Support Connolly for state rep in Cambridge, Somerville

There is phenomenal news for Bernie Sanders supporters in the 26th Middlesex House District, which covers significant swaths of Cambridge and Somerville. No, the US senator from Vermont isn’t chasing his iconic push for the presidency by retiring to Central Square and running for the state legislature. But his Our Revolution project, which has vowed to pick up said campaign momentum, has endorsed former Occupy Boston activist and community organizer Mike Connolly for the Beacon Hill seat that is currently occupied by state representative Tim Toomey, a piece of Democratic furniture who also quite absurdly serves as a Cambridge city councilor.

Along with three other stellar Bay State Dems—Jamie Eldridge (Senate) and Mary Keefe (House) in the Worcester area, plus Second Middlesex District state Sen. Pat Jehlen, who Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge voters should support in her reelection bid over the far less progressive Leland Cheung—Connolly is among the first 62 Our Revolution nods nationwide. The movement’s noted early internal struggles aside, it’s remarkable that organizers were able to compile a compelling coast-to-coast slate in such short notice. As a result, Sanders backers have an immediate way to rebel against defenders of the status quo who snarkily suggested that Bernie followers participate in down-ballot races, all while secretly hoping that progressives evacuate the building.

Though we have only endorsed a handful of candidates in the history of DigBoston, with all the hell we give the pols who feast on legal bribes from lobbyists and old boys, we felt compelled to weigh in on this contest. Connolly stands head and shoulders above most public officials—and not only because at 6 feet 8 inches, he’s even taller than our giraffe of a Republican governor. Put simply, he’s a progressive’s dream with a meritocratic pedigree, having grown up in a suburban housing project in Norwood before going to Duke, then working in tech and eventually finding public service. The Sanders camp isn’t alone in noticing, and Connolly’s racked up key endorsements from the likes of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and the Sierra Club.

We hope that you trust our characterization of Connolly as the right choice, and we urge voters in his district to have faith that, if elected, he will fight against the increasingly prevalent neoliberal agenda that corrupts Beacon Hill. For more detailed reasons, we recommend that you peruse his website, or better yet check out the record of his opponent Toomey. The double-dipping councilor and representative is the kind of old-school conservative Dem who needs to go. From his support of charter schools over the years, to the tens of thousands of dollars he’s taken from developers and other questionable interests, to his horrendous criminal justice record and opposition to legal marijuana, it’s about time that someone give Toomey the Timberland. In the state primary next Thursday, Sept 8, Mike Connolly is your boot.