November Elections are Coming Up
State/Federal Elections
Lawn signs, buttons, bumper stickers, and campaign literature for Jay Gonzalez for Governor, Maura Healey for AG, Elizabeth Warren, and Jim McGovern are available at the joint headquarters for Western Mass at 18 Center Stree., Northampton.
Note that although Solomon Goldstein-Rose withdrew from the State Rep race, the ballot will have his name on it because the paperwork was not processed in time. Do not get confused -- Mindy Domb is the Democratic candidate.
There are 3 statewide ballot issues and two local policy reco's to our legislators. The first ballot question sets minimum staffing standards for nurses in hospitals; ADTC has endorsed this one. The second calls for a constitutional amendment to reverse the Citizens United interpretation that gave corporations free speech rights equivalent to those of people. The third endorses a law passed by the legislature that adds gender identity to the classes protected from discrimination in public accommodations, resorts and amusement sites.
Question 4 asks our state legislators to support Medicare for all health insurance. The 5th asks our state legislators to introduce and support legislation for ranked choice voting in state and local elections.
There is still lots of work to be done to Take Back the House. Locally we have concentrated on nearby races in New Hampshire and NY, but calls can be made for races across the country, and contributions are always desired. Reach out to https://sites.google.com/
Early voting is offered at Town Hall Oct 22 - Nov 2, M-F 8:00 - 4:30; at UMass Student Union Oct 24-26, 9-3:00; and Oct 27, 9-3:00 at the North Fire Station and the Munson Library. Anyone not registered yet has until October 17 to sign up. Go to Town Hall or do it online at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/
Local Elections
There are now two candidates for each seat on the incoming town Council. This is a nonpartisan election, so
This is a consequential election because it will set the precedents for how the Council will function long into the future. What will be the role of advisory committees, how will they be appointed, will they represent the range of interests and people in Amherst? How will the Council organize its work and share responsibilities? What will be its relationship to the Town Manager, the School Board, the Library Board?