Hi, my name is Nathan and I want to introduce you to the next state senator from the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex district, Jeff Ross. I support Jeff Ross to replace Jarrett Barrios in the state senate special Democratic Primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 11. I ask for your support. Please join me at the polls on Sept. 11 and vote for Jeff Ross, the progressive Democrat.
As a member of the Board of Advisors for the Boston Young Professionals Association and Director of Publicity & Promotions for the organization, I have focused on the grass roots issues. I am Chair of the Boston Nightlife Coalition and a former council member on the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Young Bostonians where I also served as Chair of the Housing Sub-Committee. I am a member of NARAL Pro-Choice of MA and a student at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
I tell you all this so that you see that I believe Jeff Ross supports the issues that I work hard to protect and I have closest to my heart. Jeff Ross is the progressive candidate in this race and I am working hard to make sure he replaces the retiring senator who has worked so hard for this district.
Again, please join me and vote for the progressive democrat, Jeff Ross, at the polls on Sept. 11
OPEN LETTER TO MAYORS, CITY COUNCILORS, LOCAL POLICE, COMMUNITY LEADERS AND NEIGHBORS
After the strong momentum created by the support and enthusiasm of the formation of my exploratory committee for the state senate last week, I am proud to officially announce my candidacy for the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex district state senate seat to be vacated by Jarrett Barrios on July 5. I am the progressive democrat in this election and have a track record of strong and influential advocacy on the critical issues of the day that currently face our vibrant and diverse district as well as our state. Our community?s concerns demand that we strengthen the relationship between local and state officials. I am a pragmatic consensus builder, who will build upon the outstanding work of Senator Barrios toward strengthening our towns, securing our neighborhoods, providing affordable housing, better access to healthcare, progressive economic development and commonsense law enforcement. My grandfather dedicated his life to serving as a firefighter, which caused me to develop an immense respect for the work of our public safety officials. I am a long-time supporter of the Fraternal Order of Police. I advocate a commonsense approach to law enforcement.
In order for law enforcement to be most effective, I believe there must be strong ties between local police and the communities they protect. I supported the ?Banned in ?Boston program, a public and private partnership to create an improv forum for dialogue between local police and young people. In response to community complaints in Brockton, I organized and co-founded the Brockton Task Force on Civil Rights with Bishop Teixeira. The task force has been established to bring a diverse community of state and national leaders together with community advocates from Brockton to create a forum for a safe and progressive dialog with the local officials on issues that will build understanding and promote progressive justice. In 2003, I drafted a senate bill and sent it to Governor Romney to strengthen notary regulation and assist the attorney general?s office in prosecuting fraud on marginalized immigrant communities. The Boston Globe carried the story on July 3, 2003. Instead of submitting the bill to the legislature, Romney enacted a weak version of the bill as an Executive Order. Senator Sue Tucker took a more commonsense approach to creating creating a private right of action to redress victims of “notario” scams in poor immigrant communities. I have been a strong and influential advocate on Senator Tucker?s more sensible legislation. When elected, I will work hard to build consensus and strengthen relationships between the towns and the State House that were broken during the previous gubernatorial administration. Because we need safer streets in light of the recent tragic shooting in Boston, I support Mayor Menino?s proposal to halt firearm trafficking. My experience makes me the best candidate to replace senator Barrios on Beacon Hill. Only by working together can we achieve this goal. I ask you to go to the polls and ask for your vote in the special democratic primary election on Sept. 11. Very truly yours, Jeff Ross, state senate candidate, Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex
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2. Do you have a job?
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3. Are you educated?
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4. How old are ya?
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5. Anything else we should know?
Town online has some more info.
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Thank you for your comments. I share you concerns about the district. I moved to the district to work on issue that I care deeply about. Im pleased we can use this forum to talk about the legislative agenda that will best suit us as a collective body of residents of this district. The senate was intended to be a deliberative body by our founding father. As you will come to see, I have a proven track record of proactive policy making and coalition building at the state level. My job is to represent all of the residents of this district. Our goal is to work together toward progress.
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I worked on the California senate race back in 1992 and was part of a massive team that helped elect the first two women senators from California. It was a time in history that I am proud to be a part of. It was the year when many were elected nation wide. When Senator Feinstein took office as a freshmen senator, I spent a year with her on Capitol Hill. After that, I participated in a training program at the United States Embassy in Paris, France in the summer of 1994. In the fall of 1994, I worked on Senator Ted Kennedy?s re-election race against Mitt Romney.
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I went to Northeastern University School of Law. Back in 1996, I worked in Cambridge at the Harvard University Kennedy School of government. I worked for one of the most respected judges in the country back then. I spent several years analyzing supreme court jurisprudence and working on affirmative action and writing on the subject. I am proud that our work had an impact on the supreme court?s jurisprudence on affirmative action cases decided in the 1990s. Sadly, the conservatives on the supreme court just reversed part of those decisions and there is a lot of work to be done on these issues that affect us all. I understand these issues and have been working on them for more than a decade. We are under attacks that will curtail our civil liberties and affect us all. I understand the solutions. That is why this district needs me as their senator.
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I have been a long time supporter of women?s right?s issues and the movement in general. When Kerry Healey and Mitt Romney rewrote the regulations at the state registry of motor vehicles in violation of the administrative procedures act and tried to force right wing Real Id policy on the commonwealth of plaintiff?s, I was among the first to discover that it discriminated against victims of domestic violence. For this reason, I ran and produced an ad campaign to be a strong and influential voice on this issue. I helped form the core group of plaintiffs to sue the Romney Administration last December and have been part of a team working to make the state licensing rules fairer.
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As an openly gay candidate, I am sensitive to the issues that affect the LGBT community. I will be an ardent advocate to fight for equality and equal rights. As a human rights lawyer and speaker of four languages, I understand the issues of diversity that affect this district. I will continue to work hard and work to include us all in the legislative process.
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I have been working on issues that affect this district with the senate of Massachusetts and advocacy groups on legislation at the state level since 2003. I have the ability to be pragmatic consensus builder and move this district forward. This is just a beginning; there are many other issues for us to talk about over the long term. I am glad for this exchange. Together we can be strong and influential advocates for progressive justice. I ask for your support, your understanding and your vote on Sept. 11 ? Best to you all, Jeff Ross
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No offense I like California liberals, but I personally know a Cambridge liberal named Anthony Galluccio and he has been a neighbor of mine my whole life, where the hell are you coming from Ross? Are you just looking for an easy quick advance to another career like Barrios another outsider not invested in the district? Or do you actually live here, know your neighbors, know our concerns, and know where we stand on local issues beyond vague declarations of “being a progressive”?
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Sorry but until you answer these questions you won’t be considered for the job.
I was born and raised in Cambridge, I went through all the public schools here, I graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin last summer and yes I went to school in Chicago. But I live here, my roots are here, my family is still here, and I want to live here.
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Unlike you your probably another yuppie who moved to Davis square when it became trendy after graduating from law school. Dont give me that David.
I grew up in Cambridge, went to public school in Cambridge, my folks still live in Cambridge, and I now live in Medford. I’ve never lived in Davis Square. Get over yourself and your attitude, and grow a sense of humor. And please, please, learn how to construct a sentence using correct English grammar.
You have learned what it feels like to make a baseless assumption about someones backround, please don’t do it again. to me or anyone else here on these forums.
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And now I’m just wondering which school? It is possible we might have had the same teachers.
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Priceless.
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And no, no teachers in common. I’ve got a few years on you, young man.
(1) What makes you interested in/qualified to represent a district that you don’t even live in? I looked you up, and you live in Boston. Do you have any idea what issues matter to people in cambridge, somerville, everett, saugus, etc? Why would you even run for a seat in a district that you have no connection to?
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(2) Are you aware that the individual listed as your “deputy press secretary” on your recent press release is a registered republican? It seems a little weird that “the progressive democrat” would have a republican on his campaign.
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(3) Please, please tell me that you aren’t the same jeff ross that donated money to mitt romney….these things are public record, you know!
I think he lives in Cambridge actually. That’s what I’d understood. Maybe he’s only moved their recently, I’m not sure.
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He’s going to have to work awfully hard to be “the progressive” in this race. Seems like there are others who will make that same claim.
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It will be nice if all the candidates work the race to the left. Seems like Galluccio and Tim Flaherty are going to work the progressive vote. Anyone else coming into this race?
If he lives in Cambridge, he moved here really, really recently. like three days ago. He’s lived in the South End of Boston for a long time, and as far as I can tell, every one of his connections in Massachusetts is to Boston (except for that Brockton task force he mentions, which i’d never heard of.) I don’t know, I think I’ll probably vote for one of the progressive candidates with stronger ties to the community here. But I’ll listen to what he has to say first.
I believe that the progressive candidate from Cambridge with “stronger ties to the community” you are talking about is Anthony Galluccio. You seem to have done a fair share of research about Jeff Ross. What about Galluccio? Wasn’t he convicted for assualting a Harvard student and stealing his jacket? Hasn’t he been arrested for 3 drunk driving incidents within the past several years? Gosh that’s my kind of progressive candidate! đŸ˜€
Paul Nowicki might run as well…
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Another hat in the ring for Barrios seat
July 2nd, 2007 by David Harris
Chelsea City Councilor Paul Nowicki is expected to announce his candidacy for Sen. Jarrett Barrios seat at the State House sometime this week.
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Nowicki has served eight terms as a city councilor in Chelsea.
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found at: http://blogs.townonl…
…I really don’t understand the rage that some people have againt “carpetbaggers” moving into thier area and running for office. If Shaq wanted to play for the Celtics, or if Cornell West decided that he wanted to teach at Harvard again, I’ll go out on a limb and say you would raise zero objections because of where they grew up.
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So, why not give the same consiteration to a transplant to Cambridge who decides that he/she wants to run for office? Need I remind you, Governor Patrick is no native of Massachusetts, being born and spending the first 14 years of his life in Chicago. Being an Ill. native, and having spend her adult life all over the country did not make Hillary ineligable for the US Senate in the eyes of the voters of New York state. She was 53 when the Clintons first bought property in NY. Ditto for Obama, who was out of college by the time he first moved to Chicago.
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I wonder, did you direct the same rage against Barrios, when he ran for office? I mean, it really doens’t matter how well he does his job right, how dare he even think about running for office in Cambridge, when he only moved here at age 18 or so to go to college!
I don’t have any rage towards this candidate. I am, however, somewhat distrustful of someone who moves to a district overnight, seemingly in order to run for a state senate seat. I would note that a major difference between Barrios and this individual is that the outgoing senator lived in Cambridge for a number of years and was familiar with the area before he ran. Similarly, our governor has lived in Massachusetts since 1989. I’ll give the guy a chance, once I hear what his actual policy positions are on something besides law enforcement, but at the moment, I feel more comfortable with a known commodity who has some stake in the community he is seeking to represent. I will be especially interested in what he has to say about immigration issues, since he seems to specialize in immigration law. That seems encouraging to me.
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overnight.
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…New Yorkers were insane to elect sHillary Clinton senator from NYS. So would Arkansans have been. Maybe Illinoisans?
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Honestly, this jingoism is a bit too much. Apparently, the only people that should be elected are people like Cochise.
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/sarcasm
I love that word.
Sounds like the candidacy will implode before it really begins.
If David says this is an interesting candidate, I’ll take his word for it. I’d like to see, given Barrios’s work on it, some words on glbt civil rights, but I’m going to make the assumption that a “progressive” candidate is really progressive. However, if it’s another politician trying to steal the word progressive, I won’t be too keen on that.
I can’t believe you guys are giving him such a hard time!
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His “Open Letter” mentions the words “progressive” and “diversity” several times. Goodness, he also talks about an “improv forum” for dialogue between the police and young people.
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LOL.
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I’m sorry, but his letter reads like it was written by someone trying to sound as far-left as possible.
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This has to be a parody.
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..at the Barrios event, and he told me he’d vote for the Municipal Partnership Act if elected. That’s pretty progressive. I wonder what stance the other canidates have on the MPA.
In his role as a Cambridge City Councillor, Anthony Galluccio voted along with all of his colleagues to support an Order completely endorsing the proposed Municipal Partnership Act.
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http://www.cambridge…
but then, so what?
from his law firm’s website, http://www.ross-law.com :
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JEFF ROSS
Partner
jross@ross-law.com
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EXPERIENCE
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Jeff Ross practices Immigration Law with concentration in business immigration. Mr. Ross has experience representing clients before federal, state and local agencies as well as before state and federal courts. Represents companies in the U.S. and abroad in obtaining temporary and permanent work permits in the United States. Represents individuals in obtaining temporary and permanent work permits in the United States.
Mr. Ross has represented a wide variety of businesses and individuals in the preparation of applications and has worked with a variety of Consulates in obtaining permanent immigration status for his clients. In addition, Mr. Ross has represented on a pro bono basis, individuals seeking political asylum in the United States from persecution in their home countries.
Mr. Ross’s practice also covers all facets of law and procedural matters under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), with specific emphasis on providing strategic planning to growing companies and multinational corporations in their approach to emerging markets. Mr. Ross has organized trade missions and assisted clients seeking to manufacture and develop trading relationships abroad.
Mr. Ross served as student law clerk to Hon. A Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Emeretis, 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and Hon. Timothy M. Boudewyns, U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island and has held positions at Harvard University, the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Embassy Paris, and the U.S. Senate. Mr. Ross is Fluent in French and Spanish.
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PRACTICE AREAS
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Business Immigration
Trade
Real Estate
Government Affairs
Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights
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EDUCATION
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Northeastern University School of Law, Juris Doctor (1997)
University of Southern California, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science (1994)
University of Paris IV, Sorbonne
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BAR ADMISSIONS
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Supreme Judicial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
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MEMBERSHIP
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Massachusetts Bar Association
Boston Bar Association
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Panel Attorney, Volunteer Lawyers Project
Panel Attorney, Cambridge Legal Services and Counseling Center
Panel Attorney, Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR)
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HONORS
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Board of Directors, Legal Counsel, Guatemalan Association of Massachusetts, Non-Profit (2003 – present)
Board of Directors, Legal Counsel, Vice President, Boston KIDsmART, Non-profit Special Recognition for representing pro bono clients through the Volunteer Lawyers Project (2002 – 2004)
Served as Editor for cooperative law journal, The Forum, at Northeastern University School of Law
Legal Counsel and Trustee for the US-Guatemala Chamber of Commerce of New England, Non-Profit (2004-present)
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RECENT PUBLICATIONS
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Contributing Journalist, La Samana Newspaper
Contributing Journalist, AM 1600 Morning Show with Rene Funes
Contributing Journalist, Orale con Veronica
PRESS RELEASE
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Progressive Democratic Senate Candidate Jeff Ross Urges the Cambridge City Council to Adopt a Resolution Supporting Representative?s Sciortino?s Gender Identity and Expression Anti-Discrimination Bill
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July 16, 2007 Contact: Irena Zolotova
Deputy Press-Secretary
(617) 821-9953
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CAMBRIDGE, MA ? Progressive Democrat Jeff Ross, who in late June publicly announced his candidacy for the Middlesex, Suffolk, Essex district Senate seat to fill the vacancy left by Senator Jarrett Barrios, came out in public support of H 1772, An Act Relative to Gender Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes, filed by State Representative for the 34 Middlesex district, Carl Sciortino.
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?This bill creates strong anti-discrimination protections for individuals whose gender identity or expression does not conform to gender stereotypes. As an openly gay man, I am fully aware of what it feels like to be discriminated against,? said Ross.
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Transgender people face widespread prejudice throughout the Commonwealth, but Massachusetts General Laws currently affords them no explicit protections. Nine other states, the District of Columbia and 81 counties and cities nationwide, including Boston, Cambridge and Northampton have laws in place that prohibit discrimination of transgender individuals. ?I find it hard to imagine that our Commonwealth, which prides itself on being a champion of civil liberties, does not protect transgender individuals from discrimination and hate crimes,? said Ross. ?As a candidate for the Senate and a citizen of the Commonwealth, I wholeheartedly support this bill?s passage.?
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In the meantime, Ross, who is a resident of Cambridge, has called upon the Cambridge City Council to pass a resolution supporting H 1772. ?This bill is critical to ensure that gender identity and expression are included in the state?s non-discrimination statute and hate crime laws,? Ross wrote in a letter delivered today to the Cambridge City Hall. ?This bill will ensure the protection of transgender people is explicit and uniform throughout the Commonwealth.?
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Ross is the only openly gay candidate currently running to fill the seat vacated by Senator Barrios. He has been an outspoken advocate on marriage equality in the Commonwealth and worked hard to temper the Republican dissemination of hateful anti-gay propaganda. ?I believe that the Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals,? Ross says on his website, http://www.Ross4senate.org. ?As an openly gay candidate, I am sensitive to the issues that affect the LGBT community. I will continue to be an ardent advocate for equal rights and fundamental dignity.?
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Found at http://www.ross4senate.org
The core progressive issues in Cambridge, Somerville, Everett and Brighton have long history and many battles. Housing is not merely a matter of a 40B set aside where the last gasp of rent control still rankles. GLBT politics existed way before marriage, and will ripple through the lives of children yet unborn as the roots of deep, cultural discrimination gradually erode. Racism, sexism, and classism aren’t even rare in this district and most of Massachusetts.
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It’s good to see that nice, liberal lawyers want to contribute to political solutions. It’s insulting that they think they should begin as State Senator.
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For one very tiny bit of advice: he should get to know this district a little better before he says that single pay plan will even begin to address the critical medical needs here. Cambridge has HAD a single pay system for decades – through a municipal hospital, and, now, through a huge subsidy for the Cambridge Health Alliance. Since that privatization, however, death by cancer among black males has increased TEN FOLD, and among their white peers has declined by ONE THIRD. It takes more than money to make disenfranchised people, who perceive themselves as poor, as unable to pay an already subsidized medical cost, feel welcome in preventive treatment. That’s why they die and it takes a lot more than lip service to solve that problem, which, along with violence in Chelsea, is the key medical problem in this district.
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There are at least ten years of meetings the guy’s got before we could trust him to act in any way consistent with the range of concerns in this district. It’s not whether he was born here that makes him a carpetbagger, it’s those damn meetings. We don’t know him. He sounds nice, but there are other guys who’ve put in their time, done their job, and earned our support. Galluccio particularly is a lot more real a progressive – in terms that are consistent across the class and ethnic lines of these very divided cities – than any newcomer could begin to understand.
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Would Ross be the one to turn to when Harvard wants your house in Brighton? Would it be Ross you see when your cousin can’t get a visa? Would you call Ross when your landlord dies and a yuppie buys and wants half a million for your apartment? Would Ross help when a neighbor has a breakdown and bounces between the Health Alliance, DMH and some hospital in Westborough? Would he even know who to call if your kid, thinking to score some cash for a heavy date, got caught selling an ounce? Would he be the one to see when your mother can’t get into elderly housing when she needs it? I’d go to Tony with any of those, and, in fact, have sent people to him for years with all of those and other problems. Those he can’t solve directly, he creates policies to address. But I know he does it because I’ve seen him do it.
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That is what government is in this district, and Ross simply is not ready.
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And it’s not that Ross isn’t smart. Surely his resume is fine, and his academic and legal roots are perfectly tuned to swing those who really don’t know how politics works to support a nice, gay, non-ethnic whitebread. For that matter, he could be as tough as the other guys, but has never been tested in this kind of forum. So what in the world gives him the idea that this is where you start?!
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Probably Jarrett. And even Jarrett knew better, by starting with the House. Too bad a potentially decent progressive has to be so arrogant to think he can trump all of us who have actually GONE to those damn meetings, by jumping in to “lead” us where we’ve been going all along.
I could try for years and never come close to capturing what JoeB has so brilliantly expressed here.
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Anyone who sees himself or herself as “progressive” would do well to heed JoeB’s words and to measure the candidates accordingly.
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Here is Tim Flaherty’s bio. He is definitely getting traction in Cambridge and Charlestown based on two events I have seen him at recently. Several influential Boston and Cambridge politicians from the district were at his fundraiser last night. I won’t use their names since they may not be openly endorsing anyone but it would indicate that they believe he has a serious shot in this race.
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Bio:
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A former Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney, Flaherty, 42, is formally announcing his candidacy today. The expansive district includes parts of Cambridge and Boston (Charlestown and Allston/Brighton), Chelsea, Everett, and portions of Revere (Ward 6), Saugus, and Somerville.
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Flaherty, a life long resident of Cambridge with strong ties to the community and its traditions, attended Cambridge Public Schools before graduating from BC High, Boston College and Boston College Law School. He remains a active member of the Boston College community by serving as an adjunct professor of law in the Carroll School of Management. His wife Suzanne is a special needs teacher in the Newton Public School system.
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The grandson of a union bus driver ? Flaherty says he has had the good fortune to have benefited from a high quality education and the guidance of personal mentors who took an interest in his development. The son of former Speaker of the House, Charlie Flaherty, Timothy was raised in a household defined by public service. ?My upbringing taught me that good government is competent government that understands the needs of all its citizens and works hard every day to give them what they deserve ? opportunity for a better life.?
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After graduating from Law School, he chose to serve as in the Norfolk County District Attorney?s office as an Assistant District Attorney under now-Congressman William Delahunt. Flaherty rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming one of the youngest ADAs to prosecute major felonies including homicide cases. During his tenure Flaherty served as Chief of the Narcotics Unit, Chief of the Career Criminals Unit and member of the Homicide Team. Since 1999, Flaherty has built a successful private law practice where he has developed and enjoys a strong reputation for honesty, integrity and skill.
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Up until today, there has been much speculation about Flaherty?s candidacy for the State Senate. To this he empathically responds, ?I?m all in?. This week, Flaherty will open his campaign headquarters in Charlestown and has scheduled a major kickoff fundraiser event in Boston for July 31.
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write up a regular diary on why you support Flaherty. THat would be more interesting than just reposting the same comment over and over. What do you like about Flaherty and what’s he got the the others don’t?
Hi. Sorry for the delay in responding, I was away on vacation. I reposted on several strings because there appeared to be several strings running on this election.
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I like Tim Flaherty because I have known him and his family personally for 29 years. He and his family have deep roots in Cambridge and have spent many years working to improve the lives of others in their community through politics, the law, their local church, and education.
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He shares my progressive values (supports gay marriage, public education, health insurance for all, etc.). I think he is a fighter and passionate advocate and he is very loyal to his supporters. He does not see the office as something he is entitled to or deserves as Galluccio seems to think he does. The State Senate is lacking in people with the courage to challenge the status quo and Tim is someone who will fight for the issues he believes in, not just go along to get along.
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Those are my reasons.
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Thanks for you interest.
Here is the weblink to Tim’s website if you want more information.
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http://www.flahertyf…
Robert:
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Aren’t you a registered republican?