Submitted by Stephanie Keep
I have a confession to make. I haven’t been paying attention to the 2020 elections. This, despite being a self-described political activist. There is just too much going on (#coronavirus) and I know I will vote down party lines. So there I was, sitting down late at night to fill out my mail-in primary ballot, and I filled in the bubble for Seth Moulton without even thinking. Luckily, some synapses fired just in time for me to recognize that there were two other candidates listed. The gears in my head started firing.
Wait! Hadn’t I told Moulton’s staff that I’d back a good challenger to him because I was so disappointed with his treatment of Nancy Pelosi following the 2018 mid-terms? Wasn’t I furious with his vain run for president? Yes…. Yes I was. I got my computer out and googled the challengers.
Both were compelling. I was getting excited. I tweeted:
And you know what happened? Within ten minutes I got this:
So I messaged him and we chatted. I reached out to a couple other politically active friends in the district. They were already pro-McQuilken and told me of hours-long conversations they had. I learned more and more about his stances. He had my vote..almost. I had to ask the Pelosi question—where did he stand? He told me that she has been the perfect person to keep the president accountable and a great leader of the party. He would have voted to make her speaker both times.
I was thrilled. I Tweeted again:
Yep. I spelled “roll” wrong. But I blame it on the excitement. It feels *so good* to be engaged in local politics.
Angus McQuilken is a terrific candidate. I’m a scientist and he supports science (boy do we need that now) and held the post of Vice President for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. He’s passionate about choice, having served as Vice President for Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and as Chair, Massachusetts Coalition for Choice. One of my other big social issue? He’s got that one covered, too. He’s the Co-Founder of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.
He has all the basic progressive credentials, too: He promises to work to ensure healthcare access and affordability, economic recovery, climate solutions, and higher-ed affordability.
In part to make up for my slow start, my husband and I are hosting Angus on Sunday, August 23rd, 4 pm, for a socially distanced meet & greet at 12 Great Road. Bring your own mask and chair and come hear from the candidate. I hope you will get the same jolt of excitement I’ve been enjoying since that late-night Tweet.
As for my ballot? Yeah, I had to sheepishly request a new one. But I’m glad I did. There is nothing more important than voting, and it’s worth getting right.
Still waiting for my Markey sign, though. Anyone know how I can get one?
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