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© 2021 The Somerville Times. All rights reserved.
By The Times Staff
Second Middlesex Senate District
Our present state senator, Pat Jehlen, has been around a long time. She has now been senator for 11 years and before that spent many years as a state representative. Sen. Jehlen won the seat right after Senator Charlie Shannon, who served about 15 years as our senator, passed away in office. We like to say we are for Senator Jehlen for many reasons, even if it’s only the fact that she lives here in the city and has been around for many years.
But we thought about her accomplishments over the years and we found very few, other than a bill she proposed for elderly protection that recently passed.
There is one bill she and other legislators from Somerville voted “no” on, the “Tax Free Weekend,” which would have benefited not just businesses but poor elderly residents.
Then we considered her challenger and discussed how he’s from Cambridge and how that might not go over well with the old time Somerville residents. But then we thought about how the city has changed over the years and how Sen. Jehlen has had few accomplishments, until lately.
There are lots of new residents and new voters in Somerville now who have come to love our city as many old timers have, so we choose to do the fair thing, in our opinion.
We decided to endorse Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung for State Senate representing Somerville, Cambridge, Medford and Winchester for a few reasons. We know that he is as progressive as Sen. Jehlen, but we think Leland Cheung is a better choice to represent the present day progressives and all of Somerville’s diverse community.
We know he has been knocking on doors himself, in the neighborhoods throughout the district, and he’s presented himself as a new voice for the district. He is also very strongly for the ballot question on lifting the number on charter schools here in Massachusetts, presently from 17 a year that would be licensed to no cap at all, like all progressives should be for.
We feel that candidate Cheung will bring a good change to the State House representing the district. He is new, he is ambitious and just maybe it is his time. We feel he will be committed to our district and will be readily available to all constituents in the district, not just those who supported him.
We hope you will consider him for a vote on September 8 for a change and a new State Senator representing us here in the Second Middlesex District.
State Representative Twenty-sixth Middlesex District
This district includes East Somerville and parts of Ward 2, as well as East Cambridge. Presently, the state representative is Tim Toomey, who has held office a long time and is also a city councilor in Cambridge. He has been re-elected many times by the residents of Cambridge on the council and the residents of the district for state representative. His challenger is Mike Connolly, a lawyer in East Cambridge who ran a few years ago against Rep. Toomey and was defeated.
We looked over the challenger’s background and his views on the issues, and Rep. Toomey’s as well, and we feel that State Representative Tim Toomey should be re-elected to the House of Representatives.
Rep. Tim Toomey has worked hard for his constituents. He is a hands-on legislator who is always in the neighborhoods and always available to talk with a concerned resident, and if they have a problem he will and has proven that he is there working hard for the district, making sure his constituents are well served.
We know that Rep. Tim Toomey also serves on the Cambridge City Council and has been re-elected every year by the people of Cambridge, so he must be doing a great job there. We have to be honest, when anyone sees Rep. Tim Toomey and wants to talk or ask questions he’s always listening. He does not take the voters for granted like some do. Without a question, Rep. Tim Toomey is our choice for re-election.
Governor’s Councilor
We are for none of the above, especially the incumbent. We feel this is nothing but a hack job, a waste of taxpayers’ money and the legislators should abolish the position.
Some say that the present Governor’s Councilor is a mouthpiece for the MBTA union. The only true power they have is to review the appointment of judges to the bench and court clerks. We can all agree that too many judges have been appointed in the past that have been something less than desirable.
We cannot find a single state that has this elected body that gets paid to sit and vote on appointments made by the governor on only two matters. It is a waste of government should be abolished.
Now, before you read this, and if you are not interested in politics, did you know what this office was? We suggest you vote for anyone other than the present incumbent Terrace Kennedy, who, granted, has a lot of political support – some of them hacks themselves – and he has campaign signs everywhere.
If you found this article of interest, please consider sharing it.
So, the crotchety old (“Get off my lawn!”) Somerville Times has set forth its illustrious “endorsements”. What a laugh. It’s a good gauge though. Whoever they like, you can be sure it’s a good idea to run in the opposite direction. Case in point, their sudden love for Leland Cheung. Word has it his campaign is taking money from the Koch brothers. Some “Democrat”, eh? That explains a lot, along with the fact that the Times has had a bug up its bottom over Jehlen all along. One can only imagine they’d support Charlie Manson if he was her opponent.
And to set the record straight, Pat has done wonderful work for her district during her entire tenure. Check the facts. I guess in Trump’s America flat out lying has become the norm, and true journalistic integrity has become a fast-fading memory. At least as far as the Times is concerned, that is.
One has to wonder though why they made the right choice with Toomey, who absolutely deserves reelection. Who’s to say with these guys? Some ridiculous, unpublicized vendetta against the challenger, no doubt. The same kind of deal with Jehlen. Whatever. Like they say, even a broken clock…
It’s telling that the Somerville Times doesn’t view Jehlen’s equal pay bill — an endeavor decades in the making — as a notable accomplishment. I guess it all sort of blurs together: legislation to limit elder abuse, wage increases for home care workers, aging in place for LGBTQ+ elders, pre-trial drug rehabilitation programs. Who could keep track, after all, when all progressives are cut from the same cloth? Let’s go with space tourism and overlook Leland’s failure to fund infrastructure improvements in Virginia. Let’s blow right by the charter school question, which of course ALL progressives are on the same page about, so why bother talking about it?
Pat’s legislative record is easily accessible. Her brand of advocacy is the gold standard when it comes to sticking up for the little guy, and she has always been willing to put the needs of this community ahead of well-financed development interests, nowhere more so than in education, where she has been deeply attentive to equity in the state budget. If you’re challenging an incumbent on the grounds of their progressive street cred you should be at least willing to make an effort to say why and how you would do things differently. I haven’t seen that of Leland, and it’s disappointing for a paper of record in Somerville to hand-wave away what are actually critical differences between these candidates.
Pat Jehlen has been a consistent and reliable progressive leader in Somerville. I have the greatest respect for her. I lose respect for The Somerville Times when they make such careless endorsements.
…I’d like to also weigh in on the suggestion that all progressives should be for the privatization of public school (aka charters). I take great offense! No, I’m not a member of the MTA or work at a public school or anything like that. Somerville is trying to improve its public school reputation and is attempting to re-build the HS. If we split per pupil $$ a bunch of ways with loads of new charter schools all with separate admin / overhead $$ how does that help? People/groups ranging from John Oliver to the NAACP have railed against charter schools. I encourage readers to avoid. Oh, and I haven’t fact-checked this but I got a mailer today saying Leland Cheung was a republican prior to moving to MA. Splendid.
As for the tax-free holiday avoidance.. A.) Why would it only help “poor elderly” (nice pejorative term there, btw very progressive writing) as opposed to other “poor” people? B.) If I’m “poor” do I stockpile loads of cash to buy all of my taxable goods once a year? Nope, the only people that helps are people looking to save $50 off their new flat screen. C.) If it really is helpful not to have a state sales tax, perhaps we should find a way to eliminate it entirely? Two days off is great, but what happens if I’m “poor” and my stove breaks in December instead of August?
Ok, enough complaining.
Too bad for Cheung and Toomey. The Times Endorsment is the kiss of death for any candidate. When was the last time they backed a winner?
The Times endorsement for Cheung is not a surprise to anyone They are a conservative paper who’s owner supports Donald Trump. So Leland now has the backing the Times and Boston Herald, both conservative rags, the Somerville Police union that fought the mayor over Narcan and Black Lives Matter, and Democrats For Education Reform, a Koch Brother’s backed organization. Jehlen meanwhile has every progressive organization under the sun supporting her. So enjoy your endorsements, Leland, misery loves company.
Jehlen has never voted in favor of the common working person. She’s an automatic yes vote for anything that takes money out of the pocket of the working taxpayer. While Leland Cheung will probably be more of the same, the change is necessary to support a government of the people rather than a government of lifelong incumbency.
Your the Alderman from Ward 1? why didn’t you mention your campaign manager for Jehlen as well? I’ve been reading this paper now for a few years, and live in Ward One, and have never seen you or heard from you until now. I can’t find or remember any story written in this paper that was about Trump or slanted either way, you are way out of line. This is the best paper Somerville has by far and its not appeared to be bias like you said. Get a grip, your candidate hasn’t been to my house either but Mr. Cheung has and I have to say he’s a gentleman and answered all my questions as well as Mr. Toomey both of who i will be voting for and will keep on reading this paper as well. I am a registered Democrat as is my family guess who i will be voting for. I will be waiting to hear your nasty remarks about me Mr. Alderman!
Is this the same ward one alderman that’s a veteran and did not march in the Memorial day parade?
It’s comforting to see that even within a small ward of a small city there are multiple people willing to comment-troll / attack fellow posters.
Not counting Sen. Jehlen’s experience, the only difference between the candidates on the positions (supposedly, according to the debate Senator Jehlen and Leland Cheung participated in) is on charter school support, which actually isn’t a progressive issue. Though it’s nice to see the News (TImes) is in favor of progressives and is finally being “nice” to “newcomers” (ie, anyone whose grandparents weren’t born here), I suspect that saying
“There are lots of new residents and new voters in Somerville now who have come to love our city as many old timers have, so we choose to do the fair thing, in our opinion.”
means that the newspaper is actually sticking it to the “new residents” (ie, anyone here less than 60 years, unless they are younger than that but their grandparents were born here).
But in reality, Cheung is a closet Republican, endorsed by the Herald and now this conservative paper, and yes, he’s “ambitious” because that’s his only stated reason for running for this office. Oh, and probably the fact that he’s getting a ton of dark money from a New York based organization.
BTW, I have many friends who have volunteered for Pat Jehlen over the years, so it’s really flattering of you to think that people our age might be mistaken for Tufts students, but we’re maybe 20 – 30 years older. If she’s also inspiring Tufts students to help in her campaign, she must be appealing to young voters too.
Finally, WOW, a tax holiday. That’s what you’re holding against Sen. Jehlen? Did you ever notice that you get better deals over Memorial Day, President’s Day, or sometimes Labor Day weekend — or were you too busy at your summer house on the Cape or in NH? (I’ve noticed news is scant over the summer weekends in your paper. Those of us who live here full time have to go to other sources for our Somerville news.) And did you ever notice that the taxes on purchases go to PAY for programs for the poor elderly and the poor in general, not to mention our roads, bridges, schools, police, fire, etc., etc.?
But I guess you don’t care about our police or schools or how they get their money, since you think privatizing schools is a good idea. I guess you also never read the coverage in the Journal of the parents who protested against bringing another charter school to Somerville several years ago, either? Because it would have meant the traditional Somerville schools would have suffered by the loss of money to the charters, and parents are happy with the schools we have.
Ha! This is even more entertaining when you realize that the trolls are actually the ones who run this place, incognito. Pretty ridiculous, and childish. It’s like the Little Rascals getting themselves involved in local politics. “I know, ‘Panky! Let’s make ‘em believe the weaker candidate is the one to vote for! That’ll learn ‘em!” LMAO These characters actually believe they’re outsmarting everyone. Too good to be true. I should send this in to the Globe.
Don’t know what the big deal is. I never pay attention to endorsements and could care less. That does not make any difference to my decisions in voting and never has. Regardless I don’t want either one of these two.
Koch brothers yea I heard the same thing. This guy’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Stick with Pat. She knows what she’s doing and isn’t owned by the dark side.
Leland Cheung ran as a Republican in Virginia for the house of delegates and at that time campaigned against transportation initiatives. When asked on his Facebook page about leaving his Republican past off his bios, instead of answering, he deleted the questions. His equivocation on the charter school question is just that, equivocation. He is for total expansion of charter schools at the expense of public schools. He also received $200,000 a couple weeks ago from an out-of-state pro-charter school PAC. That’s a ton of money for a state senate race. The donors to that PAC are anonymous of course. Leland has tried very hard to portray himself as a progressive, but that rings false to me. He may have knocked on some doors, but the young man who visited us a couple months ago told us that this was his first job out of college. Wow, paid door knockers! I knew then that something was up. Look, someday, a young candidate will come along that will be a fine replacement for Senator Jehlen and that would be great. Leland Cheung is not what he is selling himself as.
In agreement with Mr. Moore. endorsement and polls I pay no attention to.
When the slogan is “Vote Yes on… Remember what On says backwards.. NO!
A prime example of why we need to mandate TERM LIMITS! No more sitting at the public $$ trough setting up a pension and their political war chests, (which should be taken by the state upon their ceasing active office & turned over to the state general fund). Oh yeh! they wok on a few items for the constituents but the bulk of their effort is for their buddies (developers/lobbyists).
Disgrace all the homes being taken by eminent domain. Why don’t they take land of these tax exempt organizations that no longer do the original business that the exemption was issued. All these churches that have no real parishioners but are making profit renting the property out.
The church on our street last year had one funeral and on occasion the only function on Sunday was having a artists dinner that they all bought their own food and Oh yes, they made money as the company making the movie about the patriots day bombing had food trucks lined up with meals for the crew and table in the church for them to it & eat. Meanwhile the taxpayers get no break at all. the mayor is going to tax/fee them till he es all th property for his developer buddies/Tufts.
Yup, term limits. The highest position in this country can only serve 8 years. But others can stay on there whole life. Let someone else have a chance at getting our money.
Yeah. These right wing bozos screech and moan about “term limits” like stuck pigs – but if this should happen and suddenly applies to their fave guys you know what would happen – screeching and moaning like stuck pigs. Phonies.
We have term limits already. It’s called voting.
Based just on Cambridge returns only, Leland is getting whomped 3-1 in his own neighborhood. That means he’ll probably lose 80-20.
Seeing the news Friday morning reinforces what someone said above. Endorsements by this paper are the kiss of death. Maybe it’s part of the liberal plot. Just like Trump is running to ensure a Hillary win.