Medford Grassroots Group Will Make No Endorsements This Year

• On committee recommendation, membership votes to make no endorsements until 2021 municipal elections.
• Recommendation from Electoral Committee motivated by organizational capacity & need for community relationship building to build a diverse slate.

July 10th, 2020 , Medford, Massachusetts

In early June, Our Revolution Medford began voting on a recommendation to abstain from endorsing candidates for public office during the 2020 election cycle. The recommendation came from Our Revolution Medford’s Electoral Committee, which is responsible for engaging the Medford community in pushing electoral change. 

The final lines of the recommendation read: “We look forward to working with anyone who is fighting for our growing and evolving platform, and we believe that candidates should be challenged from the left. Our recommendation is based on the current capacity and focus of OR Medford.”

In the 2019 election cycle, Our Revolution Medford released the Medford People’s Platform to express the ideals the organization intended to push forward in Medford politics. The first step of the group’s endorsement process in 2019 required candidates seeking endorsement to pledge to support the People’s Platform by agreeing to fight for those policies if elected. Several candidates running for statewide office in 2020 have signed onto the 2019 People’s Platform, including Representative Christine Barber, Anna Callahan, Nichole Mossalam, and Representative Sean Garballey. 

Our Revolution Medford welcomes all members to vote on major decisions via online form. The ballot for this vote was distributed to all members who signed up on the organization’s website by June 1, 2020.

From the recommendation of the Electoral Committee: “The committee intends to focus this year’s efforts on continued engagement with Medford residents, building a diverse bench of candidates for 2021 municipal races, and work with residents to move forward with implementing the local policies and actions outlined in the Medford People’s Platform and other policies in coalition with Medford community groups.”

Voting was closed on this recommendation on June 8th. The capacity freed up by this choice will allow volunteer time to be directed towards engaging the community on the many issues facing Medford residents, as well as providing training for prospective candidates who feel that running for municipal office in 2021 is too daunting a prospect. There is a great deal of work to do to improve our community, and Our Revolution Medford welcomes new members to volunteer & work with us towards a better future.

Our Revolution Medford is a grassroots organization working towards a common vision: an inclusive local government that is responsible to the needs of everyone who calls Medford home. The organization is a citywide affiliate of Our Revolution, which was formed in 2016 to carry on the popular movement of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. Our Revolution Medford has been active in electoral politics since the municipal elections of 2017, and has worked to elect endorsed candidates. Currently two city councilors and three school committee members were elected on Our Revolution Medford’s endorsement.

Press contact:

Matt Hughes

Phone: 845-393-4397

Email: mattphihughes@gmail.com