After an Aug. 16 forum sponsored by the city’s Progressive Democrats of Cambridge-Democracy for America, Progressive Democrats of Somerville and this paper, the PDC-DFA voted unanimously to endorse for the City Councillor Anthony D. Galluccio for the Democratic nomination for the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex seat in the State Senate vacated by Jarrett T. Barrios’s resignation in July in the Sept. 11 primary.
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An endorsement sweep of progressive organizations, including two in the Senate District, would appear to show that Anthony Galluccio’s proven progressive voting record carries more weight then the character attack posted on BMG earlier this week.
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I make no excuses for Anthony’s past mistakes – those documented and those speculated on. However, since I and most people I know, have made mistakes in the past, judging Galluccio’s character based om media reports isn’t a road I want to travel.
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Galluccio has now been endorsed by the progressive organizations and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Anthony has always been a working class progressive. He will make a great State Senator.
I couldnt agree with you more. Personally I think “progressives” that do not feel Anthony Galluccio is feel that way because he is not a yuppie, he still has great constitutent services, and he opposed rent control (which is counter intuitive since thats how the yuppies got their condos but I digress). The DUI crap is just an attempt to get back at someone they disliked.
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Notice nobody is talking about Jeff Ross’s car accident or illegal campaign finance contributions are they? No because he is a carpet bagging “progressive” in the Barrios mold.
JConway,
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You keep suggesting that Ross had some problem with his accident and that he’s had illegal campaign contributions – how about some proof?
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The accident, according to reports, happened middle of the morning while Ross was at a full stop and hit from behind by another driver. So how does this damn Ross?
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The only campaign contribution thing I’ve seen was an article in the Cambridge Chronicle that started off with language suggesting Ross went astray of federal and state campaign finance laws only to conclude the article with quotes from OCPF saying that Ross did nothing wrong because he paid to rent the space, just like dozens of other candidates have done in the exact same location.
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I’d be happy to tell you about my personal experience with him if you’re really interested. Or you can just search this site for my account.
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but that’s entirely illogical.
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if we can’t judge character on media reports, does that mean we can’t judge bush, cheney, rice, et al….because none of us know them personally?
Seems to me the “cambridge progessives” know where their bread is buttered. Courage of your convictions, anyone?
I talked to people who were at the debate. They said that Galluccio had the best command of the issues, and the best experience and ideas.
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I know you don’t like him, and I would never suggest that your views are unjustified.
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Why would you suggest that the Progressive Dems endorsed him for some reason other than he is the best candidate?
And how did the Progressive Democrats of Somerville vote. And by the way, just out of curiosity, what is the approximate circulation of the Alewife? Are any copies available on-line?
About 100 people attended the 2-hour long forum, which was filmed by CCTV and will presumably air on Cambridge cable channels 9 and/or 10 a number of times between next week and the Sept 11 primary.
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Summarizing the discusssion at the Progressive Democrats of Cambridge – DFA endorsement meeting, our endorsement of Anthony Galluccio was based primarily on his long-standing commitment to statewide progressive issues, and his progressive voting record as a City Councillor and Mayor of Cambridge.
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Progressive Democrats of Somerville will be taking up the question of endorsement in the Middlesex, Suffok & Essex race at their regular monthly meeting on August 28.
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And as I understand it, The Alewife is sent — free! — to every residence in ZIP Code 02140, i.e. Porter Sq, North Cambridge and part of West Cambridge (about 25% of the City), and is also distributed city-wide at grocery stores, bookstores, cafes, etc. (Shameless plug: living in mid-Cambridge, I usually try to pick one up at the Harvest Co-op.) Much of its content is online at http://www.thealewife.com.
If Anthony is so progressive why did he fight so hard tooth and nail against Alice Wolf and all supporters of rent control in the early 1990s? With the end of rent control in Cambridge has drastically changed the demographics of this city and has made home ownership completely unaffordable for the very same working class people that Anthony says he supports.
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The only reason the so called progressives are supporting Anthony is because they believe that it is his race to lose and they don’t want to anger a sitting City Councillor who by the way is also running for re-election as a Cambridge City Councillor.
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If you are interested in a new voice and someone who will fight for progressive issues check out Tim Flaherty’s website at http://www.flahertyf…
If Anthony is so progressive why did he fight so hard tooth and nail against Alice Wolf and all supporters of rent control in the early 1990s? The end of rent control in Cambridge has drastically changed the demographics of this city and has made home ownership completely unaffordable for the very same working class people that Anthony says he supports.
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The only reason the so called progressives are supporting Anthony is because they believe that it is his race to lose and they don’t want to anger a sitting City Councillor who, by the way, is also running for re-election as a Cambridge City Councillor.
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If you are interested in a new voice and someone who will fight for progressive issues check out Tim Flaherty’s website at http://www.flahertyf…
It’s interesting to see rent control brought back as an issue in this race. Let me remind everyone that when an initiative petition to bring back rent control to Cambridge appeared in 2003, it was defeated 8-1 by the Cambridge City Council and voted down decisively by the voters of Cambridge. My quote at the time: “The Rent Control Initiative Petition was defeated by a 61.4% to 38.6% margin – 7832 votes in favor and 12467 votes opposed. This lopsided defeat probably marks the permanent end of rent control as an issue in Cambridge.”
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I guess I was only half right. There are some who will continue to use this issue long after the dog has died.
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Some of the primary arguments against rent control were that it prevented any kind of comprehensive affordable housing program and that it did nothing to encourage new housing. Rent-controlled properties were also rapidly deteriorating after 25 years under the ordinance. It has also been claimed that most of the controlled housing units were occupied by people who would not have qualified for the housing had there been income guidelines.
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I’m not thrilled with the escalating cost of housing or the fact that so many apartments have now been turned into investment condos, but this problem clearly extends beyond the bounds of post-rent-control Cambridge. Are we to blame the end of rent control for the rise in housing costs in Somerville, Arlington, and just about everywhere else in the area? Clearly there are other, more significant factors.
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Furthermore, if you look at the demographic data available from Cambridge’s Community Development Department, you’ll find that the demographic shifts in Cambridge, especially in the neighborhoods around Central Square, were well underway long before the end of rent control.
I’m sure that would be news to his father, ex-speaker Charlie Flaherty, who now lobbies on behalf of National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, who self describe themselves as “actively represent(ing) the real estate industry?s interest in the State House while keeping members abreast of current legislation on Federal, State and local levels.”
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He must be quite the tenant activist.
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I did not say Tim supported restoring rent control nor was I aware of Mr. Flaherty’s current client list but he is representing an industry today based on the current law, as established by the Small Property Owner’s Association and people like Anthony. My point is that Anthony, the “progressive” actively opposed and defeated the one issue in Cambridge that benefited the most working class people, affordable rents. In addition, he ran against Alice Wolf, one of our most progressive democartic state reps, not once when the seat was vacated by Speaker Flaherty but a second time even after she had established herself as a leading progressive on Beacon Hill? His pitch then to voters was that he was the more working class conservative candidate. So which is it? Progressive or conservative? You can point to Mr. Flaherty’s record today as a lobbyist dealing with the laws as they currently exist but I am talking about the position Anthony took when it counted. Not very progressive. More like the chameleon candidate.
Which is it? You are using the issue or rent control as a point of differentiation between the two candidates.
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Well either Rent Control was a good policy or it wasn’t. If it was “the one issue in Cambridge that benefited the most working class people” wouldn’t “progressive” Tim Flaherty be abdicating his responsibility as a candidate for public office in not actively working to bring it back? If it was not a good policy, is his opposition to it any different than Galluccio?
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It still counts just as much now as it did then, or is Flaherty as a State Senator going to let laws that he disagrees with stay on the books?
Galluccio seemed to have the endorsement sewn up before the event started. There were many Flaherty sign holders as you would expect to see on Election Day. But not a single Galluccio sign. Maybe he did not call out his signs because he did not need them.
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It was bad form by the Progressive Democrats of Cambridge to allow only one live question from the audience. This one question was asked by Galluccio’s sister.
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I had almost forgotten the name David Scondras, a former City Councilor in Boston. His name was on the Progressive Democrats of Cambridge-DFA (Democracy for America) flyer that was available at the event. He is listed on the At-Large PDC-DFA Steering Committee. Not long after the event, Scondras became a convicted sex offender, and will have to register as one. He has been ordered to stay away from children. The PDA-DFC should be aware of this if future events are open to children. Man his this guy hit bottom.