Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Democrats for Worden

By

Welcome to the brand-new, red white and blue, Democrats for Worden website!

In the wake of the recent primary election many people have reached the conclusion that the interests of Arlington and West Medford could be best served by a candidate with extensive knowledge of the community, legal background, and a long record of civic involvement, regardless of political affiliation.

In his campaign, John Worden has often stated that this is a local election, to choose the best qualified person to represent local interests on Beacon Hill and initiate changes where needed.  Just as we choose our School Committee members, Selectmen (in Arlington), and city councilors (in Medford) based on their qualifications rather than their party enrollment, we should choose our spokesperson in the Legislature.

This election will not alter the overwhelmingly Democratic control of the Legislature.  John will be with us in spades on many important issues.  And he will bring to the position the same expertise, dedication and professionalism that were hallmarks of his long stellar career as Arlington’s Town Meeting Moderator.

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
0

Comments

  2. John Warden is a REPUBLICAN and as such will vote with the Republican leadership. What will Arlington get from his role as State Rep nothing absolutely zero. As for this fraud Democrats for Warden they are little more then wannabe Republicans who hide in the Democratic Party because they have no spine. You want to be a Republican then stand up and say so. But don’t stand there and say I am a democrat and I am for a Republican because I support Education, or Working families, or property tax relief, or health care for all. Because your a fraud and we know it and so do you

    <

    p>Sean won this Democratic Primary he worked for it by standing up for Democratic Values He will support those issue critical to Arlington and West Medford and he will be the next State Representative from Arlington and your Sheep costume will need a cleaning.

    <

    p>Massachusetts is a two party state Democrats of Principle and Democrats in Name only don’t be fooled vote the real thing! Vote Garballey

    <

    p>As usual just my opinion!

    <

    p>Thank You  

    • With all due respect, what has voting with Democratic leadership gotten us? DiMasi is only now (after much public poking in the eye) moved on Patrick’s ideas.

      <

      p>Far worse was years of a Democratic legislature controlled by Finneran. I mean really, democratic control didn’t do much to help our issues under his reign.

      <

      p>Having said that there are some real (democratic issues) questions about where Worden stands. As I understand he refuses to answer where he stands on choice issues, for example. Where does he stand on Casinos? Where does he stand on MCAS? etc.

    • So, what proof is there that any alleged Democrat [except the Burlington Mauler] supports Worden?

          • Local activist, Town Meeting Member, and Democrat Charles Gallagher has sent the following message out to the community.

            Community Over Party

            On March 4th, I will, for one of the very few times in my life, cross party lines and vote for a  Republican.  I am vigorously supporting John Worden to fill out the remaining months of Jim Marzilli’s seat in the State Legislature as the Middlesex 23rd’s representative.  John makes this pretty easy to do, as virtually all John’s political and civic work has been performed within the local Arlington community and government, and they are entirely non-partisan by design.  

            Why this particular Republican, and why now? Because John Worden is a remarkable man with a remarkable record of service to the town of Arlington.  And John will bring the same dedication, discernment, rectitude and wisdom to bear for the people of West Medford as he represents us all in our State Legislature.

            Since the early 1970s, John has served in Arlington Town Meeting.  For the past 19 years he has also served as Town Moderator.  John is famous for his attention to both detail and decorum and for his scrupulous fairness, all while displaying a wry wit and gentle humor only slightly masked behind his familiar gruff exterior.  And John displays an unbridled confidence in our system – in the rule of law, in our tradition of Town Meeting and in our Country. Above all, John is a master of the law, of our town bylaws, and of the process of legislation.  These process and legal skills will redound to our community’s benefit with John Worden representing us in the Statehouse.

            When Bob Havern decided to leave the Senate, he created an election calendar disaster.  Our community is lucky to have a chance to take a breather, and prepare for our usual “orderly” fall campaign.  John Worden is both a strong candidate on his own merit, and he is an ideal choice for voters of all parties who wish to avoid a rush to judgment – do we want to elect someone who will park in the seat for another 17, or 27 years?  I believe it would be altogether fitting to have John finish out Jim Marzilli’s term, while allowing us to honor him and his service at the same time.  We can look at the field of candidates in the autumn, and re-decide whom we wish to send to the House.  It may well be John Worden again.

            John Worden’s contributions to our community are too many to enumerate, but let me try…  
            • He is a dedicated, longtime conservationist
            • He is a strong open space advocate
            • He is a proven and powerful proponent for affordable housing
            • He will be very effective in increasing Arlington and Medford’s share of state local aid dollars
            • He is a preservationist who is committed to our community’s historic legacy, and
            • His roots are deep within our local soil.

            Please visit John’s website for details: http://www.worden2008.com, and please join with me in proudly voting for John L. Worden on Tuesday, March 4th.

            Charles Gallagher
            Town Meeting Member, Precinct 18

        • According to OCPF reports, Charlie Foskett gave the most money of his political contributions to Mitt Romney. He also donated to one of Jim Marzilli’s opponents (also not a Democrat)

          • Not claiming this makes him a D but here it is

            <

            p>I actually find it most surprising that someone who has such apparently little experience in politics is willing to have a letter written by them published on Worden’s (or any pol’s website.)

  3. A RINO is a refreshing change from the DINOs in the legislature.

    <

    p>Senator Baddor (D) is considerably to the right of neighbor Senator Tarr (R).

    <

    p>In any other state, in any other place, Eugene O’Flaherty, Brian Wallace, et. al. would be Republicans.

    <

    p>Perhaps the time has come to have nonpartisan elections for the legislature, or at least run a preliminary and general election with an open primary (Louisiana style).

    • Senator Tarr may have some moderate views on social issues, but he is a hard-core conservative Republican when it comes to economic issues.

      <

      p>Senator Tarr’s record in office has largely consisted of two things: bringing in as much money as possible for the district, and pushing the Republican agenda on the fiscal issues in the legislature.

  4. Take the little (R) or (D) away from peoples names and watch the voters have no idea what to do with themselves.

      • Which is more important: High turnout or educated voters?

        <

        p>Ds and Rs get to battle it out and shout “Hooray for our team!”  The hue and cry is sexy and somewhat appealing.  But when you’re voting for a D or an R, how much do you really know about the person you’re voting for?

        <

        p>Non-partisan elections may not be as sexy, but they’re not being decided by national branding campaigns.  They’re being decided on the merits of the candidates.

  5. Lets face it if all you do is look for a D after the name you are missing my point. Massachusetts has been a state where local politics has been determined not by where you stand but what letter comes after your name so by extension far to many Politicians and there surrogates report to be D Democrats but on close inspection are not. There positions and a host of issues would certainly assure them a Republican seat at the table in most other states. Your correct in the statement that it comes down to policies which is why I suggest that Democrats for Worden are little more then a Republican dressed up like a Democrat claiming he/she has had an epiphany of thought and decided to back a Main stream Republican with no voting record, who refuses to answer simple questions like Choice, Gay Marriage, the death penalty etc… these and other issues lie at the foundation of Democratic issues and issues that the last State Rep who held the seat prior to this was unafraid to clearly state where he stood.

    <

    p>My thesis that to support Mr Worden and claim to be a Democrat is nothing more then a Wolf in sheep’s clothing and should be unmasked for being little more then a spineless Republican more interested in addressing their own ego and trying to maintain a mythical power base then to be honest to themselves as well as to us.

    <

    p>’Democrats for Worden’ has as much credibility as a real democratic movement like PDM or PDA endorsing George Bush for One more term.

    <

    p>If we as adults spent as much time looking at the issues of Political candidates as we take kicking the tires and looking under the hood of our next automobile maybe we would have fewer false Democrats in this State and more movement on correcting the problems that are facing working families, the elderly and our children.

    <

    p>This is not the time to make elections non – partisan what it is time for is the Parties to post the designations not a bunch of gutless wonders saying I am this and I am that maybe then we would have fewer people elected who are all about themselves and more about you and I.

    <

    p>That’s why a man like Sean is so refreshing to have run his record is clear on the School Committee his questions go answered and no one is out dressed in an Elephant costume schilling for him. Instead you have Democrats who have proven by their support that they are what they say and I feel Sean deserves a vote based on his record and his responses. Mr Worden has no claim to this as a former town moderator he was little more then a facilitator with little or no voting record.

    <

    p>Just my opinions as usual have a nice day and watch out for the Wolves.

    <

    p>Thank you  

    • I hope you actually sat through a few town meetings, to watch how the moderator has to manage a pretty complex event, with a lot of dueling priorities and some heated moments.  Prefacing that role with a “little more than..” demeans it.  Second, before he was the town meeting moderator he was also a member.  

      <

      p>Sean did seem to get all the public sector union endorsements, though.. perhaps you might rethink who the wolf in sheep’s clothing is, at least in this state.  We have an unfunded $100 million dollar liability coming down the pipe for public sector healthcare liabilities, firefighters debating how much more salary they want before they’ll allow themselves to be drug tested, and police details that cost the state an extra $100 million a year.  Who exactly are the rich and powerful special interests in Mass. these days?

      <

      p>

  6. but as the former moderator of town meeting he has many many friends across the board in Arlington and ought not to underestimated by the Garballey campaign. I don’t think Worden can win, if he is smart he could do some hard business in the straightaway.

    • …so I am sure Worden has loyal friends who are Democrats, Republicans, members of the Green Rainbow party – after 40 years as an attorney, I am sure he has a lot of “chips” to call in as well as loyal friends.

      <

      p>That all being true, this will be a hard fought election.  Everyone knows where I stand, and if anyone wants specifics why I chose to support Sean Garballey, by all means e-mail me directly at AmberPaw22yahoo.com – no reason to bore anyone else, right?

  7. He looks like an old fashioned progressive, the kind found in TRs Republican Party and later the Progressive Party, he supports district reform which is supported by Common Cause and would finally take redistricting out of the hands of the legislature and into a bipartisan commission based on census data. He has a lot of great environmental proposals and seems to have a record of making Arlington a little greener, he supports local aid, he supports a better mandate free form of healthcare reform.

    <

    p>He is silent about MCAS, marriage equality, and other issues but the record he does have on his website seems much more progressive and substantial than Garballeys whose main qualification is that he campaigned for Kerry in the 2004 primary. To be fair Garballey has a few good ideas as well.

    <

    p>Hopefully the candidates can have a few debates to let the voters decide.  

    • The so-called “redistricting reform” is a Republican proposal that would take the decisions out of the hands of our elected representatives and put the real decisions on redistricting in the hands of the Federal courts, which are controlled by Republicans.

      • Remember how Tom Delay was an elected official that redistricted Texas instead of having federal judges do that?

        <

        p>Personally I don’t care if non-partisan redistricting gives the GOP a slightly better time in MA, its just the fair and democratic thing to do. Districts should be decided by non-partisan panels that take into account census data including minority representation and do not redistrict to screw over incumbents they don’t like. Remember Finneran redistricted to help Democratic friends of his but he did it at the expense of minority voters in Chinatown and W. Roxbury.  

      • Calling redistricting a Republican cause is naive.  Watch what the Democratic majority in California is going to do after the next census.  Redistricting is a POWER issue, and those that have it will use it to maintain and expand their base.  Having it in the hands of a committee, intelligently appointed and as free from politics as it can reasonably be means you won’t have neighborhoods sundered in some obscene attempt to stack the deck.  

        • An independant board  

          <

          p>

          appointed

          <

          p>Appointed by who? The Speaker or maybe the President of the Senate, no no lets try the Governor. Who do you think they are going to appoint a Martian LOL
          Redistricting is a political process you Republicans are un happy and whining because your not the ones drawing the lines. Admit it, I do as a Democrat when ever anyone brings up Texas.

          <

          p>You want to be able to draw the districts go out and walk them and win the seats based on issues people will vote for other wise save the whine.

          <

          p>as usual just my opinions LOL and whine  

Archives