Somerville, MA - The Progressive Democrats of Somerville has endorsed Rep. Carl Sciortino for re-election in the 34th Middlesex District (Somerville/Medford) House race. PDS members were impressed by Sciortino's hard work on behalf of the district on a variety of issues including working for increased local aid for education, advocating for the extension of the Green Line and his continued efforts on behalf of all the residents of the district.

Ward 7 Resident and PDS Endorsement Chair, Barry Rafkind, is one of those constituents who enthusiastically supports returning Sciortino to the State House. "From closing corporate tax loopholes to supporting mass transit to helping to increase local aid, Rep. Sciortino has proven himself to be a hard working representative and has accomplished a great deal in his time in office. It is clear to me that our district needs his leadership on Beacon Hill."

PDS, which voted unanimously to endorse Sciortino at its June General Meeting, invited both candidates in this race to submit a written response detailing their positions on a variety of issues. Candidates were asked to respond to important issues facing this district including thoughts on the Green Line extension, ways to increase support for public education and ideas for more accountability in government.

Join PDS in supporting Rep. Sciortino's campaign by emailing endorsements at pdsomerville dot org or check out more information about the candidate at www.electcarl.org.

PDS invited all of the Democratic candidates for State Representative in the 34th Middlesex and 35th Middlesex districts to fill out a questionnaire covering a number of the issues important to PDS members, and we received the following responses. We will be voting on endorsements in these races at our upcoming meeting, so please join us!

34th Middlesex District (Somerville/Medford)

• Carl Sciortino (responses) (website)
• Bob Trane (did not respond) (website)

35th Middlesex District (Medford/Malden)

• Jim Caralis (responses) (website)
• Paul Donato (responses) (website)
• Patrick McCabe (responses) (website)

Come out to the next PDS Meeting.

Tuesday, June 24th at 7:30pm at the

College Avenue United Methodist Church on Chapel Street.

PLEASE NOTE: We have moved our meeting to start a little later so interested people can attend the Union Square Zoning Meeting that starts at 6pm.

Check out our June meeting which will be an endorsement meeting for State Representative candidates in the 34th and 35th Middlesex Districts. A great meeting to come out and see some of the important work that PDS takes on in advocating for strong progressive candidates. Remember, this is a "Bring A Friend" meeting so all PDS members should try to bring someone new or someone who has not been to a meeting in a while.

June 4, 2008

Somerville - This week, the Progressive Democrats of Somerville officially launched their endorsement process for the upcoming round of state elections. Invitations were emailed to candidates in local contested races: Rep. Carl Sciortino and Ald. Bob Trane in the 34th Middlesex (Somerville/Medford) House race and Patrick McCabe, Jim Caralis, and Rep. Paul Donato in the 35th Middlesex (Medford/Malden) House race. Candidates who indicate their interest in being considered for endorsement by 5:00pm, Sunday, June 8th will be asked to answer a series of questions about their qualifications and positions which will be posted on our website, and which will help members decide their vote on the endorsement question at our June 24th general meeting. PDS looks forward to hearing from these candidates as it moves forward with this important process.

For more information: Marty Martinez, Chairperson of PDS, 617-256-5641

Please come on out for our monthly Progressive Dems of Somerville meeting on Tuesday, May 27th from 7:00 to 9:00 at the VNA at 259 Lowell Street.

We have a full agenda that includes a guest speaker: State Representative Denise Provost. Come and learn about her work on behalf of Somerville up on Beacon Hill.
The Agenda also includes:

• Issues Campaign Update
• Election for vacant seats on the Steering Committee - Affirmative Action Chair, Secretary and Co-Chair seats of Issues, Membership and Endorsement
• Endorsement Committee Update
• Social Event(s) Planning

Coming to monthly meetings is a great way to learn more about the happenings in Somerville, meet other motivated neighbors and get involved in one of the most exciting organizations in the city.

We hope to see you there!

All are welcome to our annual meeting. The agenda will include officer elections.

Please join us at our next general meeting open to the public, as always. Details to be announced.

The Progressive Democrats of Somerville are proud to announce their endorsement decisions for Somerville's School Committee races:

• Adam Sweeting for Ward 3 School Committee, particularly for a degree of engagement and insight impressive in a first-time candidate. [link to questionnaire responses]
• Mark Niedergang for Ward 5 School Committee, particularly for his leadership in long-range planning and his tendency to ask probing questions. [link to questionnaire responses]
• Paul Bockelman for Ward 6 School Committee, particularly for the steps he has taken in informing and engaging his constituents in Ward 6. [link to questionnaire responses]
• Mary Jo Rossetti for Ward 7 School Committee, particularly for her hard work both at the city and state level towards MCAS reform. [link to questionnaire responses]

PDS is proud to support all four of these candidates and looks forward to working with them toward our mutual goals for the city.

Ward 3 Candidate Responses - Adam Sweeting

Ward 5 Candidate Responses - Mark Niedergang

Ward 6 Candidate Responses - Paul Bockelman

Ward 7 Candidate Responses - Mary Jo Rossetti