etc. While Silbert releases a plan to END homelessness. Now lets compare & contrast. Tim Murray: specific issue/community driven proposals that will better the lives of all Massachusetts residents, by tackling issues that effect every soci-economic level and portion of their lives. Andrea Silbert: Unrealistic/idealistic driven proposal. “I want to end world hunger, homelessness, and give everyone a job (who needs training programs or agencies to get people back on their feet).”
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Murray doesn’t need to come up with a plan to END Homlessness, because he has worked with social service agencies & non-profits in Worcester to prevent families from being homeless. He has also worked with environmental groups & Housing agencies to clear brownfields & put in more affordable living so that families can afford to put a roof over their head. As the Mayor pointed out in the debate – Worcester has far more affordable housing offered than Silbert’s own home of Harwich.
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As I stated in my title, the negativity is a response to the attacks put out by Silbert & her supporters. People who support Murray are not about to sit back and relax as people make false accusations or claims about any candidate they support. Silbert seems like a smart woman – but does that mean I want her to be my next Lt. Governor? No.
smart-sexy-&-liberal says
She said it herself in the Cambridge Chroncicle:
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“Silbert said she favors the MCAS and standards should be held and met but something needs to be done in order to lighten the stress in correlation to the exam. ‘Going back to square one is not the right approach,’ said Silbert saying eliminating the exam would be a step in the wrong direction. ‘I’m in favor of it as a graduation requirement.'”
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Can we say “flip flop.” Looks like Silbert is copying Murray again. First with Commuter Rail & Affordable Housing and now with the MCAS.
geoffrey-firmin says
You are a complete one trick pony when it comes to this issue. Look, you like Tim Murray. We get it. He’s a good guy and a great mayor/city councilor. Andrea is a good person too. She’s also a smart and talented economic development professional.
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Why not stop this obsessive compulsion to look for ways to portray Andrea in a negative light and stick to telling us why Tim would make a good LG. Your jibes and acerbic responses in this area have grown old very quickly. And, no, you are not just pointing out the truth (Andrea was talking about regional rail when I first saw her last summer), and no, its not that Silbert people can dish it out and can’t take it. Frankly, most Silberty supporters here have been very gracious towards Murray. We just think Andrea is the better candidate.
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Do us all a favor, lets keep ths race civil and about issues/experience, not down at the gutter.
smart-sexy-&-liberal says
All I did was point out that Silbert changed positions on an issue that one of her supporters “Migrane” condemned Murray on. It is as simple as that. If you read this entire post you would find that I defended Silbert against a fellow Murray supporter, and that I respect Andrea as an intelligent, strong-willed, and idealistic candidate. BUT, like you I think that Mayor Murray is the better/Best Candidate for Lt. Governor.
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Lastly, in response to keeping this race civil and about issues and experience . . please explain to me how any of my comments under this post are not issue and/or experience oriented. I take offense to your comment that my pointing out an article in the Cambridge Chronicle that details Andrea’s position on the MCAS is from “the gutter.” I am sure the Cambridge Chronicle would take offense as well.
geoffrey-firmin says
you have taken every opportunity to slight andrea possible. Just go to your own post record. Yes, occasionally, someone signs up for a day and posts something that is not reflective of the candidate or the campaign. However, you are not a one timer here and the overwhelming number of Andrea supporters that regularly post here have been complementary of Tim. Your claim that your posts are not anti-silbert but “just pointing out facts” doesn’t hold water.
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As far as I know, Andrea has not changed her position on anything. And, as far as taking tough positions, the fact that she lives on the Cape and supports Cape Wind should tell you all you need to know about her political courage.
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smart-sexy-&-liberal says
Look at every single post I have put up. Every single one of my posts refer to something positive about Murray, with the exception of one that criticizes the Mass Dem Party and one that calls Silbert on her characterization of the Mayor an insider and herself an outsider (which I still strongly disagree with).
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Why don’t you stop attacking me for a second and concentrate on helping your candidate. And remember we have one common enemy the Republicans. And after Sept. 19th we will need to work together to win.
theopensociety says
But Tim Murray needs more than high hopes…
highhopes says
It great that you feel that Murray has no chance. I have said it many times Murray’s camp is well organized and will has enough media coverage to off set the Goldberg’s millions. In politicals,especially, in a “low turnout” race the main focus will be on GOTV, and this where Murray and his troops will pull this off.
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Hurry,hurry, vote for Murray !
migraine says
I’m a huge Andrea fan, but seriously Dorie, you’re getting paid how much to post the endorsement of 11 people? The least you can do is not post the number and say something like Andrea won the Newton DFA by an 11-1 margin or something. Is 11 people worth posting?
cos says
11 randomly selected people doesn’t matter much. But when, for example, the 3 or 4 board members of a major pro-choice or environmental organization decide to endorse a candidate, it’s considered very meaningful. Obviously this case is in the middle.
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Democracy for America has about 20,000 members in Massachusetts who receive its mailings and who presumably care what the organization recommends. A majority of them do not regularly attend a local group meeting. However, there are a number of active groups around the state that do meet regularly. When they hold endorsement votes, not everyone in the local group votes, but most of those who are most active, do.
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Several DFA groups have endorsed Andrea Silbert, including DFA Cambridge. The national DFA organization hasn’t endorsed anyone for LG in Massachusetts (though they have endorsed Deval Patrick for Governor). So this endorsement is meaningful for three reasons:
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1. DFA members in Massachusetts may be swayed by seeing what candidates the local groups here in MA endorse. If they see that, say, 3 or 4 local groups have endorsed Andrea and none have endorsed either of the others (which is currently the case), they’ll think of Andrea as “the candidate supported by Dean Democrats” and are more likely to pick her.
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2. Andrea Silbert’s message is, in part, that she’s the most progressive candidate. The other candidates also say they’re progressive, because a lot of voters want to vote for the progressive – so who is it? If Andrea can claim some DFA endorsements, on her literature or in a speech for example, it supports her message with some outside confirmation – more effective if she refers to DFA as “the organization founded by Howard Dean”, whose progressive brand is still strong with many voters.
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3. Active people matter a lot more than randomly selected people. The people who attend DFA meetings and vote in endorsements, are also very likely people who canvass, work for campaigns, and run for office. In fact, a member of DFA Newton ran for Newton board of aldermen last year, her first ever run for office, and was elected. The influence of 11 DFA local group voters is far out of proportion to their numbers, because they’re much more politically active than the average person – and because people know it.
highhopes says
Property owners should beware because Silbert is all for taking properties off the tax rolls and converting them into nonprofits, thus eliminating the revenue the city or town would get. Let’s face it when your dealing with someone else’s money it’s alot easier to make decisions, and Andrea’s nonprofit business was based on her getting the money from the Fed/State government.
slushpuppy says
with every anti-Silbert screed he posts. I encourage people to continue replying to his nonsense, because he seems determined to get the last word. And I now believe his arguments are actually helpful to Silbert.
smart-sexy-&-liberal says
thats just ridiculous. I personally think that Women in Enterprise is a fabulous non-profit that gives women the opportunity to succeed in the business/entrepenuerial world.
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Non-Profits are social service organizations and all the money raised goes toward operational costs, and toward expansion of services. Andrea’s organization provided aid to women and I commend her for that.
highhopes says
First of all I never,ever said that Silbert’s work was not note worthy?? What I have said all along was that she touts her record of accomplishments without letting people know that it was not her money that started the business. I think it’s great that people got the training and jobs through the nonprofit co. But let’s again be real, she did it with the help (giving her the cash) to start and continue to grow. There are thousands of educated people that apply for these grants and get turned down, I guess it’s all in who you know. You can try to spin it any way you want, but the facts remain that Andrea is a one issue candidate with no real leadership pertaining to local/state,or federal experience.
highhopes says
It took you awhile to figure this out, but I think Andrea’s votes help Tim, remember it has to be split 3 ways. And do you think for one minute anyone who gets on this, is not already committed. Good luck and keep on blogging !
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Sorry if I offended you !
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