Great news! I just learned that our campaign has been endorsed by Mass Alliance, a coalition of the state's leading progressive advocacy organizations with a stellar record of winning elections!

This endorsement means a lot to me — not only because it's a sure sign that our campaign for new leadership for Cambridge and Somerville is on the right track — but especially because so many of the great, progressive legislators that I have looked up to over the years have also been endorsed by this organization.

Here is an excerpt from an op-ed submitted by MassAllaince director Jordan Powers to the Somerville Journal:

"Mike was raised in public housing, benefited from Head Start and other social services and through a scholarship worked his way through college. He went on to attend law school, becoming an attorney and establishing himself as a community leader dedicated to serving the public interest. He knows firsthand the importance our commitment to every child is,” said Jordan Berg Powers, executive director of Mass Alliance.

“Rep. [Tim] Toomey has twisted himself in all directions trying to rewrite his voting history, but the record is clear. Mass Citizens for Life, an anti-choice group, recently rated Rep. Toomey as 100 percent pro-life,” Powers said. “When given the chance to support public education, Rep. Toomey voted not once, but twice, most recently in April, to sell our schools off to big corporate donors. Rep. Toomey had a chance to fulfill his promise of MBTA expansion — but time and again voted against additional revenue that would support projects like the Green Line Extension and the Somerville Community Path. And at a time when citizens are making it clear they want more support for addiction and less mass incarceration, Rep. Toomey voted four times since 2014 to expand mandatory minimums. Rep. Toomey is out of step with the progressive leadership that voters in Cambridge and Somerville deserve.

“The things that are important to Mike are the things that are important to us — a clean, safe environment, public schools that provide our kids with a high-quality education and an economic system that gives working families a fair shot,” Powers added. “As the largest progressive organization in the Commonwealth, Mike was the only choice in this race.”

Tomorrow morning, I will be representing Cambridge Ward 1 (and supporting a motion to do away with super delegates) at the State Democratic Convention in Lowell, and for the rest of the weekend, we will be knocking on doors in Somerville and Cambridge. If you'd are able to join us on the campaign trail as a volunteer, please send an email to [email protected] or visit this page: www.mikeconnolly.org/volunteer

Finally, a very special thank you to everyone who helped us reach our big fundraising goal this week! We could not be doing this without your support. And of course, we need to continue fundraising to compete with a longtime incumbent, so if you are able, then please consider making a contribution today. Here's how: www.mikeconnolly.org/contribute

Thanks again!

~Mike