Many of us are concerned about making our mortgage payments and keeping jobs that provide health care for our families. We share a concern for our safety as the infrastructure around us deteriorates due to neglect. We want to be part of a community where our children are educated enough to thrive in a constantly changing global economy and grow up to live in a civil society. These concerns aren't unique to one part of the district but are common across the district and across the Commonwealth.
I believe that our state government can and must do more to support our local governments. The state government must provide the mechanisms by which local government can better diversify its funding sources. We must reduce our communities’ reliance on the property tax as the primary source of revenue. This will especially help seniors wanting to stay in their homes and young families just starting out. The over-reliance on the property tax as the primary funding mechanism for cities and towns creates great inequities from community to community across the Commonwealth. To begin to address this, I support and will fight for passage into law of the remaining pieces of the Municipal Partnership Act proposed by the Governor.
As someone responsible for finance and administration in a small business, every pay period I see the cost to both employers and employees of providing decent health insurance. The limited options and higher costs of health insurance plans that small group employers can provide make these enterprises less competitive in finding and keeping the best staff. The Commonwealth should move rapidly towards a single-payer health insurance system. This would help make small business, where most new job creation occurs, far more competitive and likely to succeed.
Last year, I had the opportunity and responsibility to coordinate Deval Patrick's campaign for Governor in this district. Throughout that campaign, I met with concerned citizens in every community in the district. I look forward to walking the district in this campaign and discussing the issues important to you.
It would be an honor to serve in the State Legislature as we work to make the Commonwealth a model for success in the 21st century. I pledge to be a Senator for the entire district. I respectfully ask for your support and your vote.
Robert D. Peters, Lexington, MA
email: rdpeters2007@gmail.com
I had the pleasure of working with Bob on the Deval Patrick campaign. He is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. He held a full time job and also worked more than full time on the campaign. There was a group of us in Burlington that had never really worked on a campaign before but we knew we really wanted to get Deval elected. Bob was with us every step of the way.
In the two years that I have known him it has been clear to me that Bob is passionate about what he believes in. Whenever I drive through Lexington center and see people holding political signs I know Bob is out there holding one for a progressive candidate or issue. In addition to holding signs I know he is also working hard on progressive issues behind the scenes.
If Bob became our representative in the Senate I can assure you that he would represent everyone in the district. He would work hard for all of us.
Will you support Jessica's Law if elected in MA?
I have known Bob for many years through Lexington town politics. Two years ago I got the good fortune to work with him more closely on the Deval Patrick campaign. I was a co-coordinator in Lexington, and he was our Senate District Coordinator. I agree that he was a hard worker, but in addition to that I learned what a truly nice guy Bob is. Even when things were hard, he kept his sense of humor, he stayed nice and friendly, and he still never ceases to amaze me with how many people he is connected with. He has an incredibly large network of contacts, and most everybody who knows him seems to really like him. Bob is a great progressive who will vote the “right” way (in my opiinion) every time, but besides that, with his interpersonal skills, he can really be a great leader in the Senate for the issues he passionately believes in. Bob will be the kind of Senator we will be proud to have representing us on Beacon Hill. …… Bonnie Brodner
A mutual friend told me he might run. I wish I could vote for him, but unfortunately I do not live in his district. He is a great guy and he will make a great senator for his district. (I first met Bob up in Salem NH during the last presidential campaign.)
An extremely hard worker and a great progressive. Knows the district very well. He was great on the Patrick campaign.
Because if it is we have a great progressive already running in Marzilli who is more experienced, also a solid progressive, and I can shower similar personal anecdotes about working with him on the Patrick campaign. If its another district than I apologize entirely and forgive me but there have been a ton of special elections lately and its getting difficult to keep track of em all.
the 4th middlesex is Havern’s old district.
Bow out then Bob and let someone with more experience who is equally progressive win, or else divide the district and watch an anti-equality, anti-Patrick, traditionalist Democrat beat him.
Because it’s not “his turn”? I like Jim too, but I’m hard-pressed to say that there should be some kind of ban on more than one “progressive” running when a rare open seat comes up. Democracy is good; more democracy is better.
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It wasn’t Deval’s “turn” either.
It’s not a matter of waiting one’s turn, but we don’t want to kill each other off.
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Nobody said it was Deval’s turn, but Deval went out and built a solid base among progressives over a year before the first caucus. He became the one progressive candidate in the primary field, and that’s why he won. Four years earlier, Tolman and Reich divided the progressive vote and O’Brien won.
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In this case, the primary is November 13, and there’s no time to build a base. You either have one or you don’t. Jim Marzilli has worked hard building a very loyal following in Arlington, and he has established strong credentials as a progressive when Finneran was looking to banish and punish anyone to the left of Ed King and John Silber.
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Who did the research on OCPF's campaign finance database to find candidates for delegate for Deval Patrick in not-so progressive towns like ours, who recruited coordinators, and who mentored them and who helped organize canvassing and phonebanking throughout the district. Did anyone notice that the not-so progressive parts of the district that went overwhelmingly for Romney in 2002 tipped for Patrick in 2006? Bob Peters deserves a lot of credit. I'm sure Marzilli has been a good progressive, too, but I'm in Havern's district, and I've never met him. Bob has been a constant (and most welcome) presence at every political event of note. Let's not be so quick to deny Bob Peters a constituency.
It has been Marzilli leading the charge to reduce toxic waste in our air and water. It has been Marzilli leading the charge on curbing global warming emissions. It was Marzilli who has been fighting for campaign finance reform. The list could go on for quite some time but those are the first three that come to me off the top of my head.
I've never met Mr. Peters but he sounds like a great person. I am VERY appreciative that he worked so hard to get Deval elected. Still, as some others mentioned earlier in this thread the opportunity to split the vote and let a non-progressive win is real. If Mr. Peters decides to run for State Rep when Marzilli moves to the Senate I'll be interested in learning much more about him.
Q: Does Mr Peters live in the part of Lexington included in Marzilli’s house district? If not, can he still run for Marzilli’s seat, should Marzilli become senator?
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C: Jim Marzilli was 1 of only 5 legislators brave and principled enough to speak out publicly against the anti-gay marriage amendment early on in 2004. He has earned my unwavering support, and I will do what I can to make his bid for the senate a successful one.
Ack! Mr Peters, I forgot I was commenting in your intro diary. It was disrespectful for me to pledge support to Jim Marzilli here. Please, just pretend I did that in a Marzilli diary. Best of luck to you – in any other race, you would likely have my support.
there is a one year residency requirement for the house.
i guess my question is moot anyway. i was mistakenly thinking the 23rd middlesex (marzilli’s house seat) included a bit of lexington. that led me to wonder why peters might not go after that seat, assuming marzilli wins the senate. but since he lives in lexington, he can’t without moving months ago. since stanley and kaufman (the lexington reps) and fargo (the other lex. senator) appear to be firmly in their seats, havern’s senate seat is the only legislative opportunity open to him in the foreseeable future. from a personal point of view, i can see why he’s doing what he’s doing, if i were to be presumptuous.
also gets it about the importance of equality and civil rights – he's showed up at the state house for concons, made calls to legislators etc. You might even have seen him marching with the governor at this year's Pride parade.
I don't know Marzilli, beyond that he has a generally good & progressive reputation, but Bob's earned a shot at the seat if he wants it through a lot of hard work.
The Pride parade is nice, but Marzilli was for SSM when you could count the SSM supporters in the House on one hand.
He's been a good progressive. My point is only that he's not the only good progressive in the race. I think the numbers are tough for someone in Bob's position (not a sitting legislator, not from the largest town in the district), but I think he's earned his shot at the seat and shouldn't be misrepresented.
Marzilli’s house district contains 15 of 21 precincts in the Town of Arlington and 3 of 16 precincts in the City of Medford.
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Mr. Peters lives in the senate district, which contains 6 of 9 Lexington precincts.
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Lexington also has two state representatives. Jay Kaufman has 7 of 9 Lexington precints, 4 of 21 Arlington precincts, and 2 out of seven wards in Woburn. Thomas Stanley of Waltham represents the remaining 2 Lexington precincts.
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By the way, there is a Republican in the race. Linda Fosburg, who ran in the 2004 state representative race in the Ninth Middlesex district. She placed third.
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Thomas M. Stanley 10,947
Jill E. Stein 3,911
Linda B. Forsburg 3,479
I have known Bob Peters for a long time all the way back when he was working hard in Burlington to bring Curb side recycling to Burlington and he got it done. A progressive stand back in the early 90's in a community not known as a progressive haven. Bob has demonstrated his work as both an elected town meeting member in Burlington and Lexington (no other cnadidate has served in 2 communities as anelected official) as a progressive and has worked in the trenches in more progressive campaigns then I care to count.
It should not go by the boards that Bob was the sentorial district coordiantor for Deval Patrick and that Deval was the first Democrat to win this district in 16 years and in my City the only one in the District also not known as a progressive haven Bob was seen walking and knocking since early Spring.
No, Bob Peters is a real progressive who has been in the trenchs backing us up all over the 4th Middlesex he knows the communities he knows the people and he knows the problems we are facing. He is a candidate for the entire district for Billerica right on into Arlington. A progressive Democrat who has gotten the job done over and over again.
Jim maybe a good progressive in Arlington but his knowledge outside of that town is lacking as far as the progressive label he wears I don't really see it and have not seen it up here in Woburn. I am going with Bob Peters because I want a Senator who has a proven track record in the district.
One more thing he is the only candidate who when elected will not cost the tax payers money for another Election and is not just running because it's a safe run for him he's the only one putting it all on the line you have to respect a man who is willing to do that over another who is not.
WoburnDem