Elections

Tons of Potential Candidates for Watertown’s Town Council, School Races

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This fall’s Watertown Town Election could feature contested race for almost every position on the Town Council and School Committee, and possibly a preliminary election in September. With several hot-button issues in town these days – development, the firefighters contract, and the schools (among others) – dozens of potential candidates have taken out papers to run for town office in the Nov. 3 election. Town Clerk John Flynn said this is the most people he has seen interested in running for office in Watertown for several years. “It’s been a while.

Elections

Watertown Democrats Electing Delegates for State Convention

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Democrats in Watertown will be holding a caucus in the Watertown Savings Bank Room of the Watertown Free Public Library on Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m. to elect 24 delegates and five alternates to the 2015 Massachusetts Democratic Convention, where Democrats from across the commonwealth will gather to meet fellow activists and hear from elected officials. The convention will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. “This convention will be unique as we build on experiences from many competitive elections these past few years and look to strengthen the party for the future,” said Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman, Sen. Tom McGee. “Caucuses are an important step in growing our party engagement at the local level.” The caucus is open to all registered Democrats in Watertown and the Democratic Party warmly welcomes first-time participants. Delegates will be divided equally between men and women, and all ballots will be written and secret.

Elections

Watertown Man Honored for Role in Passing State Ballot Question

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Watertown’s Steve Aylward and his two campaign received national recognition for their work on passing Question 1 which removed the link of Massachusetts’ gas tax to inflation and faced a well-funded “No” campaign. On March 19, Aylward, a Republican State Committee member; Republican strategist Holly Robichaud; and GOP State Rep. Geoff Diehl of Whitman, co-chairs were honored by the American Association of Political Consultants with with the Ballot Measure Campaign of the Year for their work on Question 1. The ceremony was held in New Orleans

“Easily the biggest challenge was money,” Aylward said. “We were outspent 31-to-1.” While the No campaign had the support of big construction firms and other groups, the Yes campaign relied on small donations from individuals.

Elections

LETTER: Watertown Resident Helped Question 1 Succeed

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To the Editor,

On November 4th the voters of Massachusetts said no to “Taxation Without Representation” by voting Yes on Question 1. We repealed the legislation that raised the gasoline tax atomically every year without any further debate or vote of the legislature. In so doing the Commonwealth’s voters restored representative democracy, in it’s birthplace and cradle. The vast majority of credit for this effort belongs to Watertown’s own Steve Aylward. He conceived this ballot initiative.

Elections

See How Watertown Voted in Tuesday’s Election

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Watertown backed Martha Coakley for governor opposed adding new bottle deposits and opposed separating the gas tax from inflation in an election that saw more than half the voters turn out. The voter turnout in Watertown was 52.31 percent – with 11,698 ballots cast. That was close to the number in the last governor’s election in 2010 when 12,019 people voted. The presidential election in 2012 had 16,200 voters. Town Clerk John Flynn said the turnout was healthy.

Elections

LETTER: Residents Explain Why They Support Coakley for Governor

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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We are supporting Martha Coakley for Governor on Tuesday, November 4. We hope you will too. Martha has been a dogged and courageous force for fairness and progressive values throughout her public service career in Massachusetts. She has consistently protected women’s access to reproductive health services and fought for equal pay for equal work.  She challenged the Defense of Marriage Act and won and she went after predatory lenders and kept over 30,000 families in their homes. However even beyond her clearly progressive record, there is another critical issue facing us now: the growing inequality of wealth in our Commonwealth and across America. How we deal with this now will impact us all, rich and poor, for many years to come. The growing gap between haves and have-nots is an urgent moral and political issue, but there is also a growing chorus of economists who contend that the accelerating hollowing-out of the middle class in America will have a severe negative impact on the long term health of our economy and our society. Policies that support the growing concentration of wealth actually weaken our economy.

Elections

LETTER: ProgressiveWatertown Endorsements for Nov. 4 Election

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Dear Editor,

On September 28th, a large group of Watertown citizens met to talk about the November 4th Election. We all felt the Ballot Questions were extremely important, and all faced monied opposition. We voted and endorsed our majority opinion on these questions. Later 25 citizens chipped in to print up our positions and take the issue voter to voter. On Question #1 we voted NO to the repeal of the indexed gas tax.

Elections

State Rep. Jonathan Hecht Named Environmental Champion

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Watertown State Rep. Jonathan

Watertown State Rep. Jonathan Hecht received recognition for his work on environmental issues from two groups. Hecht was named an “Environmental Champion” by the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund and the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters (MLEV) and endorsed for re-election for his seat in the 29th Middlesex District. “Our organizations are united in support of the extraordinary commitment to environmental protection made by Jonathan Hecht,” said Chuck Anastas, MLEV board Chairman. “We need his 21st century leadership in the state legislature.”

George Bachrach, president of the ELM Action Fund, said Hecht understands the importance of clean energy technology. “Representative Hecht understands the connection between the environment and the economy,” Bachrach said.