Fight the Foley Five

As we all know by now, Mark Foley (FL-16) was known by the GOP to be a sexual predator since at least 2001.

At least four other Republicans have been involved in covering up his predation: Denny Hastert, John Boehner, Tom Reynolds, and John Shimkus.

Wondering what you can do about it? Let's replace the whole lot.

http://www.actblue.com/page/foleyfive/

House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children Chair Mark Foley, Republican, (FL-16) was known by the GOP to be a sexual predator since at least 2001.

Tim Mahoney, Democrat, is a rancher, family man, entrepeneur, and former Republican with ending Abramoff-style corruption as his number one issue.

Fight the Foley Five and support Tim Mahoney.

NRCC Chair Tom Reynolds, Republican, (NY-26) told Speaker of the House Denny Hastert about Foley's behavior--and then accepted $100,000 in hush money from Foley. Reynolds' current chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, had been Foley's campaign manager and chief of staff--and has been advising Foley since the scandal broke.

Jack Davis, Democrat, is an engineer and small-business owner and was in both the Marine Reserves and Coast Guard. He wants to restore American jobs and correct the horrible mistake of the Iraq war.

Fight the Foley Five and support Jack Davis.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, Republican, (OH-8) admitted to learning earlier this year of Foley's predatory behavior, and admitted telling Denny Hastert but nothing else--but then retracted his story, claiming now he "doesn't remember" whether he told Hastert or not.

Mort Meier, Democrat, is a Korean War veteran and former Republican disgusted with the corruption of John Boehner who wants to restore economic growth and environmental protection to Ohio.

Fight the Foley Five and support Mort Meier.

Speaker of the House Denny Hastert, Republican, (IL-14) knew about Foley's predatory behavior for at least a year and did nothing--and is even now stonewalling any investigation.

Fight the Foley Five and support John Laesch.

Chairman of the House Page Board John Shimkus, Republican, (IL-19) met with Foley in 2005, knew about Foley's predatory behavior, and never told the sole Democratic member of the Page Board about Foley. Shimkus spoke approvingly in public about Foley's interest in the pages and let him take one of them alone to dinner.

Danny Stover, Democrat, is a professor and city councilman who has fought for fiscal discipline and progressive values--the exact opposite of his opponent.

Fight the Foley Five and support Danny Stover.

http://www.actblue.com/page/foleyfive/

DFA Boston Volunteer Days

On Sept 5th, the DFA Boston Group announced they were designating this weekend (Sept 9th & 10) as DFA Boston Volunteer Days. We have asked all of our members to volunteer a few hours either Sat, Sun, or both to helping one of our endorsed candidates.

Here is the contact info for each campaign:

Phil Dunkelbarger
125 Sunrise Rd
Westwood MA 02090

Ph: 857-891-Dunk
Email: dunkelbargerdemocrat@comcast.net

Sonia Chang-Diaz

37 Roxbury St.
Roxbury MA 02119

Ph. (617) 848-0875
Email: soniachangdiaz@gmail.com

John Bonifaz

7 Harris Ave
Jamaica Plain MA 02130

Ph. (617) 524-5151
Email: info@johnbonifaz.com


Andrea Silbert

67 Coddington St
Quincy MA 02169

Ph. (617) 479-2006
Email: info@AndreaSilbert.com

Claire Naughton

8 Pleasant St
Mansfield MA 02048

Ph. (508) 399-9800
Email: campaign@clairenaughton.com

Deval Patrick

56 Roland St Ste 100D
Boston MA 02196
Ph. (617) 367-2006

632 Warren St
Dorchester MA 02121
PH. (617) 427-9800

Email: info@devalpatrick.com

DFA Boston Endorsements

On Sept 5th, The DFA Boston Group announced the following endorsements:

Lt. Governor - Andrea Silbert
Congress (9th District) - Phil Dunkelbarger
State Sentate (2nd Suffolk) - Sonia Chang-Diaz
State Rep (1st Bristol) - Claire Naughton

Here is the breakdown of the results:

Lt. Gov:

Andrea Silbert - 77.8%
Tim Murray - 22-2%
Deb Goldberg - 0%
None - 0%

Congress:

Phil Dunkelbarger - 100%
Steve Lynch - 0%
None - 0%

State Senate:

Sonia Chang-Diaz - 90%
Dianne Wilkerson - 0%
None - 10%

State Rep:

Claire Naughton - 100%
None - 0%

To earn DFA Boston's endorsement, a candidate must receive at least 75% of the vote.

Earlier this year, DFA Boston endorsed Deval Patrick for Governor and John Bonifaz for Secretary of State.

DFA Boston Hosting Free Movie Screening

The DFA Boston Group will be hosting a free screening of The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress on Wed, Sept 6th at 6:30 pm at The United South End Settlements: Harriet Tubman House on 566 Columbus Ave. Refreshments will be provided. For more info contact Jennifer McGoldrick at (617) 327-0275.

To join DFA Boston, go to http://www.dfalink.com/boston.

BlueMassGroup endorses Deval

Following DFA's lead, the leading liberal blog of Massachusetts, BlueMassGroup, endorses Deval Patrick for governor:

Was it just a bunch of platitudes, however inspiring; or could he jump into policy, take some bold stands, and get into the nitty gritty? Patrick answered that starting last fall (months before any other candidate), by making a slew of specific, well-researched and well-argued policy positions:

He endorsed Cape Wind, going against the most powerful politicians in the state: Ted Kennedy, Mitt Romney, and Tom Reilly. It was and is the right decision.

He came out in support of the health care ballot initiative that became the basis of the more ambitious House proposal, which eventually became the core of the new health care law -- the grandstanding of Governor Romney notwithstanding.

He expressed unequivocal support for marriage -- including same-sex unions -- drawing on his exerience enforcing civil rights.

He made a constructive proposal on merit pay in schools and skillfully navigated tricky political waters to do it.

He proposed $735 million of possible savings in the state budget. He drew on his Fortune 50 corporate experience to suggest better enforcement of rules, leveraging the state's buying power, and controlling earmarks, among other improvements.

He has endorsed an independent investigation for the Big Dig.

In addition to being long on substance, Patrick is an electrifying speaker....

Money or People?

From the Boston Globe:

Patrick has held the lead in most public polls since winning the Democratic Convention endorsement in early June. His two primary election opponents -- Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and Christopher Gabrieli, a wealthy businessman -- have spent almost $4 million over the past four weeks in hope of improving their standings. Strategists familiar with polls in all the campaigns say the inroads by Reilly and Gabrieli have been slight.

...

The Democratic campaigns have not aired negative ads , though there are signs the campaign could get nasty. Over the weekend, the Globe published an internal Reilly campaign e-mail exchange that outlined how the attorney general's political aides were planning to promote the effort by a New York-based labor organizer, Ray Rogers, to discredit Patrick for his role as Coca-Cola's general counsel.
Patrick faces a tough battle to compete with Reilly and Gabrieli. Reilly, having spent close to $2 million since late July, has about $3 million left in his advertising budget, aides say. Gabrieli, a multimillionaire who has already used $5.4 million of his own money over the last four months to promote his candidacy, is spending close to $600,000 a week.

At this point, Gabrieli's ability to tap his personal fortune to pay for his campaign is considered the most important variable in the Democratic race, strategists said privately.
The Patrick campaign's antidote to the financial gap lies with its grass-roots effort. Taking a page from Howard Dean, Patrick spent money on a grass-roots organization, using the internet to link up supporters. The campaign says it has raised $1 million online since last fall, a quarter of its total fund-raising. It has just hired 12 new field coordinators for the last five weeks of the campaign.

What can we do to bring young people into politics?

What kinds of strategies and technologies will help us recruit new grassroots leaders?

Join Boston Drinking Liberally and activists from local Democracy for America chapters as we chat with Scott Goldstein, author of the exciting new book, "The Tea is in the Harbor". Scott will discuss his experiences working with Generation DFA, and his strategy for reaching out to young liberals and bringing them in to the political process. This will be a great chance to meet liberal dinkers and DFA activists from around the Boston area!Copies of the book will be available at Middlesex if you'd like to buy one.

See www.scottforamerica.com... for more information.

WHERE: Middlesex Lounge, 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts

WHEN: Aug. 8, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

RSVP: upcoming.org/event/95348...

Take Action for Boston's Kids Tomorrow

An Important Message From City Councilor Sam Yoon

This Wednesday, June 28, I will be casting the most important vote during my tenure so far on the Boston City Council. I will be voting NO on the city's operating budget.

The reason is that it does not provide nearly enough funds to reverse the epidemic of violence and hopelessness that is plaguing certain neighborhoods in our city, and especially its young people.

Since my election late last year, beginning with a quadruple murder in my own neighborhood in Dorchester, until just last week, when a prominent minister-activist and friend of mine decided to move out of Roxbury to protect his children, I have heard and seen everything I need to hear and see.

I have followed the media reports, walked in marches, participated in rallies; I have done the research, read the studies, talked with the police, worked with youth workers, and met with the families of murder victims. I have appraised the problem from the macro to the micro level, and I am convinced that we need to take real action, and we need to do it now.

We need a bold response that focuses like a laser beam on young people. This is both sound public policy and common sense, because so much of the violence in our city begins and ends with troubled youth.

Furthermore, we need to buffer their friends, families, and social networks from what the Boston Globe has called “toxic stress.” From their June 19 editorial: “In metaphorical terms, entire neighborhoods are starting to suffer from toxic stress. And if the authorities can't check the violence and restore peace to the neighborhoods, then the likely response to the stress will be harmful to Boston. Fight or flight.”

I have outlined a fiscally responsible plan for increasing the city's funding for summer jobs and for youth violence prevention. It is eminently affordable, and yet it will greatly multiply our current under funded efforts in these areas.

If the City Council has any power at all, it has the power to steer the budget toward the city's most pressing priorities. If the City Council chooses not to exercise this power during this time of unprecedented risk to young people and to hard-hit communities, then shame on us.

Please join me in calling upon the Boston City Council to block approval of the Mayor's budget until it reflects a response that is commensurate with the problem at hand.

Specifically, I invite you to attend the City Council meeting on Wednesday (June 28, 11:30, 5th floor of City Hall). Your presence in the gallery will provide a measure of accountability that will help to sway some of my colleagues.

If you are so moved, I would also invite you to call all of our city councilors beforehand and express your views to their staff. This is not just a Roxbury-Dorchester-Mattapan problem. It is a City of Boston problem.

Since taking office, I made a promise that every public action I take would be fully transparent. Nothing of any importance that I do on your behalf should be done privately or behind closed doors. I am a public servant, and I serve you, so I felt it was my responsibility to communicate my thoughts on this matter, and to explain my actions fully.

Don't ever hesitate to tell me how I'm doing, whether you agree or disagree. It makes me better at what I do. But as always, I thank you for your continued support and for listening.

1. What does a NO vote mean?
It simply means that the City Council is requesting additional time to negotiate with the Mayor’s administration around funding for youth. The City Council will meet again on July 12. As of July 1, the city’s operating budget will temporarily use FY06 funding levels until the FY07 budget is approved by the council.

2. How much additional funding is being requested?
An additional $1.2 million for youth summer jobs (which will restore recent drastic cuts to this program), and an additional $3.9 million for violence prevention, in the form of increased city personnel (both Streetworkers and youth workers), as well as contract employees or the creation of grant programs to fulfill short-term needs for youth services and violence prevention. This funding program would be designed with community-based organizations.

This $4.1 million represents a 0.19% increase over the Mayor’s proposed operating budget.

3. How do I contact my city councilor?

Councilor Sal Lamattina
617-635-3200
salvatore.lamattina@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Jimmy Kelly
617-635-3203
james.kelly@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Maureen Feeney
617-635-3455
maureen.feeney@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Charles Yancey
617-635-3131
charles.yancey@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Rob Consalvo
617-635-4210
rob.consalvo@cityofboston.gov

Councilor John Tobin
617-635-4220
john.tobin@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Chuck Turner
617-635-3510
chuck.turner@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Michael Ross
617-635-4225
michael.ross@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Jerry McDermott
617-635-3113
jerry.mcdermott@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Felix Arroyo
617-635-3115
felix.arroyo@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Michael Flaherty
617-635-4205
michael.f.flaherty@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Stephen Murphy
617-635-4376
stephen.murphy@cityofboston.gov

Sam Yoon Needs Your Help

Next Wednesday, at 11:30 am, The Boston City Council will be in session to vote on the budget. Councilor Sam Yoon, as well as, Councilors Arroyo, Turner, Yancey are prepared to vote against the budget unless it includes significant increases in appropriations for violence prevention and youth job opportunities.

They would really like to fill the chamber with activists to hold the Council accountable. The 4 councilors hope to be able to force a 6-6 vote, which would bring the issue to the Mayor, who is not necessarily in favor of this happening. Councilor Yoon and the others, feel the increased funding is fiscally responsible but provides much needed support to the city's youth, who are suffering from the increased violence.

At our January Meeting, Andrew McLeod on behalf of the DFA Boston Group, asked Sam to let us know when he needed our support. Well Sam remembered and is asking for our help. Here is a good opportunity to get involved and make a difference in city affairs.

Sam will be sending out some talking points on the issue soon, we will post them as soon as we receive them.