Elections matter. Our ability to make progressive change in Massachusetts depends on having progressive champions in office — every office.
In particular, primaries matter, especially in an often single-party state like Massachusetts. Primaries are the time that we can debate concrete policies and large-scale visions.
Massachusetts’s state primary is Tuesday, September 4th.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve been inviting candidates to fill out our comprehensive policy questionnaires — a vital tool for informing voters and for holding politicians accountable. Our Election and Endorsement Committee reviews them and then chooses whether to make a recommendation to our members, the ultimate deciders.
We’re proud to endorse the following candidates, each of whom won an overwhelming majority of the vote among our membership, for our final round of primary endorsements.
Congress
MA-01: Tahirah Amatul-Wadud
Tahirah Amatul-Wadud runs a successful law practice in Western Massachusetts with a focus in domestic relations and civil rights law. She is a graduate of Elms College in Chicopee and Western New England University School of Law in Springfield. Tahirah was named a 2016 Top Woman of Law by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. As a commissioner for the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, Tahirah has advocated before the state legislature to enact laws responsive to the needs of women. She is a member of the Family Advisory Council of Boston Children’s Hospital. Tahirah understands the need to prioritize healthcare for every person and is thus an avid supporter of Medicare for All. She also supports universal public education from pre-K through college and affordable high-speed Internet access for every resident to improve the economic prosperity of the district.
MA-07: Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Pressley is an advocate, a policy-maker, an activist, and survivor. Her election to the Boston City Council in 2009 marked the first time a woman of color was elected to the Council in its 100-year history. This laid the foundation for Ayanna’s groundbreaking work, with which she has consistently strived to improve the lives of people that have too often been left behind and to reduce inequality in all forms. Raised in Chicago as the only child of an activist mother who instilled in her the value of civic participation, Ayanna understands the role that government should play in helping to lift up communities that are in need of the most help. After her election to the Council in 2009, she successfully pursued the establishment of the Committee on Healthy Women, Families, and Communities. The Committee addresses causes that Ayanna has always been most devoted to: stabilizing families and communities, reducing and preventing violence and trauma, combating poverty, and addressing issues that disproportionately impact women and girls. Ayanna lives in the Ashmont/Adams neighborhood of Dorchester with her husband Conan Harris, nine-year-old stepdaughter Cora, and cat Sojourner Truth.
District Attorney
Berkshire County: Andrea Harrington
Andrea Harrington comes from a working class family in Berkshire County and was among the first generation in her family to attend college and then law school. Her criminal law professor’s scholarship focused on the role of prosecutorial discretion in mass incarceration and the particularly devastating effect of bias in the criminal justice system on communities of color. This inspired her work representing convicted death row inmates in their post-conviction appeals in Florida. When Andrea returned home to Massachusetts, her work representing indigent criminal defendants in appellate and trial matters made the urgent need for statewide criminal justice reform very apparent. Over the past fifteen years of legal practice, she has seen the struggles of working families in Berkshire County through her work in family court and in representing employees in discrimination claims. Andrea also serves on the Richmond School Committee and is a co-founder of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus- Berkshire Committee.
Middlesex County: Donna Patalano
Donna Patalano is a nationally recognized leader in legal ethics who has worked as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. As Chief of Professional Integrity & Ethics in the Suffolk DA’s Office, Donna created the state’s first Conviction Integrity Program. From her time as a prosecutor reviewing cases to be sure that justice had been done, to her work as a defense attorney protecting the rights of people who couldn’t afford an attorney, Donna has developed a unique perspective. As District Attorney, Donna will bring transformative, transparent change to our justice system. She will implement evidence-based reforms that improve safety while restoring integrity and accountability to our courts. She will work to end mass incarceration and eliminate the racial disparities entrenched in our system. And, she will collect and release data to make sure that the programs we invest in are working.
State Senate
Hampden: Amaad Rivera
Amaad Rivera is a former Policy Advisor to Senator Ed Markey, a role through which he brought the voices and values of Western MA to bear on issues like health care, climate change, and proper funding for important regional transportation projects. When he served as a Springfield City Councilor, he stopped unfair foreclosures and creeping blight that was affecting our community, by leading the effort that gave the city the tools to stand up to greedy lenders. As a person raised by a single mother, he knows firsthand how community support and government investments can change people’s lives and is running to help make that difference for people across the district and combat the growing wealth and income inequality of the region.
Fifth Middlesex: Sam Hammar
Sam Hammar is an experienced public servant, activist, and family woman, whose passion and life experiences have covered the gamut–from teaching and tech to advocating for women and families. Born in New England and raised along the East Coast, Sam has watched her single mom juggle three jobs to provide for her family and her dad struggle as a business owner while managing a chronic illness. Sam spent most of her career in public service—whether in the Boston Public Schools, Boston City Hall, or state government. She recently served on the Women’s Commission, where she fought for affordable and accessible childcare. She also served as the Chair of the Melrose Democratic City Committee. She and her husband have twin daughters who attend kindergarten in public school. Sam believes we need new voices on Beacon Hill to get us the progress we deserve.
State House of Representatives
6th Middlesex: Maria Robinson
Maria Robinson is running for State Representative in the 6th Middlesex District of Massachusetts. A former Town Meeting member, Maria is a clean energy policy expert and advocate, who has spent the last decade helping state policymakers and public officials throughout the country to address climate change through renewable energy and energy efficiency policies. Maria is an MIT graduate and the child of public servants and union members, who taught her the value of hard work and giving back to her community. Maria serves on the board of the Framingham Public Library Foundation, the Friends of the Framingham Library, and is a member of the Framingham Democratic Committee. Maria lives in Framingham with her husband, their two foster (soon-to-be-adopted!) children ages 10 and 12, her parents, and their lively dog Guinness.
23rd Middlesex: Sean Garballey
Sean Garballey is the representative of the 23rd Middlesex District, which includes parts of Arlington and Medford. He has served in the House since 2008, when he was one of the youngest to ever be elected to the body. Prior to his election, he served on the Arlington School Committee (2005 to 2008) and in the Arlington Town Meeting (2003-2008). At the State House, he has been a strong advocate for a single payer health care system, transitioning Massachusetts to 100% renewable energy, and increasing our investments in public transportation and public education.
9th Suffolk: Jon Santiago
Jon Santiago has spent his life in service to others. After college, Jon joined the Peace Corps, organizing sugarcane workers and immigrants in the Dominican Republic. A graduate of Yale School of Medicine, Jon now works and cares for underserved communities as an emergency medicine doctor at Boston Medical Center, the city’s safety net hospital. He is an active participant in neighborhood meetings, has knocked on thousands of doors for progressive causes, and sits on the boards of the South End Community Health Center, Friends of the South End Library, and the Puerto Rican Veterans Park. He is running for state representative to fight for a community where people can afford to live at any stage of their lives, where kids can go to quality schools and play outside on safe streets, where people can rely on efficient public transportation, and where bold action can be taken to address challenges from the opioid crisis to climate change.
15th Suffolk: Nika Elugardo
Nika Elugardo has over 20 years of experience in community and economic development with public, private, and nonprofit leaders in communities of color, including serving as Jamaica Plain Liaison and Senior Policy Advisor to Massachusetts Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz. Nika’s professional career helping nonprofit and business leaders work together to break injustice and open doors to opportunity began at the National Consumer Law Center in Boston. She later became founding Director of MassSaves, an economic justice collaborative jointly sponsored by community organizations and financial institutions. Nika earned her B.S. from MIT in Urban Planning, an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government with concentrations in political advocacy, leadership, and peace and security, and a J.D. from Boston University Law School with externships in tax law, human rights, and corporate social responsibility. Nika’s work experience, training as a lawyer and policy leader, progressive values, and passion for our District position her to be a bold, effective leader on Beacon Hill.