I am registered Democrat because I respect the central tenets of the Democratic Party. It makes me proud to hear how leaders like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy stood up for working people, for minorities, and for organized labor. They helped those most in need and they worked tirelessly to equalize our society. However, I am now embarrassed to be a democrat in Massachusetts. Shannon O’Brien has ignored all 3 of these vital constituencies and has, instead, positioned herself as a businessperson ready to repair the economy. I have not heard any substantive issues from her campaign and it is making me sick. So sick, in fact, that I am voting for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for Governor.

Dr. Stein is the ONLY gubernatorial candidate to hit the streets in support of the striking janitors. In fact, when she mentioned this issue at the last debate and encouraged the other candidates to support the workers and their families, not one of the other four candidates said a thing. I expected Romney to ignore the pleas of the union members begging for a living wage and health benefits for them and their families, but I was outraged that Shannon O’Brien sat on her hands. In addition, minority elected officials have publicly castigated O’Brien for ignoring minority concerns. Meanwhile, Jill Stein is endorsed by Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, one of the few leaders of the minority community here in Boston. But what really makes me mad is that while Romney and O’Brien are bickering over who will raise taxes and who will save the state money, Jill Stein is the only candidate to support the lower income community by suggesting that the tax burden be shifted from those who need the money to those who have the money.

Some of you will say that a vote for Stein is a wasted vote since she has no chance of winning. Although this line may have worked during the presidential campaign when Ralph Nader was kept out of the debates, it won’t work now. Jill Stein has already participated in one debate (where both the Boston Phoenix and the Boston Globe declared her the winner) and she’s scheduled to be in her second debate tonight at 7:00 p.m. on all broadcast networks. She has also been endorsed by the Cambridge Chronicle and the Newton Tab, 2 newspapers in heavily democratic cities. People are hearing about her creative ideas and her outsider view of politics, and she now has the momentum to win. I encourage all of you to watch tonight’s debate, visit Dr. Stein’s website (www.jillwill.org), and join me in voting for a candidate who truly embodies the ideals of the progressive movement.

Karlo Silbiger SED/CFA 2004