More Endorsement Coverage

This week's edition of the West Roxbury Transcript carry 2 notes about DFA-Boston's endorsements.

DFA endorses Yoon
City Councilor at-large candidate Sam Yoon picked up another key endorsement last week. This time, the organization is Democracy for America, a group of volunteers and political activists founded in the wake of Governor Howard Dean's run for the Democratic presidential nomination. On July 9, Yoon also received the nod from the Ward 9 Democratic Committee. The first-time candidate has also received the support of Boston's Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the National Asian American Action Fund and U.S. Congressman Mike Honda, among others.
"Sam's endorsement was born from his tremendous background in affordable housing, his progressive vision for our city and a strong campaign," said Brad Johnson, Boston DFA organizer. "Sam will be a progressive voice on Boston's City Council, and that is why we are behind him,"
Yoon, the first Asian-American to run for elected office in the city of Boston, was the only at-large candidate out of a field of 15 to receive DFA's support.
"Democracy for America and I share a vision for the city of Boston," said Yoon. "It's been quite an honor to have this many organizations and individuals get behind my campaign. Together, we can build a stronger city that unites our diverse populations."
Yoon joined the race because he of his unique set of skills and experiences. He spent years working on affordable housing and community development issues and would be the only member of the city council with a major background in financial management. In addition, Yoon served as a schoolteacher in underprivileged school districts.

DFA is endorsing Hennigan, Yoon and Rivera
On July 10, members of Democracy for America: Boston announced their endorsements for this year's mayoral and city council races. Sam Yoon, challenger for City Council At-Large; Gibrán Rivera, challenger for City Council District 6; and Maura Hennigan, challenger for mayor, received the endorsements. Each candidate encompasses the true spirit of grassroots democracy, fiscal responsibility, and social progress.
"In their diversity, commitment to social progress, and work ethic, Sam, Gibrán and Maura represent what is best of Boston," said Brad Johnson, head of DFA Boston. "They have proven their dedication to empowering all the citizens of Boston, and will bring government accountability back to City Hall."
Yoon has worked to bring community economic development and affordable housing to Boston for the past 10 years, most recently as development director for the Asian Community Development Corporation.
Rivera also has a 10-year record of community leadership, notably as a founder and director of the grassroots organizations Voto Latino, MassVOTE, and Iniciativa.
Hennigan has been a progressive voice on the City Council for nearly 24 years, with a particular investment in improving Boston's public schools and economic development.
Endorsed candidates received more than 75 percent approval from the voting members of DFA Boston. DFA Boston will support its endorsed candidates by training and organizing volunteers, holding fundraisers, distributing literature, and by supporting the candidates' endorsement by the national Democracy for America organization.
Inspired by the presidential campaign of Howard Dean, Democracy for America is dedicated to supporting fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates at all levels of government-from school board to the presidency. DFA fights against the influence of the far right-wing and their radical, divisive policies and the selfish special interests that for too long have dominated our politics. DFA Boston meets the first Wednesday of every month. For more information, visit www.dfaboston.org.

The Allstion-Brighton Tab also covered DFA's endorsement.

Dean's group endorses challengers
Members of Democracy for America: Boston announce its endorsements for this year's mayoral and City Council races for the city of Boston.
Sam Yoon, challenger for City Council At-Large; Gibran Rivera, challenger for City Council District 6; and Maura Hennigan, challenger for mayor, received the endorsements.
"In their diversity, commitment to social progress, and work ethic, Sam, Gibran, and Maura represent what is best of Boston,¨ said Brad Johnson, head of DFA Boston. "They have proven their dedication to empowering all the citizens of Boston, and will bring government accountability back to City Hall.¨
Yoon has worked to bring community economic development and affordable housing to Boston for the past 10 years, most recently as development director for the Asian Community Development Corporation. Rivera also has a 10-year record of community leadership, notably as a founder and director of the grassroots organizations Voto Latino, MassVOTE, and Iniciativa.
Hennigan has been a progressive voice on the City Council for nearly 24 years, with a particular investment in improving Boston¡¦s public schools and economic development.
Endorsed candidates received more than 75 percent approval from the voting members of DFA Boston. DFA Boston will support its endorsed candidates by training and organizing volunteers, hosting fund-raisers, distributing literature, and by supporting the candidates's endorsement by the national Democracy for America organization.
Inspired by the presidential campaign of Howard Dean, Democracy for America is dedicated to supporting fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates at all levels of government,from school board to the presidency. DFA fights against the influence of the far right-wing and their radical, divisive policies and the selfish special interests that for too long have dominated politics.
With hundreds of members in the Boston area, DFA Boston meets the first Wednesday of every month to support DFA's national priorities and engage in local political activism. DFA Boston began in January 2003 as one of the first meet-ups of Dean supporters in the nation and continues as an active force in local progressive activism.
For more information, log on to www.democracyforamerica.com.

A question from a member: Is DFA a vehicle to support progressive candidates or a lobbying entity for favorite progressive causes?

As I see it, the core mission of DFA (Boston) is to further progressive causes through progressive politicians. That means getting people to run for office, supporting campaigns, lobbying elected officials, and getting involved in the local party structure.

The goal is to break down the wall between the causes and the politicians. There is always an uneasy balance between movements and institutions--both need each other, and DFA is something that tries to straddle the line.

The way I keep my conception of DFA simple is that I see it as the shadow Democratic Party. All the things that the Democratic Party should be doing is what DFA does. If the Democratic Party were perfect, we (the American people) wouldn't need DFA.

In Boston, by way of example, the local Democratic Party structure is a mess. There's no citywide organization of Boston Democrats (no city committee, e.g.). That's a void DFA Boston can fill. Note that we have already done so by endorsing local candidates as a citywide progressive organization. The Boston Democratic City Committee should be doing that--but the City Committee doesn't exist!

DFA-Boston in the News

Coverage of DFA-Boston's endorsements of Maura Hennigan, Sam Yoon, and Gibran Rivera continues. In the July 21st edition of The Bulletin Newspapers, DFA-Boston's press release was published as part of the paper's Political Notes. The Bulletin labeled DFA-Boston's announcement as the First Wave of Endorsements. DFA-Boston is proud to among the early group of organizations to announce their endorsements for this fall's election.

DFA-Boston Setting the Standard

Check out this week's edition of the Boston Phoenix. According to Adam Reilly, DFA-Boston gave mayoral challenger Maura Hennigan her first local endorsement. Will the rest of the city follow our lead?

HENNIGAN GETS FIRST BOSTON ENDORSEMENT
Feels like the first time
BY ADAM REILLY

It was a long time coming, but mayoral hopeful Maura Hennigan finally received her first local endorsement. On July 10, the Boston chapter of Democracy for America (DFA), a progressive group originally founded by Howard Dean, gave the nod to Hennigan, the at-large Boston city councilor who’s waging an improbable battle to unseat Mayor Tom Menino.
The DFA Boston press release praised Hennigan’s lengthy council tenure and her focus on public schools and economic development. But Menino’s responses to two particular items on the DFA questionnaire may have been just as important.
While answering a question about the mayor’s relationship with the city council, Menino implied that the famously weak council actually has too much power: "Sometimes I get frustrated with the power of the Council to hold up programs that I feel are beneficial, such as funding for youth programs that has been bottled up by several councilors, but that is their right," he wrote.
Menino’s take on the Boston Redevelopment Authority — which many critics see as dangerously powerful and opaque — couldn’t have helped, either. In fact, judging from the mayor’s response, he’s either unaware of these concerns or regards them as irrelevant. "While some developers have criticized the BRA for allowing too much neighborhood input, I disagree," Menino said in part. "The BRA has a balancing act to do, and for the most part, they do it." (The questionnaires of all candidates who participated in DFA Boston’s endorsement process are available online at www.dfaboston.org/Mass/responses.asp.)
When DFA Boston head Brad Johnson was asked about the mayor’s comments, though, he diplomatically refused to pass judgment. "I hope Mr. Menino isn’t trying to say this," Johnson wrote in an e-mail, "and DFA Boston is ready to help host a debate to clear up these questions."

We Need You

Maura Hennigan for Mayor, Sam Yoon for City Council At-Large, and Gibran Rivera are the first candidates ever to be endorsed by DFA Boston . Taking our country back means electing accountable, progressive candidates starting in our own backyard. You have the power to make this happen.

I need your help: to allow DFA Boston to do the most for our endorsed candidates, we need people to be lead coordinators for each campaign. We also need people with skills in community organizing, web design/programming, event planning, languages, or media relations, as well as people who can just offer some time and DFA energy. To get involved in a leadership or skilled role, email or call me (617.429.9106 ) or subscribe to the DFA Boston Steering Committee, or just post a comment below!

Defend Boston against Santorum

On the floor of the Senate today, Sen. Kennedy stood up and eloquently defended Boston's honor against the vile rantings of Rick Santorum, the man from Pennsylvania (although he manages to dodge school bills by shuffling through residences in Washington) who besmirches the title "Senator" on a daily basis. In 2002, Santorum stated that he was not surprised that the child abuse associated with the Catholic Church was focused in Boston, with its rampant liberalism. He repeated this statement on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

Here's Kennedy's strong response:

Rick Santorum owes an immediate apology to the tragic, long-suffering victims of sexual abuse and their families in Boston, in Massachusetts, in Pennsylvania and around this country. His outrageous and offensive comments - which he had the indecency to repeat yesterday - blamed the people of Boston for the depraved behavior of sick individuals who stole the innocence of children in the most horrible way imaginable."

Senator Santorum has shown a deep and callous insensitivity to the victims and their suffering in an apparent attempt to score political points with some of the most extreme members of the fringe right wing of his Party. Boston bashing might be in vogue with some Republicans, but Rick Santorum's statements are beyond the pale.

Three years ago, Senator Santorum said "While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm." When given an opportunity to apologize yesterday, he refused and instead restated these outrageous statements. The people of Boston are to blame for the clergy sexual abuse? That statement is irresponsible, insensitive and inexcusable. Rick Santorum should join all Americans in celebrating the accomplishments of the people of Boston.

Apparently Senator Santorum has never heard of the enormous contributions of our universities and industries to our quality of life, our economic strength, and our national security....

More than a dozen current U.S. Senators were educated in Boston. Senator Frist was trained as a heart surgeon at Harvard Medical School. Senator Dole went to Harvard Law. Senator Alexander went to Harvard's School of Government. Surely, my honorable colleagues wouldn't go to a school that is somehow contributing to the downfall of America? No. They went to a worldwide leading institution to prepare them for incredible careers of service and leadership. ...

The abuse of children is a horrible perversion and a tragic crime, and I am proud that the good people of Boston and Massachusetts were leaders in coming forward, shedding light and demanding accountability for this devastating violation of children. Sadly, the sexual abuse of children is a problem throughout the world, and it is not confined in any way to members of the clergy or to one city or one town. Every state in the country has reported child sexual abuse, including Pennsylvania.

On behalf of all of the victims of abuse and the people of Boston and Massachusetts, I ask that he retract his unfounded statements and apologize. I think the families of Massachusetts were hurt just as much by this terrible tragedy as the families of Pennsylvania. Abuse against children is not a liberal or conservative issue. It's a horrific and unspeakable tragedy. Sadly, it happens in every state of this great nation - red states and blue states, in the north and in the south, in big cities and small. The victims of child sexual abuse have suffered enough already, and Senator Santorum should stop making a bad and very tragic situation worse.

Read the full speech at Crystal Patterson's post. Capitol Buzz has another heartfelt rejoinder from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Why It's So Important We Get Our Party Back...

Rosenfeld and Fitrakis's Dumb Donkey Report is a harsh smackdown of the Democratic National Committee's report on the Ohio vote mess:

The DNC's 2004 Election Report is well, just like the rest of the Party: tepid, afraid to address the real issues, and unprepared to avoid the same failures in 2006 and 2008.

The Democratic National Committee's investigation into Ohio's 2004 presidential election irregularities is the perfect postscript to the party's 'election protection' efforts last fall: it is a shocking indictment of a party caught completely off-guard in its most heated presidential campaign in years, and a party that still doesn't fully understand what happened and how to avoid a repeat in the future.

Congrats! DFA Boston Endorsements

Our members have voted, and the ballots counted. The Boston candidates who earned the DFA Boston endorsement by receiving greater than 75% support of the voting members are:

Sam Yoon for City Council At-Large

Gibran Rivera for City Council District 6

Maura Hennigan for Mayor

Congratulations! The candidates were feted at yesterday's barbecue, and further announcements about what DFA Boston will be doing for the announced candidates are forthcoming. Make sure to come by Sam Yoon's official campaign kick-off Tuesday, July 19 at 6 PM at the Golden Leaf Restaurant in Chinatown...

Blogging at the BBQ

Here I am with all the good-looking members of DFA Boston in Deb's sweet backyard pad in Mission Hill. A few people are hanging out under the bower, but many others are enjoying the homemade potato salad and guacamole. City Council At-Large candidate Kevin McCrea is here in his ubiquitous red shirt. Sam Yoon and his campaign manager have enjoyed our food and have to head out to see the family. McCrea showed me his latest post on the unbelievable action by sitting district councillor Paul Scapicchio, who's joining the huge lawfirm of Mintz Levin "of counsel". Read Kevin's blog for the gory details.

Endorsements!

At yesterday's meetup, after talking and hearing from Maura Hennigan, John Connolly, Kevin McCrea, Sam Yoon, and Joe Ready (and the campaign managers for Gibran Rivera and Susan Passoni), members cast the initial ballots for the DFA Boston endorsements. Online voting for eligible members (those who have attended at least two DFA meetups, steering committee meetings, or fundraisers in the past 12 months, not including yesterday's meetup) continues through Sunday, July 10 at noon.

Results will be announced at the BBQ house party Sunday afternoon.

This is an open thread for members who want to discuss or pledge their support for the candidates.

DFA Boston Questionnaire Responses

MAYOR

• Maura Hennigan
  
• Tom Menino

AT-LARGE CITY COUNCIL

• Kevin McCrea
  
• Matt O'Malley
  
• Felix Arroyo
  
• Joe Ready
  
• Sam Yoon
  
• John Connolly

DISTRICT CITY COUNCIL

• Susan Passoni (Dist. 2)
  
• Michael J. Cote (Dist. 3)
  
• Gibran Rivera (Dist. 6)
  

Before the Past, Present, and Future: O'Connor's Legacy

Fellow Boston-area liberal blogger Blue Mass Group has the definitive post on O'Connor. It helps that he clerked for O'Connor in 1994-1995. He discusses how O'Connor's presence shaped the Court, even in little ways by being the first woman (no longer could Justices refer to each other as "my Brother"). More importantly, he offers his take on how Justice O’Connor’s retirement might affect various important issues. I list just his ratings, but the post has detailed analysis of the issues. Go read it!

Affirmative Action: RED ALERT.

Choice/Abortion: RED ALERT.

Religion: RED ALERT.

Criminal Law: Yellow Alert.

Voting Rights: Yellow Alert.

Free Speech: Yellow Alert.

Gay Rights: Yellow Alert.

Civil Rights Laws: Yellow Alert.

Federalism: Condition Green.