We favor Passoni for two reasons. First, she has impressive experience in the private sector as well as a long record of community service. Her bio says that “for 20 years, Susan worked as a research analyst in the investment banking industry.” Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few more people in the House who (a) actually understand what is happening in the financial markets, (b) would be able to comment and legislate intelligently on “swaptions” and other afflictions, and (c) understands what life is like for folks who don’t hold government jobs (i.e., most of us)? Aaron Michlewitz’s bio, in contrast, reflects no work experience outside of Sal DiMasi’s office. There’s of course nothing wrong with having worked for DiMasi, where Michlewitz apparently did good work, and we know of no reason to think that he had anything to do with the scandal that drove DiMasi from office. But we still see value in having spent time “outside the Building.”
Second, Michlewitz’s handling of the recent brouhaha over the debate questions was, we think, deeply disappointing. To refresh your recollection, the South End News reported that it had emails showing that Michlewitz received advance copies of the questions to be asked at the Wards 4 & 5 Debate on April 21.
Oh — for the record, we asked the Passoni campaign about the suggestion that, maybe, Passoni also had advance copies. We were told unequivocally that she did not.
Anyway, Michlewitz’s response — which was, by the way, a prepared statement, not an off-the-cuff remark — was frankly pathetic.
“Whether candidates review questions in advance of forums is really not the issue here – this is about my privacy and an attempt by someone to take the focus off of the issues – which is hardly the politics of change.”
That’s not “the politics of change” either, Aaron. That’s ducking the question. That’s diverting attention from the real issue — “hey, look at that shiny object over there!”
(Incidentally, Rep. Marty Walz, the apparent source of the questions, has maintained radio silence, returning phone calls neither to the South End News nor to the Phoenix. Talk about a profile in courage.)
Unfair, you say! No big deal — and anyway, what was he supposed to do? Easy. (1) When he got the questions, he should either have (a) respectfully refused them, or (b) forwarded them to the other candidates, so as not to have an unfair advantage. Failing that, (2) when asked about it, he should have (a) answered the question, and (b) apologized for poor judgment. He did neither, instead retreating behind a classic pol’s line: “this isn’t really about me, it’s about the scoundrel who leaked an embarrassing story about me to the press.” Not impressive.
In sum, then, Passoni has the better experience, and Michlewitz bungled an early, and easy, test. Conclusion: Passoni should be the next representative of the 3rd Suffolk district.
Editors: I have always wondered what is the process for your endorsements? When interviewing the candidates, what type of questions do you ask?
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p>In this instance were they related to district concerns or state policy concerns, or both? Did you ask either about “questiongate”, – What about their personal backgrounds and what they do in the neighborhoods? Just curious.
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p>p.s – I think you just did a favor for Michlewhitz. LOL
My hometown paper uses a majority vote of the editorial board, which has resulted in some interesting split decisions. For example, I still prize the editorial page from the day they endorsed George W. Bush and Sarah Peake.
In: “…we endorse Susan…”
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p>Who is we?
bob, david and charley
You’re in line with the Boston Herald then
of sour grapes…
The snark or the troll ratings for Passoni supporters?
That’s not how this community operates. I haven’t paid any attention to this race, but your behavior makes me think I should —
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p>and not to your benefit.
I’ll be there all day Monday and Tuesday. Will I see any other BMG readers?
I get e-mail from all three…I don’t know at this point if I will be free. I am in a child welfare preliminary custody hearing, see http://masscases.com/cases/sjc… which discusses this type of hearing.
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p>The case where I represent one of the parties, and which is being “held day to day” case involves five children, all removed from their home, three fathers, and is being held “day to day” which means it goes until it is done, and of the seven involved attorneys, if there are “conflicts” with previously scheduled matters in other courts, those attorneys are being held day to day to continue THIS hearing until it is done due to the constitutional issues.
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p>No, I am not kidding. We are at day eight and it all depends how long it goes when I will next have flexibility during the work day.
Main office is at on Columbus Ave near the Back Bay orange line stop. We’ll have another field office in the North End for election day tomorrow. If you wanna stop by, call us here: 617-262-6626
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p>(As I just asked our campaign manager: Next time could you get us a phone number with some more 2’s and 6’s? We don’t have enough đŸ™‚
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p> – posted from the Susan Passoni office. Back to the phones with me now!
on Left Ahead, and I must say, I was most impressed by Passoni. I didn’t technically endorse her myself but I definitely think she’s the best, most progressive candidate. A lot of progressive friends are volunteering for her.
What makes Passoni the “best, most progressive candidate?”
There isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between her and Aaron on any major issue. The biggest difference is that Aaron is familiar with the needs of all the neighborhoods of the district; she isn’t. That’s why Aaron was endorsed by the Boston Globe and the Boston Courant.
Susan Passoni dedicates far more detail to her concerns over transportation and environmental issues, including details on MBTA debt, fair fare increases, smart growth, and expanded LEED building requirements.
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p>It may be that they’re in unison on those issues; their web sites aren’t. Which isn’t to suggest that Michlewitz has got nuttin’; just that they aren’t focused quite the same way on those issues, so to suggest that they’re identical seems, well, inaccurate.
Not a dime’s worth of difference? Over a dozen organizations that met with and interviewed Susan and Aaron would disagree.
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p>The groups that are leading the fight to raise revenue — Neighbor to Neighbor, the National Associaton of Social Workers, and the Coalition for Social Justice — all think that there is a dime’s worth of difference. The environmental groups — Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, Sierra Club, and Clearn Water Action — all think there is a dime’s worth of difference. All three women’s groups – NOW, Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, and the Women’s Campaign Forum — all think that there is dime’s worth of difference. Teachers groups, gay and lesbian groups, and the Mass Alliance, all think that there is a dime’s worth of difference.
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p>Full disclosure, I’m supporting Susan…because there’s a lot MORE than a dime’s worth of difference!
http://www.susanpassoni.com/en…
Davesoko, you’re overstating LGBT support for Passoni. One small group, with a tiny footprint in the South End, has endorsed Passoni. Aaron has strong working relationships with leaders and activists in our community, and has committed to prioritizing two pieces of legislation of particular concern to LGBT voters: legislation to add transgender citizens to the anti-discrimination and hate crimes laws of the Commonwealth; and comprehensive anti-bullying legislation. He was on the ground in the State House working for the big victory on marriage equality. As an experienced State House insider, he will be better equipped to negotiate the legislative process to get our priorities enacted into law.
Susan Passoni has also been endorsed by the MassAlliance, a coalition of Massachusetts progressive groups that includes MassEquality.
is thrilled that all Democrats are pro-equality and did not endorse in this race. Additionally, we abstained from the MassAlliance endorsement vote. Good luck to all the great candidates!
if suffolk democrat is going to give the 3rd suffolk district a zero…
will anyone concede that Aaron has been “outside the building” and has earned the grassroots support?
and having grassroots support are not the same thing.
are the grassroots.
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p>Although the 3rd Sufflok would be well served by any of these candidates, Aaron has received an outpouring of support in the neighborhoods from the start. If they come out to vote, Aaron should do well.
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p>Hopefully then, others will take another look at him and figure out why Aaron has earned the esteem and respect from his neighbors.
Voters are voters. Grassroots aren’t voters. Grassroots are local unpaid supporters — the folks who knock on the doors of their neighbors, who distribute literature in their apartment building, volunteers who show up at phone banks, that sort of thing.
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p>Grassroots are professional something-but-politicos who care about the outcome enough to show up nights, weekends, or on vacation days to pour a little sweat equity into their candidate of choice.
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p>Heck, ask wiki: Grass roots.
I have to say that I don’t get this comment. What’re you saying?
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p>(Rated 4 for “ambiguous / confusing”, not for any statement of agreement or disagreement)
Websters Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
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p>PAC’s = Special Interest’s
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p>Hope that clears things up!
What’s this about “conceding”? If your axiom is that grassroots = those who vote in the election, then whoever wins the election by definition has “more grassroots support”. That’s not a matter of opinion, it’s a fact. I don’t think anyone’s been claiming that we know who will win this election – that’s why we’re holding an election in the first place. Once the votes are counted, then we’ll know who won, obviously. Nobody has to argue about it (unless the votes aren’t counted well).
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p>Susan Passoni is the progressive in this race. She’s the better candidate, the stronger progressive, the more skilled and experienced, and by far the best person in this race to be state rep. I haven’t got the slightest doubt about that.
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p>That doesn’t mean I know what the election results will be. We expect it to be very close.
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p>Your question still doesn’t make any sense to me.
Just a personal plug here, Aaron would be a great Rep for that district. For the record, I am friends with Aaron and we worked together in the Speaker’s office.
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p>But because I worked with Aaron, I know it’s not fair to try to minimize the work he did for the 3rd Suffolk District within the Speaker’s office.
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p>Here’s the thing: When you are a rank-and-file state rep, like the winner of this election will be when they are seated, the daily work of the office is done by you and one very poorly paid aide. You do the constituent services, you answer letters, you take calls, you take press calls, you draft your own bills, you do your own research, you respond to emails. If Aaron worked for a rank-and-file rep as their singular aide, then I’d get the snark about his work in the district.
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p>But when you are Speaker, it’s different. That office helps direct all legislation brought to the floor of the House of Representatives and has significant statewide responsibilities. And, because the person in the office is Speaker, the number and volume of calls from constituents and the number of issues you are drawn into in your district increases exponentially. Same with press, policy and beyond (I know my press call list rivaled that of the Governor’s office many days with half the staff). When you have that volume of public interest, you hire a professional staff to help you manage it. We had a legislative director to handle the flow of legislation to the floor, a chief of staff who acted as policy director, a communications director (me) and a constituent services director, Aaron.
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p>So I would argue that, on the most important bread and butter issues to the district, Aaron did the most important work. The people of the 3rd Suffolk District aren’t hiring a press expert, a legislative process expert or even a policy expert (though Aaron is good at all that too). They are hiring a district rep who knows the issues they care about and will represent their interests on Beacon Hill. That is exactly what Aaron has been doing and doing well.
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p>Of course BMG can endorse as they see fit. I just wanted to give some context from someone who worked side-by-side with the guy. I don’t know the other candidates, I’m sure they are great. But they’re not Aaron. They haven’t done the things for the district he has – or will, as the state rep.
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p>So go vote and go vote for Aaron.
I think what Aaron did in the Speaker’s office is fine. I just think it’s preferable to have outside experience.
Maybe not snarky, but the point was to minimize what he had done. I read the bio too. Hope everyone follows the link. But for those who don’t, here’s a sense of stuff outside the Speaker’s office on that bio:
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p>A graduate of Northeastern University, who grew up in Boston’s North End, Aaron has dedicated himself to helping others. He has become a popular mentor to many of his neighborhood’s youth for whom he has been a fixture throughout organized sports programs. As a permanent member of the St. Anthony’s Society, an organization devoted to worthwhile fundraising for many causes in Boston’s North End community, Aaron is part of a new generation of Bostonians who remain dedicated to preserving one of Boston’s oldest and long standing cultural traditions. Aaron is also a member of The Boston Groundwater Trust and is someone who served his community as President of the North End Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC).
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p>I’d say this qualifies as “outside experience.” Pretty impressive, community-based, dare I say, grassroots, experience at that.
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p>