I wanted to share the following post from ydma.org outlining why the recently elected Board of Young Democrats of Massachusetts made unanimously endorsing Dr. Smulowitz their first official act.
Young Democrats of Massachusetts Board Unanimously Pledges PAC Contribution and 50 Hours of Voter Contact to Dr. Peter Smulowitz
The Board of Directors of the Young Democrats of Massachusetts unanimously endorsed Dr. Peter Smulowitz in the Special State Senate Election for the Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex District, the seat formerly held by Scott Brown.
“Dr. Smulowitz is exactly the type of candidate that Young Democrats get excited to volunteer for and is an inspiration for other young people considering running for office,” said YDM Chair Jonathan Sclarsic.
The Young Democrats of Massachusetts have committed to contributing at least 50 volunteer hours to help contact voters, as well as at least a $100 PAC contribution. “Young Democrats are fired up and excited to inform voters about why we’re supporting Dr. Smulowitz,” said YDM Political Director Melissa Roberts.
YDM pledged support for Dr. Smulowitz, the 33 year old young Democrat who won the April 13 Democratic Primary, citing his commitment to supporting quality education, creating 21st century jobs, and making healthcare more affordable for students and working people in Massachusetts.
“At a time when costs of education and healthcare are on the rise for young people, Dr. Smulowitz will bring much needed firsthand experience to Beacon Hill as a young, accomplished ER physician,” Sclarsic said.
Leading into the Young Democrats of Massachusetts Annual Convention and elections last weekend, the YDM Political Committee unanimously voted to recommend this endorsement. “I’m thrilled that that the Board made this endorsement YDM’s first official act following our Convention. I think it’s a strong statement of YDM’s commitment to supporting young, progressive candidates,” remarked Sclarsic.
The Young Democrats of Massachusetts is a partisan political organization with over fifteen hundred members mobilized across the Commonwealth to create positive. Our members are the leaders of today: Democrats under the age of 36 committed to getting Democrats elected and promoting progressive legislation. We are the future: now.
The YDM endorsed the only Democrat in the race. Surprising!
2. They don’t get behind every Democrat — so that they got behind this particular Democrat is indeed relevant.
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p>To be honest, 50 hours of voter contact, while incredibly valuable, doesn’t strike me as a particularly big commitment. After all, they’ve got 1500 members. I’d think they’re capable of 500 hours, easy.
That would be a bulletin.
that we’re capable of a lot, and I probably would have been within the realm of a realistic estimate if I said 75-100 hours.
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p>We’re planning to do at least two phonebanks and at least one trip to canvass in the district, and hoping to get more together (and I’ll be sure to let you know the details when they’re final so you can join).
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p>However, given the short time-frame and all the other work Young Dems are doing across the state for Governor Patrick, I took the conservative estimate our Political Director gave the campaign and decided there was no reason to exagerate or pump up ridiculous expectations (Young Dems work, go to school, and have lives too – no matter how much we discourage it).
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p>We’ll certainly be working to bring out far more than 50 hours of volunteering to this race.
We’d love to see you all on Election Day!
I don’t mean to denigrate the efforts — all contributions are positive. And, I didn’t realize that you were working on other campaigns this early in the season, which explains a smaller number too.
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p>Thanks for your work!
to Peter Smulowitz for getting the YDM endorsement and commitments! And kudos to you, young ‘uns, for putting your shoulders to the wheel. Thanks.
Full disclosure: I’m a board member of YDM. However, these are my personal thoughts and do not represent YDM’s official position.
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p>As a Young Dem, I’m excited that we are supporting a young progressive for public office. Dr. Smulowitz is intelligent, thoughtful, and cares about his local community. He and I share similar political beliefs. A belief that everyone should have the right to marry the person they love, that clean energy tech is and will continue to be a key driver for Massachusetts economy, and that we need to do a better job of providing our citizens with affordable and energy efficient homes. I’m a young person getting married in the fall. I would like to purchase a home in the state I grew up in. However, my fiancee and I work for local non-profits. She’s a social worker and I’m a public health researcher. The cost of living in Massachusetts and our collective student-loan burden make owning a home nearly out of the question. I believe that Dr. Smulowitz will continue to work to make the dreams of thousands of young people, owning an energy efficient home, more possible.
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p>I don’t typically get involved in races outside of my voting area, but Peter’s vision for his district and for Massachusetts is worth fighting for. I’ll be helping out as much as I can and I think many of my YDM friends feel the same way. And Dan I’ll definitely see you on election day!
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p>To Kevin’s point about YDM doing other things(shameless plug): We have three signature drives on Saturday (4/24) for Gov. Patrick and Lt Gov Murray. We’ll be in Boston, Worcester, and Northampton and we are working with individuals to collect signatures in other cities and towns across the Commonwealth. If anyone is interested in helping us collect signatures, regardless of age, you can e-mail us at info@ydma.org and we’ll plug you in.
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p>And If you’re on Facebook you can learn more about the signature drives and sign up here
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p>Northampton: http://www.facebook.com/#!/eve…
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p>Worcester: http://www.facebook.com/#!/eve…
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p>Boston: http://www.facebook.com/#!/eve…
Hi All:
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p>Congratulations to Dr. Smulowitz regarding both his victory in the Democratic Primary and for his Young Democrats of Massachusetts endorsement! As a candidate, I would love to receive their endorsement. I tried to download your candidate questionnaire from your website to no avail. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
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p>Respectfully Submitted,
Sincerely,
Wayne J. Wilson, Jr.
Co – Founder, Past Secretary and Past Vice President for Membership, Suffolk County Young Democrats, 1983 – 1988
Vice President for Membership, Massachusetts Young Democrats 1997 – 1998
Progressive Democrat for State Senate
Suffolk & Norfolk State Senate District
waynejwilsonjr@yahoo.com