My middle class roots began in Western Massachusetts’ North Adams. I grew up there when my father returned home after serving in the Navy during WWII to open a small insurance agency, while my mother dedicated her life to raising me and my four siblings. From my parents we learned the value of hard work, of giving back, of civic duty; the guiding principles throughout my career as public servant.
In over two decades of public service, I’ve learned a lot about this Commonwealth, its collective needs, and of the needs of its individuals. Through my experiences as a state and federal prosecutor, Middlesex District Attorney and your Attorney General, I’ve carved out a record as a different kind of leader who delivers results for all of Massachusetts.
The path to economic recovery is unpaved but as Attorney General I took groundbreaking steps in holding predatory lenders and Wall Street accountable. I’ve recovered more than $135 million dollars for homeowners and taxpayers.
If you send me to the United States Senate, I pledge to continue on the path to economic recovery. I will support enhanced financial regulation of Wall Street to prevent another collapse and fight to protect consumers and families. I will provide incentives for small businesses and jobs creation to bring prosperity back to the Commonwealth.
As Attorney General, I took on drug companies and health insurers, rooting out fraud and abuse that drives up costs for families and seniors and achieved record recoveries in Medicaid fraud cases.
In the Senate I’ll fight to reform our broken health care system with a strong public option to provide for transparency and competition. I’ll fight for reform without sacrificing any rights or choices.
I know that climate change and new energy policies are vital for generations to come. I stood up to utility companies to keep energy costs low; and fought global warming by pushing for stricter emissions regulations.
As Senator I will work to protect our environment and our energy future by making sure we have an Environment Protection Agency that does its job and keeps costs down. Through new energy technology and innovation we can bring new jobs to the United States.
I’ve dedicate my life to keeping the Commonwealth safe. I’ve kept children safe from sexual predators and our seniors safe from scams and abuse. If elected I promise to continue to make our communities and our nation safer by responding intelligently to our changing world. I’ll continue to strengthen cyber security and promote national security without sacrificing civil rights.
I’ve stood firmly for civil rights. As Attorney General I went after discriminatory mortgage brokers. I was also the only Attorney General in the nation to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act, and worked to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act. I will humbly carry the torch of civil rights advocacy, as Senator Kennedy did.
The public servant is beholden to the virtue that it is the public, the people that matter.
I understand that this campaign is about you. It’s about your families, it’s about your communities, it’s about the unprecedented challenges we and future generations face.
I’m running for U.S. Senate because I understand the Commonwealth needs to send a leader to Washington who will roll up her sleeves to confront those challenges.
For the Commonwealth, for the Commonwealth’s individuals, we need a leader with a proven record of getting results.
Now is not the time to surrender our vision of the American Dream. Now is the time for the nation to again make good on its founding promise for a better and brighter future.
Now is the time to elect a different kind of leader.
Thank you, I respectfully ask for your consideration and your vote on Tuesday, December 8th.
Martha Coakley
www.marthacoakley.com
She truely is a different sort of leader. The kind that comes from and advocates the middle class, the kind that stands up for Main Street in taking on Wall Street, the kind that though humble, though so down to earth, shatters barriers – both in record of accomplishment and through individual achievement. I think this woman could be the first female President of the United States. Thank you, Martha!
Martha truly is. Thank you, Martha, for stopping by Framingham last week. Martha’s middle class education and subsequent application of it mark her above the competition. One competitor swung by Framingham last night. We appreciate his generous commitment of time to us, but he centered his speech too much within himself. He was like a Joe Satriani who didn’t want any vocalists for his own tunes. He acknowledged us people the audience curtly, in individual capacities even, but curtly. He listened to our interjected concerns (such as “single-payer universal health care”), but did not really dwell on listening. Martha is a good listener. She has listened to and worked continuously with my very own school committee members, my state representative and my state senator (and even with Niki Tsongas, in the district just North and East of mine), and these Democrat team-mates of her made honest, viable livings, not just petty token stipends, mobile phone credits and food stamps.
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p>Coakley’s competitor ranted against Pakistan, although I myself have worn work shirts sewn by Pakistan laborers. America runs on Dunkin’ and we Dunkin’ Donuts crew and retirees of such work ran the store on Pakistani work shirts. More importantly, one of my best friends in Brookline High School was Pakistani. Shezad Morani was his name. He loved good old American Rock and Roll, like we all do, and he even took his Jewish girlfriend to a Steve Miller show in Great Woods (later Tweeter Center, then now Comcast Center). Anti-Pakistani rants are as tasteless a White House Thanksgiving Dinner wining and dining a non-Naragansett (but rather South Asian) Indian at the top of their caste system (which among other things, had historically put Aryans over Dravidians). My other Brookline buddy was an Indian, Ashish Kumar. The titular head of likability in our whole batch was neither Conan O’brien, nor Theo Epstein, it was the Indian Rishi Nath, a great person who personally told me and others to read the German Author Herman Hesse (of Siddhartha fame). I guess the Indians really like them Aryans. The American Indian in our batch was so tall, that I forget his name. His quotable religious insight was that Good Friday “was a GOOD Friday” (considering whatever the heck a student’s faith was in our public school, they would not have to attend school).
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p>I remember the warm reception my Muslim neighbor in Framingham Center gave to the Martha Coakley flyer I handed to her, whereas the competitor’s vain televised Jesus name-dropping in a debate last month still leaves a bad aftertaste, since our U.S. Constitution’s third section, sixth article protects us with the stipulation that
“no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
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p>Martha’s moral toughness will enable her to perhaps outdo past leaders of our U.S. Senate, such as Lyndon Baines Johnson, who gave us civil rights, but treated people around him crudely, even the President who served above him, the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
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p>Martha will be able to reason with future U.S. Senate colleagues. Her competitor does not have the temperament to work with Arizona’s pair of stubborn senators, nor with Maine’s proud but keen Olympia Snowe.
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p>All Italian Stallions will fall (tutti e tre le) to the Muhammad Ali that is Martha Coakley, and with 42nd U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton as her Don King.
…but your comment above had WAY to many references to ethnic and religious identity for my taste. I’m not even sure what incidents you’re refering to.
the same president who gave us NAFTA and repeal of Glass-Steagall… Be careful what you wish for. I hope Martha, if elected, can do better that that.
I appreciate that you took the time to reach out to voters.
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p>I followed your “civil rights” hyperlink and read your positions. I agree with all of them, but was wondering about a few things not mentioned on that site.
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p>How does your position in the Melendez-Diaz case fit in with standing “firmly for civil rights”? Similarly, how does supporting limiting the ability of convicted individuals to appeal their convictions in federal court comport with your statement about civil rights?
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“A senator must be tough yet polished, a shrewd negotiator who is willing to compromise. Coakley strikes that balance, giving her the edge in a race against opponents who hold similar political views.”
New Bedford Standard Times
http://www.southcoasttoday.com…
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p>Think this captures an important quality- One of the best and most complete endorsements; siting examples of her accomplishments and leadership skills.
I copied the video message and sent it out to my whole email address book. I think we are going to crack straight through that thick glass ceiling on Tuesday…and I think Martha is the right candidate to do it….it’s time.
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I just returned from one of your campaign phonebanks.
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p>I’d like to thank you for your commitment to equality and your leadership over the years on behalf of the gay and lesbian community. As someone in a Massachusetts same-sex marriage it means a great deal to have the opportunity to support a candidate who has not just provided lip service to glbt issues, but real action. Your suit against DOMA is just one example; many have also benefited from your work with law enforcement to boost sensitivity to issues of domestic violence in the glbt community.
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p>I would also like to thank you for your environmental leadership, holding government accountable for enforcing environmental laws.
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p>I know we will be able to count on you in the Senate to support climate change and energy legislation and to push for responsible reregulation of Wall Street.
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p>Best of luck, I’ll be out supporting you on election day. It will be inspiring to see a Massachusetts glass-ceiling broken.
Welcome to BMG, Ms. Coakley. I look forward to your continued participation here after Tuesday’s election.
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p>I have a question regarding your posture towards civil liberties, especially in the high-tech/communications arena.
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p>I learned today of a story posted last week regarding the undisclosed sharing of by Sprint/Nextel of the personal GPS location data of more than eight million Sprint/Nextel cellphone customers (emphasis mine):
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p>I’d like to know whether you feel that this practice — sharing the minute-by-minute location of millions of Americans with government authorities without their consent, permission, or knowledge, — is fair, proper, and consistent with our constitutional guarantees of both privacy and also protection from unreasonable search.
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p>If you are elected Senator, what if any steps would you take regarding this practice?
It means a lot to voters when you reach out, not just to tell your story but to answer questions and to participate in a fuller discussion that helps informed voters understand where you’re coming from.
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p>I read your “civil rights” positions on your website and your answers to the civil rights question submitted by Bill Densmore of GreylockNews.com and written by David Scribner, Pittsfield, Mass:
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p>First, you seem to be avoiding the question about accountability to the rule of law in matters of civil rights violations by government at a time of a global war on terror: You are not direct in answering part ‘a’ in fact I don’t think you answered it. So a voter must ask, Why would Marth Coakley not answer this question about civil rights and government authority directly? It’s certainly relevent, timely and fundamental to a liberal, progressive citizen’s values.
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p>You answer part ‘b’ by talking about balancing civil rights with governemnt authority but you do not remark on the context or how you strike the balance even just on a theoretically level.
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p>Given the directness of part ‘c’ about preserving constitutional freedom in a time of crisis, I would have hoped for a more direct answer on issues such as the suspension of habeas corpus or indefinte detention which is our current policy.
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p>In your answer, you frame civil rights and civil liberties as an essential ingredient for a healthy democracy. I’ve always considered them fundamental protections that individuals had against over-reaching state authority in areas such as speech, search and siezure, and right of confrontation. Would I be wrong to describe your view of government as requiring sufficient power to protect its citizens as a priority – children, elderly and lgbt in particular – and that requirement for those powers take a priority of an individual’s civil rights, especially in a time of crisis?
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p>What about our civil rights in general? Would you explain the Commonwealth’s position on Melendez-Diaz and what value is served by rolling back, if only marginally, the sixth amendment right to confront and question lab techs? As you know, scientific process conducted by human is subject to error. Why would the Commonwealth press to create a precedent whereby the state would not be obligated to testify about process, error rate and other questions a defendant might need to ask as part of their defense?
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p>Please do your best to be direct in anwering questions. If you are not, that is where the disconnect begins.
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p>Thank you for your service. I know that if you’re elected Tuesday, you’ll be elected in January and that would be a proud day for you and Massachusetts.
Back in April the Supreme Court handed down a decision regarding illegal search and seizure which I believe will have major consequences in law enforcement. I have asked several police officers in MA (State and local) about the ruling and how they have changed their search procedures. None of them know anything about this and continue to seach cars as they always have.
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p>When (if at all) will the MA police officers be trained about the impact of this decision?
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Are you there?
If you click on the Currently Logged On link on the left, you will see she is here.
I’m certain she just taking some time to provide a thoughful answer.
or even doing other work on her computer, with BMG in the background.
am VERY EXCITED about her constituent services.
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p>NOT.
This is the last evening before the primary. Ms. Coakley joined our community, offered an introductory message, and asked each of us to vote for her. She was welcomed, and several polite questions were offered. Her computer was logged in, whether or not she was actually reading or not.
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p>I, for one, am sincerely interested in her response to the questions posed by this community — I can’t think of a better way to sway the opinion of the BMGers who are still undecided. Beyond tomorrow’s election, this community can be an effective asset in promoting the agenda of whoever wins the January election (I make the rash assumption that the Democratic candidate will win). Each of the candidates has participated to a greater or lesser extent in our community — some much more than others.
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p>I’m happy to see Ms. Coakley’s initial message here. I am eager to see what message she ultimately offers our community.
And maybe she could answer some of the question raised about her views on civil and Constituional rights.
She didn’t. Well we’ll try again.