Volunteers Wanted!

[being-homeless.livejournal.com]

Carolina Johnson, a 21-year-old Harvard graduate is running for State Represtentative in Cambridge (25th Middlesex District). She is running as a Green-Rainbow Party Candidate against Alice Wolf who has been running unopposed since 1998 to provide "an alternative for Cambridge." Carolina's issues include Women's Safety (both in the home as well as on the streets), Tax Fairness, Democratic Access and Reform, Alternative Transportation, and Housing. (Her Platforms will be posted on her website within the next week.)

Her campaign is in need of volunteers. we are going to start canvassing Cambridge next weekend and will be canvassing/tabling over the next few months. If you are interested in volunteering with her campaign, contact her campaign manager, Steve Milder at steve@carolinajohnson.org. A Volunteer Coordinator position is currently available and internship credit can be arranged if you are interested. You do not need to be a resident of Cambridge or a MA voter to volunteer.

Or, if you want to make a financial contribution, details are here.

Comments

[jadelennox]

Just out of curiosity, what are her problems with Alice Wolf (CJ's website is down so I get see her issues)? And any reason why she's chosen to run against Alice Wolf in Cambridge instead of against a non-leftist Democrat elsewhere in the state?

[being-homeless.livejournal.com]

when you run for state rep, you have to run for it in the district you live in. and I think you have to live in that district for a certain set amount of time in order to run for office.

She's running against alice wolf because alice has run uncontested since '98 allowing residents of the 25th middlesex district to exercise their democratic choice and have an alternative. In the past few elections many people did not vote for alice. they simply left that area blank because there was no opponant for alice.

Here's summaries of her platforms. (womens saftey and tax fairness aren't completed yet):
women's safety
Working on raising awareness and prevention efforts of dangers faced by women both on our streets and in the home.

Democratic Access and Reform
In 2002, Massachusetts ranked 49th of the 50 states with barely 30% of
the elections for state legislature contested. This utter lack of alternatives on the ballot discourages voter participation, and excuses
elected officials from their responsibility to the voters.

As State Rep., I would act to reinvigorate our democracy and ensure
everyone a part in the democratic process and an alternative on the
ballot by:
-Re-enacting the Clean Elections Law (originally enacted with the votes of more than 2/3 of voters across the state in 1998)
-Legalizing election day voter registration
-Enacting Instant Run-off Voting (IRV) for all State elections

Alternative Transportation
During the 1990s, Massachusetts spent $15.8 billion on roads and just $4.4 billion on public transit, yet traffic in metro Boston worsened
dramatically and air-pollution rates increased to such an extent that
much of greater Boston now suffers from air-borne carcinogen rates 75 times the EPA's standards. Clearly our investments in roads are not paying off-we need to invest more heavily in alternatives to automobile transit.
As State Rep., I would invest in alternatives by working to:
-improve existing public transit service (24 hour service, improved
frequency and punctuality)
-expand public transit (North-South rail link, Red Line-Blue Line
connection at Charles/MGH station, Green Line extension to Ball Square,
Urban Ring).
-promote other alternatives to automobile travel (make bicycling and
walking safe in our cities and towns).

Housing
Time and again, politicians respond to our city's housing crisis by
calling simply for the construction of more "affordable units." These
politicians forget that people live in communities, not units. In the
rush to develop new units as quickly as possible zoning, building, and
environmental laws are weakened in order to allow developers to turn a
larger profit. Changes to these laws only accelerate the destruction of our communities. We must seek alternatives to this simplistic,
shortsighted policy.

As State Rep., I will fight to allow healthy development and preserve
communities by:
-channeling public money towards low/moderate income developments
permanently owned by residents
-ensuring that low/moderate income units are actually occupied by
low/moderate income people.
-enacting a version of rent control similar to the 2003 Cambridge rent
control proposal.


Tax Fairness
Working for a truly flat taxation in Massachusetts, rather than the regressive taxation we see now, raising awareness of the viability of tax reforms to bring in more revenue while decreasing or leaving unchanged the tax burden for 80% of the population.