My wife Susan and I live in Winchester, where we are raising our two daughters, Sophie, age eight, and Jessie, age five. I serve on the Winchester Master Plan Steering Committee and the Finance Committee, and previously served on the School Superintendent Selection Committee. I also work with a number of community groups such as the Winchester Foundation for Educational Excellence, Stand for Children, and Mass Audubon.
I attended public high school in New Jersey, and received both my undergraduate degree in economics and a MBA from Harvard. My professional experience is in the business world, where I have spent the past 10 years helping to build two successful software companies in the Boston area.
The Democratic Primary is in a year, so I have a lot of time to put things together, raise the money necessary to be competitive (I've already raised more than $10,000), and knock on every voter’s door. I am in this to win, and I'm on track to win. But I know that I need help to get all the way there.
Please check out the campaign website and, if you’re interested, sign up to volunteer and/or make a financial contribution. And, please join us for the campaign kickoff on October 25, 2007 at 7pm at the Sullivan/Ingari residence in Winchester (16 McCall Road).
I'd love to hear your feedback on my candidacy, my website, and any tips you want to share as we move forward. BMG is a great resource, and I will make every effort to keep you informed about the campaign, and to respond to your feedback.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Jason Lewis
Are there any issues local to Winchester and Stoneham yet are state related that differentiate you from Rep. Cassey?
What is your position of the Commuter line to West medford. That is just a stones throw from your district.
What is your postion on casino gambling? Charter schools? Abotuion protest buffer zones? Are you in line with Cong. Barney Frank and the ACLU on buffer zones?
Thank you
and Good Luck
also your position on bi-lingual education.
thank you
…a good, progressive Democrat challenging Rep. Casey. Good luck, Mr. Lewis!
Jason,
Good luck with your race. As someone who came from a much poorer community than Winchester, I have to note that your school system is one of the best in the state. Why are people in your district so concerned about the quality of your school system?
I'd also like to hear your thoughts on accountability. The 1993 Mass Ed Reform law gives superintendents inordinate power over their budgets and school committees are all too often loathe to vote against their superintendent. Abuses include inappropriate expenditures (Lawrence), SAO audit revealed bid rigging, the use of special education collaborative slush fund, uncertified teachers, misspent state and federal grant money (Everett), and now the Worcester DA is investigating the superintendent of Harvard Schools, and there's a petition afoot to censure the school committee for giving him a good review and extending his contract. I recently heard that in Stoneham, the school committee gave a $500 a day contract to their retired superintendent while they searched for a new superintendent….which is what happened when the school committee delayed their search for a new superintendent until the old one had actually retired. This is the same town that the school committee insisted it would cut the sports program if they weren't given more money….and the Selectmen went for it. (I have two sisters and their families in Stoneham and they're not happy) So, I'd like to hear how you're going to address this problem, because no one is minding the store! The DOE considers these “local issues.”
Also, what about revenue? Governor Patrick is paying for his promises with casino gambling, which I oppose strenuously. What are your throughts on revenue generation that doesn't require the poor and middleclass to gamble?
PurpleRain1 wrote:
This sounds like a fiscally responsible choice. Consider a 240-day work year, a $500 per day contract would cost $120,000 over the year – without any other costs.
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Considering the average superintendent in this part of the state earns $140,000 or beyond (plus benefits), Stoneham is getting a bargain.
that Stoneham is already paying the man's pension. They're paying “twice” for the same service.
paying his pension while paying presumably more to a new superintendent? Doesn't sound like they're getting ripped off at all to me, based on the facts I've seen – usually you expect to pay a premium when an employee has you over a barrel like that and it doesn't look like they are.
to have the search on while the man was on the payroll…instead on pension and payroll. It was the “in the tank” school committee that didn't start the search until after the man retired.
It would be great to have a progressive democrat in that seat. Rep Casey was so bad on the equal marriage issue.
This primary, and the challenge to Paul Donato next door, is great news for the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. Four years ago, Casey was more interested in expanding charter schools than he was about the 20% reduction in state aid for Winchester and Stoneham schools.
I remember seeing Casey when he ran in the 2005 special election for Charlie Shannon’s seat. Not only is he crazy conservative, he’s just plain crazy. A really entertaining guy, but not who I’d want to represent me in the legislature.
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This should be a great race.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement I've received.
On the questions raised about issues I will, over the next few months, be expanding the issues page on my website to address the whole range of state and local issues facing the district.
My focus at this stage is to discuss what I believe are the major concerns facing the district: ensuring our schools are strong, that healthcare is accessible and affordable for all, that cities and towns receive the aid they need to provide vital services in an efficient and equitable manner, and that we encourage efforts to drive more research and innovation in industries such as technology and life sciences that lead to economic growth and job creation in Massachusetts.
Please check out my issues page: http://www.electjaso…
I'm especially glad to see the question about the Stoneham school system. Since education reform in 1993, Stoneham has never received its fair share of Chapter 70 funding. The problem has been made worse by the decline in aid since 2002. Winchester too has seen its Chapter 70 aid cut by 30% since 2002, from $1,100 per student to $750 per student, adjusted for inflation. We need to make funding for our schools a higher priority.
Again, I want to encourage people to attend my campaign kickoff on Oct 25 at 7pm at 16 McCall Road in Winchester. It will be a great opportunity to discuss some of these issues in more detail. Additionally, I will give periodic campaign updates on BMG.
Sincerely,
Jason