Hey PDSers...As we approach the late afternoon of this city election, we need to get out there and help one of our endorsed candidates!

Christine Rafal, our ward 4 school committee endorsed candidate, has the votes needed to win this race but she needs more help to get her voters to the polls. The race is going to be a close one and the momentum is on her side in the final hours of this race!

Any time you have...from one hour to four hours...is needed to turn out her supporters in this important race!

Please call her campaign office at 617-335-6343 or shoot us an email if you can come out and help. This is it, any final help will make the difference needed to win!

Immediate Release – September 26, 2009
For more information, please contact Marty Martinez, PDS Chairperson at 617-256-5641 or chair at pdsomerville dot org.

Somerville, MA - The Progressive Democrats of Somerville (PDS) has made endorsements in the contested Alderman-at-Large race. PDS is proud to endorse incumbents Bill White and Dennis Sullivan for reelection, and challenger Luis Morales. Each candidate brings something different to this race and the PDS membership voted to support those perspectives.

West Somerville resident and PDS Endorsement Chair Ade Baptista said that for the members the choice was clear. "Just as our endorsed candidates did for ward alderman and school committee, each of these candidates sought our endorsement and took the time to share their views with our membership, come to our endorsement meeting to answer questions and talk about their progressive background and experiences. Our members are impressed with their credentials."

"This is the second time we have endorsed Alderman at Large Bill White and we are very proud to do so. He continues to be a strong voice for open and accountable government and we know that we have a strong progressive leader on the Board of Aldermen with him present." said PDS Chairman Marty Martinez. "Our membership was pleased to see Alderman at Large Dennis Sullivan seek our endorsement once again. Dennis made a strong case that he works hard to be accessible to all of the residents of the city and that he believes he brings a progressive agenda to the board. Finally, Luis Morales would bring a fresh perspective to the board and the PDS members present felt that his personal story and background would give voice to many of the residents in our community who are not engaged in local government. As a challenger, he would bring a much needed perspective to City Hall. We are proud to endorse each of these three candidates."

PDS invited all Alderman-at-Large candidates to submit a written response detailing their positions on a variety of issues. Four of the five candidates responded. Candidates were asked to respond to important issues facing this district including thoughts on local issues, the use of the Powerhouse School, ways to engage community residents and ideas for making their respective elected bodies more open and accessible. Their responses are posted on the PDS website at www.pdsomerville.org.

Please join us for our September meeting which is our Alderman-at-Large Endorsement Meeting! This will be a great way to hear from the candidates who are running for Alderman-at-Large and see which ones you will cast your votes for in November!

PDS September Meeting
Tuesday, September 22nd from 6:30 to 8:30
VNA, 259 Lowell Street - Community Room

Come out and see what PDS is up to and get involved in our upcoming local elections! For more information, please contact Marty Martinez at chair@pdsomerville.org

As part of our endorsement process, PDS sent questionnaires to the 5 candidates for the 4 Alderman-At-Large seats.

• Jack Connolly, Incumbent (responses)
• Bruce Desmond, Incumbent (did not respond)
• Luis Morales (responses)
• Dennis Sullivan, Incumbent (responses)
• Bill White, Incumbent (responses)

Please come out and support our endorsed candidate for Ward 4 School Committee - Christine Rafal!

Dear Friends,

I would like to invite you to an important upcoming event.

On Sunday, September 13th from 3:00pm to 5:00pm at the Paddock Restaurant, I will be kicking off my campaign for Ward 4 School Committee. Please see the attached invitation for details.

Hope you can make it.

Sincerely,
Christine Rafal
Candidate for Ward 4 School Committee

Immediate Release - August 1, 2009
For more information, please contact Marty Martinez, PDS Chairperson at 617-256-5641 or chair at pdsomerville dot org org.

Somerville, MA - The Progressive Democrats of Somerville (PDS) has made endorsements in three contested ward races. For the School Committee, PDS is proud to endorse Ward 5 incumbent Mark Niedergang and Ward 4 challenger Christine Rafal. In the only contested Alderman's race, PDS endorses Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz for reelection to that seat. All three candidates sought the endorsement by completing a questionnaire that highlighted their views and expressed their plans for serving the residents of our city. The members overwhelmingly voted to endorse each candidate and now plan to work to elect them.

West Somerville resident and PDS Endorsement Chair Ade Baptista said that for the members the choice was clear. "Each of these candidates took the time to share their views with our membership, they came to our meeting and expressed a commitment to open government that is accountable to the residents of the city. The membership is very enthused to support both Alderman Gewirtz and School Committeeman Niedergang for reelection and to elect a new voice for parents and children in Christine Rafal for the Ward 4 School Committee seat."

PDS Chairman, Marty Martinez said the Ward 4 race is an important one. "We have the chance to elect another strong community voice to the School Committee. Christine is a parent of a child at the Healey school, she is a former teacher and is dedicated to bringing more resources to our schools. She understands the great things already happening in our schools and the areas where more development is needed. Christine will be an active addition to the school committee and will do a great job representing the residents of Winter Hill and the Ten Hills neighborhood."

PDS invited both candidates in each of the three races 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 local issues, the use of the Powerhouse School, ways to engage community residents and ideas for making their respective elected bodies more open and accessible. The Progressive Democrats of Somerville are excited to endorse these candidates and put our collective efforts behind their campaigns.

PDS invited all of the candidates in contested races for municipal offices this year to fill out a questionnaire covering a number of the issues important to PDS members. We began by requesting responses from those running in contested Ward races, and we received the following responses. We will be voting on endorsements in these races at our upcoming meeting, so please join us!

Alderman Ward 6

• Rebekah Gewirtz (responses)
• Jim Campano (did not respond)

School Committee Ward 4

• James Norton (did not respond)
• Christine Rafal (responses)

School Committee Ward 5

• Mark Niedergang (responses)
• Anna Lavanga (did not respond)

Come out to our first endorsement meeting of the year! We will be making endorsements in the contested ward races which include the Ward 6 Alderman's Race, the Ward 5 School Committee Race and the Ward 4 School Committee Race. This will be a great chance to learn about the candidates running, ask some important questions and put our PDS support to work!

We will also get an update about the PDS Summer Picnic, our continued work on the city budget process and explore some community service projects. This is an important meeting so please come on out and take part.

Progressive Democrats Monthly Meeting
Tuesday, July 28th
6:30 to 8:30
Visiting Nurses Association (VNA), 259 Lowell Street

For more information, please contact PDS Chair Marty Martinez, chair at pdsomerville dot org.

Check out one of the most exciting organizations in Somerville!

Come out to the next Progressive Democrats of Somerville Meeting!

When: Tuesday, June 23 - 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Where: VNA - 259 Lowell St - Community Room

Monthly Meeting - Topics include update from Democratic State Convention, Endorsement Committee Update, Discussion about City budget work and recommendations including future use of the Powderhouse Community School and Plans for the Summer Member Picnic!

Come out and see what is happening at one of the most exciting organizations in Somerville!

For more information, please contact PDS Chairperson, Marty Martinez at chair at pdsomerville dot org.