Call for a Write-In for Grace Ross on Tuesday!
Following Tuesday's dismal first televised debate between the candidates for Governor, it’s even clearer that we need a better choice than what’s on the ballot now. The Governor’s Race looks wide open right now, a dead heat, with Patrick at 44%, Baker at 42%, and the level of voter dissatisfaction very high.
Therefore I and some of Grace Ross’ supporters in and outside of the labor movement are calling for a write-in vote for Grace Ross for Governor in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday!
The level of disgust out here in the neighborhoods with the current field - and the direction their campaigns are pushing our state - is huge and growing. People are hurting and scared, and many of my neighbors, who have not suddenly morphed into Republicans, voted for Scott Brown as a cry for attention, while many other usual Democratic voters stayed home. While Coakley's aloofness touched a raw nerve, they were very clear that this was not about her. It was about promises not filled, hope dashed, and an overwhelming sense that they are being taken for granted. As it is abundantly clear that the Democratic insiders and office-holders haven't heard them, it is foreseeable that unless something dramatic changes they will do it again in November.
This disaffection with was much in evidence at the Marlborough Labor Day Parade. I marched with Grace Ross and “The Grace Team”, around the demand for jobs or extended unemployment benefits now. The parade started almost 20 minutes late because Deval Patrick’s contingent, which was to lead it off, couldn’t get organized. When they finally started it was without the Governor, who could not be found - so we were treated to the sight of the Governor and two bodyguards running down the street to catch up with the parade!
The Grace Team was small but spirited, marching behind a banner that said “We don’t sit idly by … and we’re not going to take it anymore,” and shouting "What do we want? Jobs! When do we want them? Now!" and “How we gonna feed our kids? Jobs or Income, Now!” We were warmly received by the crowds – there was scattered cheers and applause, and not one voice was raised against us. Grace, who was working the crowd as we passed, was warmly greeted by the many people who remembered her from her years in Marlborough as a community organizer. Many politicians, Republican, Libertarian and Democrat alike, greeted her warmly; they all know her as someone they can trust and work with.
Patrick by contrast was at one point roundly booed by the crowd. We heard regular folk criticizing him for not promising to implement the cut in the sales tax to 3% if the referendum passes (he finally gave in and made that promise, but in a way that will encourage the referendum supporters) - but where was he when Grace was speaking out against raising the sales tax to 6.25% in the first place? Perhaps he was too busy pushing more corporate tax loopholes through to notice that he was playing with dynamite!
Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, was not at the parade. Nor was she at the Worcester Labor Breakfast, the Boston Labor Breakfast, the Labor Day Demonstration on the Boston Common or the Bread and Roses Festival in Lawrence. (Grace managed to be at all of these events!) It’s no wonder no one takes her campaign seriously; she evidently doesn’t take it seriously herself!
We’re encouraging people to call the radio talk shows and post comments to newspapers to call for a write-in vote for Grace Ross, and tell their friends, shop-mates and neighbors they're writing her in. It's easy to do. Go to the polls on Tuesday. Take a Democratic ballot. Under Governor fill in the bubble for “Other”, and write in Grace Ross, Worcester.
The worst that will happen is we’ll give them a good scare, and who knows? This could light a firestorm that will tip over their applecart and start a real peoples’ campaign to take back our government!
Christopher Horton is a retired teacher. He lives in Worcester, MA.
