As you probably know, Primary Election Day is today. As residents of this community, business owners and active community members, we have chosen to endorse four candidates for public office who have earned our respect and our vote. We hope you will consider our choices when you cast your votes in the various races this year.

You can read the full endorsements below/on the jump, but for now – here is the short version/list:
Robert Trane – State Representative in the 34th District
Sean O’Donovan – Middlesex County Register of Probate
Edward O’Reilly – United States Senate
Michael Callahan – Governor’s Council

From the City of Somerville website:
A list of the polling places is here
Same ballots are here
If you are unsure of where you should vote, look up by address here
An alert from the Election Department regarding some new polling places is here

Bob Trane for State Representative in the 34th District.

Bob
Trane isn’t just running for State Representative in the 34th District
– he is running against a machine that wants to make you believe he is
something just short of the anti-Christ. For some bewildering reason,
these political neophytes have designated Bob as being an entrenched
member of the crooked “old-boy” or “old school” political network. Not
that you would normally need to, but, a quick check of public records
clearly indicates that Bob has only been the Ward 7 Alderman for four
years and never held elected office before then. That isn’t the only
inconsistency, misstatement and outright lie that has been flung at Bob
either, but we’ll save that for later.

In four short years since he became the Ward 7 Alderman, Bob has set
a new standard for constituent services and has already been elected to
serve as that body’s President. Bob has proven experience as an
alderman – focusing on important issues that affect not just the people
of his ward, but the entire city – issues such as: expanding the city
ethics ordinance, increased environmental awareness, audits of city
departments and more comprehensive community policing. This is vital
experience needed in a district that is desperate for a State Rep. that
will build bridges, not just serve one or two specific causes.

The current State Rep. in the district, who doesn’t even deserve to
be mentioned on these pages, has set a new standard for low-down
politics. His on the record and off the record political wrangling and
manipulation of the truth is legendary, and the sad thing is he is not
alone. For example – in his efforts to get support/workers for Primary
Day, his Facebook account named “Primary Day РVolunteer to Help Out.”
would have you feel almost sorry for him that his signatures were
“stolen” and that his opponent (Bob Trane) is an “anti-equality
candidate” Рwhich is an outright lie.

One thing we don’t need more of on Beacon Hill is liars and
panderers to political groups, PACs and special interests. Some of us
at The Somerville News live in the 34th District, so we take this
election very seriously. This is about being able to count on someone
who will look out for everyone in the district, who will say no to the
special interest groups and their high-powered lobbyists, who will look
to the future and promote ideas and sponsor laws that serve the entire
district. We need Bob Trane as the next State Representative from the
34th District.

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Sean O’Donovan for Register of Probate

Sean
O’Donovan has spent the last decade and a half spending equal time as a
local attorney/business owner and as an elected official – first
serving as Ward 5 School Committeeman and now as the current alderman
from that ward. He is a hard-working, constituent-serving member of our
community with the strength of character and a work ethic that is
needed now more than ever in the wake of criminal charges against the
current Register of Probate. As a practicing local attorney, Sean has
extensive knowledge of the Probate court system and the people who work
there. There is much to be said for people in politics who own their
own businesses and don’t just collect a paycheck – they have to work
hard to earn a living and in turn, work equally as hard to earn the
votes they receive when running for office. It’s a connection that is
lost on flash in the pan, self-serving political wannabes and so-called
“progressives” that seem to be more concerned with the statement “we
need change” and less with how to do it effectively. Political party
affiliation means nothing in this race – it all comes down to the most
logical choice for the people of Middlesex County – Sean O’Donovan
deserves your vote to restore integrity into a system desperately in
need of the right kind of change.

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Ed O’Reilly for U.S. Senate

Ed
O’Reilly is an everyman’s man. Talk to him for five minutes, which is
about as long as it takes to get past his uncanny resemblance to anyone
with the last name Kennedy, and you realize that he is not someone who
will sit back and collect a paycheck with little to show for it – like
John Kerry has done since getting elected in 1984. We don’t like Ed
merely because we don’t like John Kerry – we like Ed because he isn’t
like John Kerry – there’s a difference. Ed has viable solutions to very
important local, regional and national issues – such as healthcare,
education, energy independence and protecting our environment. He has
had the courage to put himself out there against tremendous odds and
against a candidate who has virtually limitless connections and funds.
While we don’t agree with every idea and statement Ed O’Reilly has made
in his campaign to become a United States Senator, we think he would at
least be able to connect with issues that hit home on the street –
making him the right choice for regular, hard working citizens of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Vote for Ed O’Reilly and your vote will
make a difference.

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Mike Callahan for Governor’s Council

Michael
Callahan is the perfect example of an elected official who deserves to
be re-elected – here is someone who takes this otherwise obscure office
very seriously. Mike is a lifelong resident of Medford and a Vietnam
veteran who has a proven track record of attentively reviewing every
potential judicial appointment that has gone before the Governor’s
Council – which is just one of his duties in that elected office. This
isn’t the kind of elected office someone runs for as a political
steppingstone – in fact, it’s a thankless job that few people even
understand. The Governor’s Council acts on issues such as pardons,
commutations, approval of gubernatorial appointments (including judges,
notaries and justices of the peace) and payments from the State
Treasury. Mike knows how to connect with people and isn’t a stranger to
constituent service – his experience working under the late Senator
Dennis McKenna taught him to pay attention to the details and get it
right the first time when making important decisions that affect other
peoples lives. Serving on the Governor’s Council is a job that Michael
Callahan has done in a commendable manner for the previous five terms
and he deserves to be sent back to continue to take this otherwise
obscure office seriously.