Progressive Democrats of Somerville

Chairperson: Rebekah Gewirtz Secretary: Katie Wallace

Treasurer: Cesar Urrunaga Press Secretary: Marty Martinez

Membership: Fred Berman Endorsements: Karen Gardner

At-Large Reps: Todd Kaplan, Ben Ellis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Marty Martinez, Press Secretary

Wednesday, September 1 617-256-5641

Progressives Publish Scorecard,

Democratic Party Leadership Stalls Convention Effort

Somerville – More than a year after the 2003 Democratic State Convention passed a Party Platform Amendment by a 60%-40% margin to implement a Democratic Party Scorecard, the State Party has yet to implement it. Now, the grassroots groups that pushed for its passage are following through on their own. Led by the Progressive Democrats of Somerville (PDS) and Cambridge (PDC) and Citizens for Participation in Political Action (CPPAX), the groups are launching www.massscorecard.org.

According to PDS Chairwoman Rebekah Gewirtz, “Our effort to work with the Party leadership has been frustrated time and again by their apparent unwillingness to adhere to the agreed-upon timeline to get a Scorecard published before this year’s Primary Elections. With today’s launch of the website we have tried to honor the mandate 1,000-plus Democratic delegates who supported the amendment calling for creation of a Scorecard at the Party’s 2003 Issues Convention. It is our belief that by highlighting the principles for which the Democratic Party stands, we can help strengthen and build the membership of the Party.”

From Plainville to Somerville, from Waltham to Northampton, local Democrats across the state have been asking the Party to implement this scorecard to increase accountability to the Party Platform and to the voters. Grassroots leaders hope that a scorecard that compares elected official’s votes with the relevant sections of the Party Platform will create greater accountability given that some Democrats consistently vote against the core values of that Platform.

Plainville Democratic Town Chair Mary-Ann Greanier believes that in fighting against this grassroots effort to build accountability, the Party is not representing her views. “The Democratic State Platform is a document we can be proud of. We joined this effort to implement the Scorecard because we believe that voters deserve to know where their elected officials stand. When Party leaders actively work to undermine the efforts of fellow Democrats – and the vote of their own Convention delegates, I begin to understand why so many people in Massachusetts have become unenrolled. By holding elected officials accountable to Democratic Party principles, we hope to breathe new life into the Party.”

The site www.massscorecard.org allows voters to find out how their elected representatives voted on key issues relevant to the Democratic Party Platform. PDC Spokesperson Jesse Gordon summed it up by saying, “This is a mechanism to give voters the information that they need to make informed decisions on whom they will support. This is about accountability and action and about groups of progressive Democrats who are fighting for their party to be the most open and accessible party it can be.”

Progressive Democrats of Somerville

c/o 23 Elm Street, #205, Somerville Massachusetts 02143

PDSomerville@att.net

ProgressiveDemocratsOfSomerville-owner@yahoogroups.com