It is not a pipe dream. All around us, models of community based projects that make our lives better are popping up. Some, like community health centers, have been around for decades. Community development corporations are building affordable housing with non-toxic siding and photovoltaics on the roof. Ex-prisoners are joining together to find ways to become productive members of society. In the Regional Environmental Council of Central Massachusetts (REC), which I have led as Board President, we have created youth jobs that develop leaders, cooperative entrepreneurs, and organic farmers, giving them the skills to work in the greenest of green jobs. We coordinate a collaborative that has all but eliminated lead poisoning in Worcester.
The state should favor and foster community based projects like these, in directing funding in general and in the implementation of forward-looking legislation like the Green Communities Act. As a legislator, I will be a fierce advocate for the grassroots-up rather than the top down approach to solving our problems.
I am honored to have received endorsements from Mass Alliance, Mass Nurses Association, Mass Teacher’s Association, SEIU 1199, Clean Water Action, Neighbor to Neighbor, Sierra Club, National Association of Social Workers, Mass NOW, and Worcester’s Mayor Joe O’Brien.
A little about me and my background: I have been an activist for social justice since I was a teenager. My whole professional career has been in health care, first as a nurse’s aide, then a registered nurse, and now as a chiropractor and small business owner. My husband, David Coyne, and I have played many roles in the civic, religious, and political life of the City of Worcester and Massachusetts as a whole. We have lived in Worcester for 21 years, and every one of those years I have worked on one or more political campaigns for a progressive candidate. Candidates I am proud to have helped to elect include Congressman Jim McGovern, Governor Deval Patrick, Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray (ever since he first ran for City Council), Senator Harriette Chandler, former Senator Ed Augustus, President Barak Obama, and Worcester Mayor Joe O’Brien. Of course I have worked on a few losing campaigns along the way, but the track record of winners has shown me how progressives can win.
We had been in Worcester for barely a year when five Prop 2½ override initiatives were placed on the Worcester ballot. We joined a group of citizen activists who teamed up with a couple of nonprofit organizations to fight for the initiative for education funding. It was the largest 2½ override in the history of Massachusetts, and it passed, while the other four, that did not have grassroots organizations, went down to defeat.
In 2000, when the nurses at Worcester’s St. Vincent Hospital went on strike over the dangerous practice of mandatory overtime, I initiated and led a community network to support the ultimately victorious strike effort.
I was one of the local advocates building support for marriage equality. We organized meetings with legislators, wrote letters to the editor, and spoke out in public forums. We gathered at City Hall on the day the ruling for marriage equality took effect, cheering on the couples who were getting licences and keeping protesters at bay.
My grassroots environmental justice activism, largely in leadership of REC, has included advocating for legislation to address climate change and for safe alternatives to toxic chemicals, which is a key priority not only to the environmental movement but also to the labor movement.
Last year I was honored by the Worcester Democratic City Committee as Woman of the Year. Their big mistake was giving me a chance to speak! I called on my fellow Democrats to stand up for ethical conduct and to promote open and accountable government.
In our campaign we’ve been out knocking on doors, meeting neighbors, and listening to their concerns. On doorsteps and in our neighborhoods, I have spoken with many voters about the issues that touch their lives and impact their hopes for the future. I cherish these conversations and have learned a lot from them. When I hear anger and cynicism about government (which happens frequently), I am careful to try to hear the genuine concern that runs under the negative reaction. I have found that my vision of community-based solutions and a culture of respect resonates with many people who may not share my political framework.
My values and community vision have shaped the way we conduct this race. I am thrilled that we’ve gotten the trust and support of so many volunteers and organizations to enable us to run the kind of grassroots campaign that can win, and can translate into an organization that truly represents the voices, values and ideas of the community. I truly believe that this open communication is a key to good governance and I look forward to bringing that energy and ethic to work with me every day at the State House.
I look forward to answering your questions, getting your ideas, and working together to serve Worcester and Paxton as a progressive Democratic State Representative.
I can speak as a witness to her going way out of her way to help progressive candidates get into office. She would absolutely be a fierce advocate for the progressive causes the bulk of us on this site care about.
Both Margot and her husband David are tireless advocates for social and environmental justice. Margot is not afraid to get in there, do the hard work, and get her hands dirty. As Ryan noted, Margot (as does her husband David) walks the walk in ways few of us can claim. Would that more of our elected leadership had the sort of ethical commitment and drive that Margot has we’d actually have something.
Margot and I have worked side by side on countless campaigns. She is an activist who gets things done. She will be a very efective legislator. Please join me in supporting Margot Barnet.
Margot has indeed been a long time member of the BMG community. Margot mentioned in her post that she had acquired a last name. Margot, the editors will change your “handle” to inlcude your surname if you make a request. They did it for “John from Abington” who is now “John E. Walsh.” And you can keep your “coveted” low user ID.
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p>Kate
While we’re not in your district, you are close by to us – we’re going to ask folks at our Drinking Liberally meeting this Wednesday to donate to your campaign. If anyone wants to attend DL, we meet the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at the Turtle Tavern, 72 Main St in Milford, just a half block from Milford Town Hall.
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p>Margot, if you’d like to talk about environmental issues, I’ve recently started a radio show on WMRC, 1490 AM out of Milford, I’d be happy to have you as a guest. Email me if you’d like that – my address is in my profile on this site.
This is David Coyne, Margot’s husband and “partner for good.” (Today is actually our wedding anniversary day, 22 years.) Right now I am at the campaign HQ supervising volunteers, doing data entry, phone banking, and making lawn signs. Meanwhile Margot, her mom, Judy Barnet, and Sadie, the official campaign dog, are out going door to door.
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p>We are very touched by the recommendations and comments. We have both been in the trenches working on behalf of other candidates for a long time. And we are proud of the choices we have made and the success that our candidates have had. I was Jim McGovern’s Field Director when he was first elected in 1996. Margot is not only the most committed grassroots activist in the field, she is also the genuine progressive on issue after issue.
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p>With your help and support, Margot Barnet will be a great State Representative, not only voting the “right” way but speaking up, leading, and building a progressive caucus. Her election will make a big difference. Thanks.
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p>BTW, I’m not really campaigning for McGovern to run for President. I am just trying to express my enthusiasm for the best member of Congress in the history of the universe.
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p>Aside from “I am for warm milk and puppies, what does that mean?
Full disclosure, I am Margot’s Press Secretary, but I am writing not as a representative of her (Margot would be much nicer when handling a silly challenge to her positions).
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p>”Warm milk & puppies?” Really?? The paragraph highlighted is clearly about protecting people’s rights to job security in an economy that increasingly finds people dispensable. It’s about schools that promote critical thinking and 21st Century Skills, as in Carl Sciortino’s 2009 HB 3660, which was sadly mostly left behind in the recent Ed Reform Bill.
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p>It is about more investments in public transportation, practical laws on affordability of homes and housing. It’s about keeping toxins out of our homes and communities by supporting practical solutions that many communities are already taking on themselves, like the Toxic Soil Busters and Worcester’s Lead Abatement program. I would be more inclined to ask “What doesn’t this mean?” It’s pretty thick.
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p>I guess it is possible that what your question is implying is that these common sense values are somehow pie in the sky idealism. To that, I would say that it’s that kind of attitude that allows for corruption and greed to devalue the contributions of so many in our community in the interest of the bottom line. The irony of course is that valuing everyone, building healthy communities and keeping our children safe is good for the bottom line.
I should have been clearer. My apologies. I wouldn’t say they are pie in the sky idealism. Idealism yes but if a candidate doesn’t pursue their ideals on behalf of their future constituents they probably shouldn’t be running in the first place.
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p>Your reply citing specific legislation and initiatives is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.
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p>Margot and I share the same ideals. I think we might approach them from different directions but since one of the main themes of my campaign (Full disclosure: I am a candidate for State Representative in the Eighth Suffolk) is Common Ground…Common Sense, I look forward to the opportunity to serve together and achieve our shared goals.