Democracy for America: VOTE: DNC Chair endorsement

The Democratic Party needs to change.

We've known that for a few years now, but the disaster of 2016 has removed any lingering doubts. From the huge losses down-ballot since 2010, to the handling of the presidential primary, the Democratic Party is in desperate need of a new strategy. 

The next Democratic National Committee Chair will be the most important figure in setting and executing a new direction for the Democratic Party. He or she will be a key leader in resisting Donald Trump and taking state and federal offices back from Trump's Republican Party. 

The Chair will need to make the Democratic Party relevant to younger, diverse generations of voters who believe in a reflective democracy, must have a seat at the table, and are the key to the party's future.

Here are the candidates who have publicly declared:

• New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley
• Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Rep. Keith Ellison
• South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jamie Harrison

Howard Dean, who founded Democracy for America before serving as DNC Chair from 2005-2009, had announced his intent to run -- but last week dropped out of the race.

With all the expected candidates having publicly announced and the election less than two months away, it's time for DFA to weigh in with a choice. But it's not up to me -- as a people-powered organization, it's up to you to decide who Democracy for America should endorse.

Vote now in Democracy for America's official endorsement poll: Who should DFA endorse to be the next DNC Chair -- and what should the new Chair prioritize? DEADLINE TO VOTE: Monday, December 11, 11:59pm ET.

This campaign will define the future of the Democratic Party -- and how we take our country back from Donald Trump by defeating his hateful, greedy agenda. This is an important decision, and we need your input right now.

Thank you for your leadership at this critical time for our country. 

- Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Executive Director
Democracy for America

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AFL-CIO Endorses Keith Ellison to Lead DNC

December 8, 2016

The Executive Council of the 12.5 million member AFL-CIO has voted overwhelmingly to endorse Representative Keith Ellison to lead the Democratic National Committee. Over the last few weeks, several candidates have sought the endorsement of the AFL-CIO and met personally with members of the Political Committee, which ultimately recommended the endorsement.

“Representative Ellison meets the high standard working people expect from leaders of our political parties,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “He is a proven leader who will focus on year-round grassroots organizing to deliver for working families across America. Under his leadership, the Democratic Party will embody the values that our members stand for every day.”

"The AFL-CIO knows the challenges facing America’s working families and how to speak to working Americans of all colors, genders, and backgrounds,” said Ellison. “I am proud to be on their side and I am even prouder that the AFL-CIO is on mine. Workers will be central to the Democratic Party.”

Many unions of the AFL-CIO have leaders as well as rank-and-file members on the DNC. However, the AFL-CIO does not have a direct affiliation with any political party and membership includes those across the political spectrum. The endorsement of DNC Chair is a reflection of the values of AFL-CIO members and the vote among their representatives.

Contact: Josh Goldstein (202) 637-5018

http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/AFL-CIO-Endorses-Keith-Ellison-to-Lead-DNC

AFL-CIO Richard Trumka says other prospective DNC chair candidates also reached out about their support. | Getty

AFL-CIO mulls Ellison endorsement for DNC chair

By DANIEL STRAUSS and MARIANNE LEVINE

 

11/30/16

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka circulated a straw poll Wednesday to the labor group's Executive Council asking whether the AFL-CIO should endorse Rep. Keith Ellison for chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

In an email obtained by POLITICO, Trumka explained to the Executive Council — which is in charge of endorsements — that the organization's Political Committee had already heard from several of the announced candidates in the race, and floated the idea of a unified endorsement of the Minnesota congressman.

"Given that many unions have leaders and rank-and-file members on the DNC and that some unions have already made public commitments to candidates, I felt it was timely for the Political Committee to discuss the possibility of a unified endorsement," Trumka wrote, noting that the AFL-CIO heard from Ellison, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley. "It was clear from the discussion that, to the extent endorsement decisions have been made, Congressman Keith Ellison is the leader. Furthermore, in a straw poll, a strong majority of the Political Committee indicated that the AFL-CIO should endorse Congressman Ellison at this time. For these reasons, only his name appears on the ballot."

The Executive Council's options in their straw poll, which ends Dec. 6, are to vote for Ellison, abstain, or "make no endorsement at this time." A link to the straw poll is included in the email.

In the email, Trumka also mentioned that other prospective DNC chair candidates, including Labor Secretary Tom Perez, had reached out to him and to members of the Executive Council to discuss the race. But former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who has announced his bid, was conspicuously missing from the list of candidates and isn't mentioned at all in the email.

Ellison has already been endorsed by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President Lee Saunders, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, the Communications Workers of America and the United Steelworkers. An AFL-CIO endorsement would be a powerful addition to the congressman's roster of support but the group's Executive Council tends to be politically cautious — even Trumka's nudge in Ellison's direction doesn't mean the group will endorse him or any other candidate.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/keith-ellison-dnc-aflcio-labor-232040

MASSterList: Rick Steves strikes | The last straw | JOBS BOARD MONDAY

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By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan 10/03/2016 Rick Steves strikes | The last straw | JOBS BOARD MONDAY

Happening Today

U.S. Transportation secretary in Lowell   U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx visits Lowell to see the impact of the $13.4 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant the city received last year, then joins UMass and city officials for a ‘roundtable discussion on transportation issues, 286 Salem St., Lowell, 9 a.m. for tour; UMass Lowell event, 9:45 a.m., press availability, 10:45 a.m.

State Sen. Flanagan at Women’s Political Caucus   Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus hosts its Commonwealth Commentary Breakfast Series with guest speaker Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, 24 Beacon Street, Senate Reading Room, 10 a.m.

Walsh and Chang kick-off STEM week   Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang will kick off STEM Week, which runs from October 3 through October 7, Oliver H. Perry School - Second Floor Auditorium, 745 E 7th St., South Boston, 10 a.m.

Vision Zero   Mayor Walsh makes an announcement relative to Vision Zero, Copley Square (in front of Trinity Church), Boston, 11:30 a.m.

Animal Rescue League   Gov. Charlie Baker joins Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore at the Animal Rescue League of Boston to "highlight significant changes in state regulations as part of the Baker-Polito Administration's extensive regulatory review process,"10 Chandler St, Boston, 1:30 p.m. Today's News   Miss Universe and sabotaged mics get swept aside by Trump’s tax return tsunami   Donald Trump can talk and tweet all he wants about the former Miss Universe and sabotaged debate microphones. But when the NYT reports that Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns -- a tax deduction that could have allowed him to legally avoid paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years – that’s going to drown out other issues for a while, don’t you think? The Herald’s Kimberly Atkins reports how Republican strategists say Trump can “flip the narrative” on the tax returns story, noting he should stoke anti-IRS sentiment and pound on the issue of fundamental tax reform. It’s not bad advice. But it’s certainly last-ditch defensive advice. Meanwhile, the Washington Post dives into the story behind the story: So just how did the NYT get hold of Trump’s allegedly private tax returns? NYT     Rick Steves strikes: Pro-marijuana forces to roll out first TV ad   PBS travel guru Rick Steves is partly paying for Yes on 4’s first TV ad blitz in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, reports the Globe’s Astead Herndon. Technically, Thomas Nolan, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Merrimack College, is the star of the 30-second spot to air on network and cable stations. But Steves, who has pushed pro-marijuana measures in other states, is effectively one of the behind-the-scenes directors of the $650,000 campaign. Frankly, we’re more surprised it took this long for a TV ad to run at all in the debate over Question 4. Note: If polls are accurate, voters may well approve Question 4, but then there’s the question of how marijuana might be regulated by government officials after the election, as shown by the reluctance of town officials to allow pot dispensaries in communities despite voter approval of medical marijuana, reports the Gobe’s Kay Lazar this morning. Boston Globe     Obama remembers Martha Coakley’s ‘Fenway Park?’ quote like it was yesterday   In a New York magazine interview with Jonathan Chait, President Obama goes over five moments that he believes helped define his presidency, one of which was passage of ObamaCare and which initially hinged on the outcome of a certain election up here in Massachusetts in early 2009, involving Martha Coakley and Scott Brown. Obama on realizing that Coakley was probably going to lose the Senate race: “Well, the first thing that’s happening is I’m talking to Rahm [Emanuel, then chief of staff], and Jim Messina [then deputy chief of staff] and saying, ‘Okay, explain to me how this happened.’ It was at that point that I learned that our candidate, Martha Coakley, had asked, rhetorically, ‘What should I do, stand in front of Fenway and shake hands with voters?,’ and we figured that wasn’t a good bellwether of how things might go.” The NY mag piece, via the Globe, has other choice quotes by the president. New York magazine     Globe delays downtown move   The Boston Globe will not be moving its newsroom to its new downtown digs as soon as expected, Don Seiffert of the Boston Business Journal reports. While reports had pegged Jan. 1, 2017 as the Globe’s move-out date from Morrissey Boulevard, Globe CEO Mike Sheehan says a mid-2017 departure date is more realistic. One reason for the delay: the future home of the Globe at Exchange Place will require more renovation work than originally thought. BBJ The last straw: DCR deputy resigns after using car siren to get through city traffic   It's the agency that keeps on giving: Matthew Sisk, the Department of Conservation and Recreation deputy commissioner who was one of two agency leaders suspended last month for using state resources for a private GOP party, resigned late last week after State Police received a complaint that Sisk used his public car lights and siren to get through busy city traffic, the Herald’s Brian Dowling reports. Greg Sullivan, former state inspector general, called the misuse of the state car “blindly arrogant.” “The very people who are paying your salary, paying for the car, are stuck in traffic and you’ve forced them to pull over by virtue of your government authority,” Sullivan said. Boston Herald     ‘The Club Med of weed’   Ah, the squeaky clean politics of New Hampshire: A former Granite State lawmaker charged with trying to lure a 14-year-old girl into a sexual encounter also smoked marijuana in Concord’s Statehouse and peddled pot to several other legislators, according to the state’s attorney general, reports the Associated Press at CBS Boston. Kyle Tasker, who resigned in March after his arrest on drug charges and for trying to lure a minor to have sex, was described by one lawmaker as “the ‘Club Med of weed’: he had a variety of high-end strains of marijuana and charged accordingly,” the AG’s report says. CBS Boston     Middleboro selectmen to DOT: A little common courtesy would be appreciated   Middleboro selectmen are a little miffed that they weren’t on the invite list for a recent hearing on the proposed South Coast Rail extension that would go right through their town and feel they’re in the dark in general about the project, reports the Enterprise’s Eileen Reece at Wicked Local. The board has voted unanimously to send a letter to MassDOT stating they want to be kept better informed about the multibillion-dollar rail project. Wicked Local     O’Brien bows out of Dem chairman race   Democratic national committee member David O'Brien has pulled out of the race for chairman of the state Democratic party, leaving three candidates vying for the post, SHNS’s Michael Norton reports. O’Brien cited his commitments to an “international client experiencing a just now currently critical challenge.” Still standing are former lieutenant governor nominee Stephen Kerrigan, Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins and Democratic national committeeman Gus Bickford. SHNS (pay wall)     AFL-CIO: ‘Top Chef’ case could have chilling effect   The Massachusetts AFL-CIO is seeking permission to argue for the dismissal of federal corruption charges against members of the unaffiliated Teamsters, in the Top Chef case that has already engulfed Boston City Hall, Laurel Sweet and Antonio Planas of the Herald report. The AFL-CIO argues that prosecuting the four Teamsters opens up the possibility that others who are “engaged in lawful peaceful picketing” will be subject to charges in the future. Boston Herald   Charlie Baker, GOP savior?   Writing in the October edition of Boston Magazine, David Bernstein asks whether Gov. Charlie Baker can save the state’s Republican party by molding it in his own pragmatic, get-things-done image amid a surge of burn-it-all-down, anti-establishment ire fueling Donald Trump’s prez candidacy—and possibly Curt Schilling’s future Senate candidacy. Bernstein cites data showing the party’s difficulty in finding a foothold beyond the governor’s office and recalls some of the GOP’s past high-profile in-fighting. “For shorthand, think of it as Baker versus the Trumpians,” he writes. Boston Magazine     Outcome of Stoughton HR director’s case in dispute   A judge’s decision to continue without a finding charges against the town of Stoughton’s human resources director has both sides in the case claiming victory, Cody Shephard of the Brockton Enterprise reports. James F. Kelley had been charged with obstructing a compliance inquiry by telling town employees not to speak to investigators looking into a 2015 party held at a town-owned golf course.  The Enterprise Clerks fret, but prepare for early voting anyway   Some clerks in central Massachusetts are preparing for an onslaught of voters when the state takes it first pass at early voting three weeks from today, Kim Ring of the Telegram reports. Some are predicting that 30 percent of voters could cast ballots in the window before election day and are fretting about the impact preparing for all those ballot-casters will have on the bottom lines of their budgets. The Telegram     City janitors strike averted   For a while there, it looked as though 13,000 city janitors and other workers would indeed go on strike at the end of last month. But negotiators reached a contract deal on Friday, averting the showdown. The Globe’s Kathleen Conti has all the details. Boston Globe     State backs controversial $1B expansion of Boston Children’s Hospital   The Health Policy Commission didn’t like the deal on cost grounds. Backers of a beloved garden on the Longwood campus didn’t like the deal on aesthetic grounds. But in the end, the state Department of Public Health is poised to approve the $1 billion Boston Children’s Hospital expansion after an agency recommendation that the proposal should proceed as planned, reports Jessica Bartlett at the Boston Business Journal. BBJ Today's Headlines   Metro   Union Square developers pitch urban marketplace - Boston Globe AFL-CIO: Prosecuting Teamsters in Top Chef case would harm unions - Boston Herald Councilor says floating helipad could be coming to Boston - Boston Herald MBTA behind in implementing technology that could have averted New Jersey train accident - WGBH Boston Globe move downtown delayed by several months - Boston Business Journal   Massachusetts   DNC official forced to resign for misusing vehicle - Boston Globe Schilling says he’s serious about running against Warren - Boston Globe Law enforcement: Long-term effects for legal weed - MetroWest Daily News Mass. shortfall may force new taxes, budget cuts - Eagle-Tribune ‘Yes on 4’ to launch first TV ad on marijuana legalization - Boston Globe More towns capping tobacco sales permits - MetroWest Daily News Healthier school lunches on the menu - Salem News Can Charlie Baker save the Mass GOP? - Boston Magazine Stoughton human resource director guilty, innocent - or neither - in criminal case? - Brockton Enterprise Pizza Party of One: Raynham man’s political party has 184 enrolled - Taunton Gazette Town clerks brace for large turnout with early voting - Telegram & Gazette   Nation   Tax revelations leave some Ohio voters offended by Trump - Washington Post Ailing health care act may have to adapt to survive - New York Times NYT reporters defend legality of Trump tax report - Politico