Be sure to get out there and vote on Primary Election Day, Thursday, September 6.

Primary Election Day is this Thursday, September 6, and although not much else is happening until the November election, we here in Somerville have two very important races to get out and VOTE on, whichever candidate you choose to support.

First of all, State Representative Denise Provost has a Democratic challenger and his name is Harry Kortikere. Not much to see here. Harry might be a nice guy, but from all we can see he’s new to the city and he’s basically running an online media campaign on Facebook and other places. Some of us live in the district and haven’t seen him, but we have seen Denise.

He might be a good guy but we don’t know anyone who knows him, never mind us knowing him. Granted, that’s not very important, but we think a State Representative should know their constituents. We read his answers recently and we think maybe his starting off at the State Representative level might be overreaching it. He’s only been here in Somerville a couple of years.

We think it’s great that he has pulled papers and is choosing to participate in the process and we certainly encourage that. All too often we have politicians running unopposed and that’s not good. When a politician is opposed they are then are accountable. When was the last time you saw Senator Patricia Jehlen knock on your door or even Rep. Carl Sciortino? Better yet, when was the last time they sent us anything telling us what they are doing and maybe asking us our opinions?  They both are unopposed in this week’s primary, so you won’t hear from them until and if they are opposed in two years.

We encourage Mr. Kortikere to run again next year locally and get to know the community as a whole, both new comers and long time residents both. To that end we see no reason to vote against Denise Provost. She’s well known, well liked, responsive, she listens and, best of all, she knows the community she is serving in many capacities here in the city over the years. Finally, Denise Provost, as well as State Representative Tim Toomey (note: Tim Toomey unopposed in primary), are the best State House legislators we have right now in Somerville. They represent all the various factions here in the city, not just a certain few. We hope you consider her, and go out on Thursday to vote for Denise Provost to return her to the State House.

Now, for the seat being vacated by our own former Mayor Gene Brune and current Register of Deeds who has decided after almost 40 years of public service to step down and retire. We hope he’s not retiring from our community altogether. He’s been such a wonderful force here in the city, with all that he does and has done over the years for many local charities and organizations. No other former mayor or former politician can probably ever top his achievements and accomplishments here for his city of Somerville. Most former politicians move away and you never hear from them. Not Gene. He’s here and we are very lucky to have him as a role model for everyone who loves Somerville to look up to and admire.

We have six candidates that are choosing to run for his seat. Of the six, one shouldn’t even be running. We think he’s an embarrassment to politics. The only reason he’s running is probably because his last name begins with the letter “A” – and that is Robert B. Antonelli. Having his last name begin with the letter “A” gives him a slight advantage, but hopefully not in this case. He’s first on the ballot and he’s hoping that the voters of Southern Middlesex County and, we guess, in particular Somerville, are stupid and don’t have a memory of when he was serving as Register of Probate in 1997 and was removed from office. Just Google “Robert B. Antonelli, former Register of Probate” and you’ll see that he was removed from office for misconduct while serving as Register. Voters here in Somerville should send him a message that we aren’t stupid and that we didn’t forget. DON’T VOTE for Robert B. Antonelli for Register of Deeds. Hopefully, other media will have informed the rest of our county to do the same.

As you can see by this week’s paper, Antonelli was afforded the opportunity to answer questions like all the others, but he’s shown his true colors by not answering and probably hoping against all odds that he’s going to get elected by running on the alphabetical order of his name. So voters, jump over the first name and then make your decision and vote. It’s not like we don’t have his telephone number. You see, he called us here at the paper and let it be known he was very upset we used his name in Newstalk last week. He wanted to know “who gave us the authority to use his name.” He then asked for the name of the owner of the paper. When he was told the owner didn’t want to speak with him, he did leave his number and we left several messages on his voice mail about the questionnaire. We thank goodness for Google. You can’t hide your past mistakes or accomplishments with Google around, can you?

Now, saying all that, we do have two fine people working extremely hard who are from Somerville looking to get your vote for Register of Deeds. This is very important in that this Thursday’s vote will probably be the deciding factor in who will be the next Register, since there is no Republican candidate in the final election in November.  Two fine candidates, both women who are highly respected here in Somerville and elsewhere around the state, in particular in Middlesex County, are in the race.

We know that Maryann Heuston is endorsed by the entire Board of Alderman, School Board members and, more importantly, by the present Register, our own Eugene Brune, who has been out front from the beginning supporting Maryann for the job.  We know she’s working very hard and has been working all the cities and towns here in the Southern Middlesex District. We think Maryann is qualified for the job as she works full time for Cambridge Health Alliance in a management capacity, as well as having been very active politically here in Somerville. Maryann has been serving as the successful Ward 2 Alderman now for several years. She’s active in what’s going on in her ward and city. She’s everywhere. She truly has shown the residents she cares about her responsibilities as a public servant. Therefore, we think she would make a great Register of Deeds.

Then there is Maria Curtatone, the sister of our own Mayor Joe Curtatone. Maria is very qualified to run for this office as well. She’s a lawyer, and therefore she is well acquainted and familiar with the Registry and its operations. Maria Curtatone has worked very hard. She’s all over the county getting her name out there and if you just happened to ride through some of the smaller towns, you can’t help but see her signs and the grassroots support she has. So you know she’s out there, working hard. Maria is very qualified for the job and if you know her personally you know that by her personality and professionalism in how she handles herself in court she’ll do a great job. Maria may not be supported by a lot of politicians, but she has a dedicated and loyal following of supporters. Actually, a huge amount of them. You might think you’ve known her for a long time. She remembers where she comes from, and therefore we think she would make a great Register of Deeds.

We really think Somerville is lucky to have two wonderful, capable, professional and caring persons running for public office like Maria Curtatone and Maryann Heuston. It’s just too bad we have to choose one when we go and vote, but we must choose one of these candidates because they are from Somerville. Whichever candidate you happen to choose, support her and let your friends know. Drag them out on Thursday. Let’s send a message that Somerville leads the way.

Oh, by the way, there are three other capable candidates running for this office and although we can’t say anything good or bad about them, we still support Maria Curtatone or Maryann Heuston because they are from Somerville.

We hope everyone goes out to vote for the candidate of their choosing for whatever reason. Just vote. Every single vote counts.  We encourage everyone to read about the candidates here in The News, as well as on the Farm Team publication. Google their names if you like and, finally, go to their websites and read up on them to make your decision clearer. We will.