Democratic Party Chair urges focus on Spreading Message and Raising Money

by Ciatlyn Kelleher                                                                                                                                

Response to November Losses  

Massachusetts Democratic Chairman Thomas McGee said the Democratic Party needs to figure out why areas of the state are turning towards the Republican Party and how to compete against outside money in the next election.

McGee, a state senator from Lynn, addressed the Lexington Democratic Town Committee about the state of the party on Saturday February 7th.  He encouraged local members to become recurring donors, to encourage young members to join and begin to focus on the mid-term election in 2016.

"We're really under assault as Democrats for what we believe in,"McGee said.  "It's critical to build at the grassroots level, at the town committee level."

This winter the state party is kicking off two initiatives.  The first is to build recurring donors at $10 a month to compete with money being used in the Republican campaign efforts.  The second is to have everyone register 1,965 people to vote in commemoration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which turns fifty in August.

"I think it's important for us to reflect on where the nation is going and where the state is going: McGee said.

McGee said the state party is trying to analyze the results of the November election in which Charlie Baker beat Martha Coakley for Governor while the Democratic Party candidates won the other state constitutional races.

"We put together a pretty good grassroots campaign," said McGee of the governor's race in November.  "We were less than 40,000 voters from winning that [governors] race.  I don't think we need to hang our head on anything."

McGee said one of the focuses of the state party is to look at areas, like Central Massachusetts, where voters choose Republican candidates more often.

:"Why are some areas turning more red? I don't understand that because there are people that really should be what we stand for," he said.  "It doesn't make sense when your looking at some areas that used to be Democratic and are trending the other way."

As party chairman, McGee said one of the efforts the party leaders need to focus on is to simplify the message of what the Democratic Party stands for and what issues are key in this state.

"It'd not a simple answer to a question," he said.  "The other side has a simple message: less government, less taxes and more money in your pocket is a simple message."

McGee reminded the members of the Town Committee to remember the importance of mid-term, county and municipal elections.  He believes the 2016 congressional races and the local state representative races will have a favorable effect overall.

Higher Taxes for the MBTA

MBTA Spends Above the National Average

The tax-and-spend liberals are out in force demanding higher taxes for the MBTA.  They are blaming the lack of resources as the reason for the MBTA's failures.

Money is not the problem.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the MBTA's bus maintenance department spends 94% above the national average.  A Pioneer Institute report shows $250 million being wasted just within the bus maintenance department.

The T spent millions of dollars on a scheme to connect it with Connecticut before that state committed to the project.

The MBTA pension system is keep secret despite the taxpayers bailing it out.  Most of the other quasi-independent authorities do disclose their pension payouts.

On the road and bridge side of transportation, the Commonwealth spends $675,000 per mile on road and bridge maintenance.  That's four times the national average.  Our state spends $78,000 per mile on administration costs yearly.  That is eight times the national average.

All these facts seem to be missing from news story after news story on our transportation failures.

The Bonds assigned to the MBTA to finance billions in "Big Dig" costs by diverting ridership income only serves to make additional shortages larger.

Making the ability to operate the T far worse are proposals to enlarge to MBTA by expanding the trolley lines and stations and connecting them to the ancient 'core' facilities that were never designed to provide the patronage envisioned by proponents.  Legacy expansions of rail and trolley lines and stations may fulfill the fantasy of institutions, unions and advocates but they ignore the flexibility needed in the local Metro area which is better served by buses.

The Green-Line expansion which is expected to deliver patrons attending events connected to the proposed 2024 Olympics to sites on the Tufts campus will never meet the income needed to meet costs over the long-term by increasing ridership anywhere near the 20%  needed to operate trolley and commuter-rail side-by-side from West Medford to North Station.

Proposals quietly being considered to increase income to the T are additional charges on the 'Cherry Sheets'  to the local communities being served by the MBTA.