Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents and Supporters —

I was planning to write to you this evening about the incredible day we had celebrating the start of in-person early voting on Saturday. Thank you to Senators Sal DiDomenico and Lydia Edwards, Rep. Steve Owens, Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, and all of the friends and supporters who showed up throughout the day to stand with us.

However, this afternoon, the challenger in my race sent out a campaign mailer loaded with dishonest claims about my work on housing. This is especially concerning because thousands of Cambridge and Somerville voters are now being hit with this misinformation just five days before the Democratic primary on Tuesday, September 1.

First, I want to walk you through the claims Neil Miller is making and explain why they are dishonest. Then, I am going to ask for your help so we can finish the race strong.

MBTA Communities Act

Mr. Miller says I "criticized a 2020 law that enabled exclusionary suburbs to zone for more multifamily housing" — that's a distortion of what I was actually doing.

The fact is, I sponsored and co-sponsored versions of the MBTA Communities Act and voted to pass the final version into law. My main criticism was that I thought the legislature should pass other key housing policies along with it, such as a local option for rent stabilization and more options for affordable housing.

He uses the headline from this 2020 WGBH article to try to prove a point — but as the article itself makes clear, I agreed with the premise of the MBTA Communities Act and was pushing the legislature to be even more ambitious with tenant protections and investments in affordability. That is the kind of comprehensive response to the housing emergency that I believe Cambridge and Somerville residents want, so it's disappointing that Mr. Miller would dishonestly portray my actual stance.

Market Central

Mr. Miller then says I "opposed" the building where he and his wife currently live — Market Central, the 19-story housing tower in Central Square, where a two-bedroom apartment currently rents for $5,572 a month.

Eleven years ago, when the Cambridge City Council considered spot-zoning for this building, I was an aide inside City Hall, working with city councilors on a proposal for a public-private partnership at this site. Our proposal would have resulted in significantly more housing and more affordable housing than what we ultimately got in the Market Central deal, because it would have allowed the developer to build housing on top of city-owned Parking Lot #6 in exchange for even more affordable units.

So it's disingenuous to claim, all these years later, that I opposed housing at the site. I was deeply involved in fighting for more housing and more affordable housing where this building now stands.

Sullivan Courthouse redevelopment

Next, Mr. Miller says I "opposed" the redevelopment of Sullivan Courthouse in East Cambridge that delivered 48 new affordable units. This might be the most dishonest claim of all — because the record shows it was my original idea, and the grassroots efforts I led, that gave the city council the leverage to secure those affordable units.

In October 2018, I stood up in an obscure public meeting and offered my theory — that the city council could use the developer's need to obtain a parking approval to win affordable housing. Then I organized a grassroots campaign and hundreds of residents joined the fight. Ultimately, Cambridge Day declared that I "led the housing fight" that resulted in these 48 affordable homes.

Social Housing

Finally, Mr. Miller says I "spent a decade in office advocating for social housing with no progress to show for it." Again, this is false on multiple levels.

I introduced the first-ever social housing bill on Beacon Hill in the summer of 2023. That's three years ago. I worked with Secretary Augustus and legislative colleagues to include a funding authorization for a social housing pilot in the Affordable Homes Act. Then, in August 2024, Governor Healey invited me to the signing of the Affordable Homes Act, which passed this social housing concept into law. Last year, the Healey-Driscoll Administration released its housing plan, which incorporates social housing as part of our official state policy.

Also last year, I worked with the Healey-Driscoll Administration to create a state-level social housing working group. We decided social housing can't just be a top-down model — it has to be informed by local communities. Now, I'm part of Cambridge's Social Housing Task Force, where we are bringing city leaders, staff from the state's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, local advocates, housing professionals, and residents together to determine how Cambridge can take advantage of the state's new social housing opportunities and develop a program of our own. Meanwhile, Mayor Wilson has committed the City of Somerville to pursuing this opportunity as well.

As housing advocate Jesse Kanson-Benanav said in this recent letter endorsing my campaign, "Going from a new policy concept to an official part of the commonwealth’s housing strategy in a single legislative term is almost unheard of." That's part of the reason why he called me a "housing champion" for Cambridge and Somerville.

Your Help Needed

In closing, I need to ask for your help. Mr. Miller's dishonest claims are disrespectful to the voters, and our community deserves better. But we all know that misinformation can lead to unpredictable results at the ballot box.

So if you care as much about good housing policy as I do, and if you appreciate my work for our community, then I ask you to make a contribution to my re-election campaign. Click here to donate.

My field team and I will be canvassing and phone banking over the next five days, and we need your help holding signs on Election Day, too.

To get involved, sign up on my volunteer page, or simply reply to this email to let us know when we can plug you in.

I am so grateful to everyone who has gone out of their way to support my re-election campaign this year. But I have to respectfully ask for more help right now. My campaign is doing everything we can to get the truth about my record out there, but we need additional resources and all hands on deck.

Thank you, as always, for being a friend and a supporter.

Yours in service,

Mike

Dear Cambridge and Somerville Friends and Constituents —

Thank you to everyone working in support of my re-election campaign. Vote by mail is in full swing, and in-person early voting starts this Saturday! 

I want to invite you to join me and my team to celebrate the start of in-person early voting. We will gather in front of the Cambridge Street Upper School at 10:30 am Saturday for a photo. 850 Cambridge St., Cambridge.

Come by to say hello, pick up a yard sign or a window sign, sign up for a volunteer shift — and most importantly, walk around the corner to the Valente Library (Berkshire Street entrance) to cast your vote in the state primary.

To let us know you're coming, check the box on my volunteer page.

Complete information for early voting in Cambridge is available here.

And information about early voting in Somerville is available here.

I'm proud of all the support we've received so far — every organization and local group that has endorsed in this race has endorsed my campaign — that's more than 30 organizations focused on housing, transit, education, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant protections, economic justice, human rights, and more.

And the most important endorsement of all comes from you.

I am not taking anything for granted. We're out there every day competing for every vote, and I need your help to emerge victorious on September 1.

I hope to see you Saturday morning at 10:30. Thank you, once again, for being a friend and a supporter. 

Yours in service,

Mike

Every major organization that has endorsed in the 26th Middlesex has endorsed Rep. Mike Connolly.

Whether a voter’s top concern is housing affordability, reproductive health care, LGBTQ+ rights, climate change, workers’ rights, public education, or transportation, the people fighting for these issues are united behind State Representative Mike Connolly in his campaign for re-election in the 26th Middlesex.

Rep. Mike Connolly has earned the trust and support of every major organization endorsing in the race, both locally and across the state. The coalition backing Connolly includes over 30 organizations, representing thousands of organizers and activists fighting on the front lines and working on the most pressing issues facing our state.

Here’s what the state’s leading progressive advocacy organization has to say about Mike:

“Mike Connolly has been a progressive champion since we first endorsed him in 2016,” said Jonathan Cohn, Policy Director at Progressive Massachusetts. “Mike is the rare state representative who gets an ‘A’ every year on our Progressive Scorecard. Mike has fought for stronger tenant protections, social housing, and revenue for affordable housing, as well as workers’ rights, bold climate action, voting rights, transparency, and more. Mike is willing to speak out against bad, rushed legislation and to push the State House to be more ambitious in all of its policymaking.”

Advocates working to address the housing emergency are also with Mike.

“Representative Connolly has consistently championed reforms that expand housing production while strengthening tenant protections. He has actively sponsored and co-sponsored pro-housing legislation and used his position in the State House to help turn those policies into law — from legalizing ADUs by right statewide and unlocking more housing production around transit, to pioneering the concept of mixed-income social housing in Massachusetts. The cities of Cambridge and Somerville have a real housing champion in Mike Connolly,” said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, Executive Director of Abundant Housing MA.

As Trump continues to wage war on reproductive freedom, organizers at the center of the fight to protect abortion rights are with Mike.

“For years, Mike has been a true partner to Planned Parenthood at the State House, championing health care access for all and fiercely advocating for reproductive rights legislation including bills to remove abortion restrictions in Massachusetts,” said Dominique Lee, President of the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts. “In the year and a half since Trump took office, attempts to curtail Planned Parenthood’s services and threaten reproductive health providers have skyrocketed, but at every turn, we’ve had leaders like Representative Connolly taking action to invest in reproductive health care and ensure Massachusetts leads the way for reproductive freedom. The Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund is proud to endorse Mike Connolly for re-election.”

Environmental groups across the state have also backed Connolly as the climate candidate for Cambridge and Somerville.

“Mike Connolly has been a champion for energy efficiency, renewable power, expanding clean air and water regulations, and community engagement,” said Casey Bowers, Executive Director of the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund. “He has demonstrated true leadership for the 26th Middlesex District, including for environmental justice communities like East Somerville, the Port, and Cambridgeport. The ELM Action Fund is thrilled to endorse his candidacy.”

“Mike will continue to fight for climate justice and energy affordability, and he knows we can’t pit the two against each other,” said Vick Mohanka, Chapter Director of the Sierra Club Massachusetts. “Our chapter is proud to endorse Mike for reelection in his fight to hold investor-owned corporate utilities and the fossil fuel industry accountable.”

The message from Massachusetts progressives is resoundingly clear: they want Mike Connolly to continue the fight alongside them in the State House.

“I am honored that so many labor unions, progressive organizations, and local groups have recognized my accomplishments in the legislature and my commitment to justice in all its forms,” said Rep. Mike Connolly. “From teachers and housing advocates to nurses and climate activists, these are the organizers who know what it takes to deliver on our values on Beacon Hill. These organizations do not offer their support lightly. In some cases, I am the only incumbent, or one of just a few, to receive their endorsement. I am grateful and proud to have earned their support through years of standing together, fighting for our shared values, and delivering results.”

Rep. Connolly has also been endorsed by Reproductive Equity Now, MassEquality, Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Massachusetts Teachers Association, Massachusetts Nurses Association, National Association of Social Workers (Mass. PACE), Service Employees International Union State Council, UNITE HERE Local 26, Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists, Massachusetts Voters for Animals, Our Revolution Cambridge, Cambridge Bike Safety, Somerville YIMBY, Somerville for Palestine, and dozens of other groups and elected officials. For a full list of endorsements, please visit www.mikeconnolly.org/endorsements

Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents —

Last week I reached out to ask for your help in my re-election campaign — and so many of you responded with pledges to vote, sign requests, donations, and commitments to volunteer—thank you!

If you still want to get involved, you can visit my volunteer page to sign up to contact voters or request a sign, and you can make a contribution here.

On Thursday, I participated in a forum with my opponent, Neil Miller, and he continued to present a distorted case for why he would be a better leader on the issue of housing.

He once again criticized a vote I cast in 2023, and I want to take a moment to talk about it, because I think it's actually a good example of the kind of leadership I provide on housing, and some of the differences in this race.

My vote was in opposition to a major expansion of the state's Housing Development Incentive Program, also known as HDIP.

Housing development incentives sound good, right?

The problem with HDIP, as I explained in my speech on the House floor, is that every year it gives tens of millions of dollars to for-profit, market-rate housing developers, but it has no affordability requirements whatsoever.

Moreover, the program offers no direct benefit to Cambridge or Somerville, because the funding only goes to designated Gateway Cities. And even the term "gateway city" can be problematic, because the needs of Salem and Quincy are different from those of Pittsfield or Chelsea.

Many noted leaders in Gateway Cities, such as Chelsea's Gladys Vega, have called for affordability reforms to HDIP. So have the leaders of Progressive Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations.

A report from the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) documented some of the results of the HDIP program: a state-subsidized studio in Malden renting for $3,438/mo.; a one-bedroom in Lowell renting for $3,467/mo.; and literally the first-ever million-dollar condo sold in Salem.

According to the latest data compiled by MLRI, the state has provided some $146 million in HDIP credits to 88 residential developments, and the results have been stark: 97% of the units are market-rate or above; just 3% of the units are affordable.

To be sure, we all understand it is very difficult to build housing right now. And I support doing everything possible to do so. But as I explained at this week's forum, even when it comes to getting market-rate housing off the ground, there are much better ways to make it happen.

One example of a better way is a program I helped advance in the Affordable Homes Act called the Momentum Fund. The Momentum Fund is a revolving investment fund, administered by MassHousing, that helps market-rate projects get off the ground in this very difficult fiscal environment. The Momentum Fund requires that at least 20% of the new units be set aside as affordable.

And best of all, the fund is designed to revolve, so the Commonwealth's investment can be returned and reinvested in additional housing over time — unlike HDIP, which basically hands no-strings-attached state dollars to high-end housing developers. The Momentum Fund is one of the ideas that emerged, in part, out of my advocacy on Beacon Hill to advance the concept of social housing.

Even when I voted No on HDIP, I said that I would be willing to come to the table and work with those who support HDIP if we can build some equity into the program. But as I said in my floor speech, when my constituents are begging the state legislature to pass a local option for rent stabilization, when we've been working for years to pass a local option real estate transfer fee to tax high-end transactions and fund local affordable housing efforts — I could not in good conscience vote for HDIP.

This is important, so I invite you to watch my five-minute speech on this topic from the House floor. I posted it to my YouTube.

Right now, my opponent is going door-to-door, telling voters I have opposed housing. But that is a ridiculous claim. At our forum, I had to remind him that leading pro-housing groups like Abundant Housing MA and Somerville YIMBY have endorsed my campaign.

Mr. Miller keep telling voters that I “voted against funding for gateway cities to add new homes to their downtown” and “voted against funding for housing in working-class cities.” I hope my explanation helps put this vote in context. I believe the residents of our community want a State Representative who will look at how state dollars are spent through an equity lens, and work to ensure that state programs are designed to have the greatest public benefit.

Mr. Miller is also criticizing my support for the deal that brought TransMedics to Assembly Row. TransMedics makes devices that transport lungs, hearts, and livers for transplantation, saving lives. That deal bringing this company to the 26th Middlesex includes $18 million in state tax breaks and $18 million in city tax breaks. What makes this combined deal good is that it comes with real requirements for 900 jobs and millions of dollars in investment in Somerville. Progress is assessed annually, and if the company fails to deliver, both the state and the city can claw back those incentives. That’s the key difference between the TransMedics deal and the HDIP program: this public investment comes with enforceable requirements, clawbacks, and accountability, while HDIP has no affordability requirement whatsoever. Moreover, the TransMedics deal was approved on a 10-0 vote by the Somerville City Council in October 2025.

I could spend all day writing to you about some of the other dishonest claims that have been made in this race, or why I have every major organizational endorsement in my campaign. But I should probably get out there and keep knocking doors myself. 

If you value the kind of leadership I bring to the State House, on housing and on so many other issues, I respectfully ask for your support in whatever ways are possible right now and over the next two weeks.

Thank you, once again, for being an informed constituent. 

Yours in service,

Mike

Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents, Friends, and Supporters:

With so much on the line in today's election, I want to take a moment to encourage you to make your voice heard — and, I also want to say Thank You for allowing me the opportunity to continue serving our community in the state legislature.

Many folks have already voted by mail or voted early. If you've yet to cast your ballot, you have until 8 pm. Please note, some of the details regarding timing and locations of drop boxes vary by city, and some polling locations have changed since the last presidential election. If you have any questions — please see the following official websites:

Elections & Voting via the Secretary of the Commonwealth

Presidential Election Voting Options via the City of Cambridge

Voting Information for the 2024 General Election via the City of Somerville

Voting has never been easier in Massachusetts, and record turnout is expected today! This is your chance to be a part of our nation's history and to help shape the future of our Commonwealth.

I am supporting three women with competitive races today — Kamala Harris for President of the United States, Elizabeth Warren for United States Senate, and Maria Curtatone for Middlesex South Register of Deeds.

I was proud to travel to New Hampshire last month to campaign for Kamala; I have been very proud to help Elizabeth collect signatures in each of her runs for United States Senate, and I have also been proud to stand with Maria in each of her runs for Register of Deeds. All three of these extraordinary women face opposition from right-wing opponents who would take us backward on various levels.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude to constituents, friends, and supporters. Election Day is a humbling experience, for we are reminded that legislators aren't appointed from on high — we are elected by voters like you.

As State Representative, I have always been willing to stand up to anyone — even House Leadership — whenever our values are at stake. At the same time, I have also been willing to work with everyone to make progress for our community. Advancing good policy and making state government work for our local residents, that is what I am committed to doing, even when it's difficult. 

This year, I am very proud to be endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, Reproductive Equity Now, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Service Employees International Union, the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, the Boston Teachers Union, the Somerville Democratic City Committee, and others. I'm also pleased that my voting record has once again been ranked as the most progressive in the House of Representatives by Progressive Massachusetts.

But what I'm most proud of is the progress we've made in our community — from opening the Community Path Extension that connects East Cambridge to East Somerville, to passing legislation that helps make our schools and our courts more equitable and more just, to securing funding for local non-profits and advancing groundbreaking housing and climate policies — this work means the world to me and is a joy to do in partnership with so many colleagues and constituents.

I'm heading over to the East Somerville Community School to greet voters right now, then I plan to fill out my ballot at Cambridge City Hall later this morning. This afternoon, I have a meeting with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to discuss future improvements on Memorial Drive, a video shoot to talk about the work we're doing to advance the Green New Deal locally, and finally, I will be preparing for a meeting with the Housing Secretary tomorrow, before tuning in to watch the results this evening. Another busy day!

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to continue doing this work, and I am very hopeful that today will finally mark the end of Trumpism in America. Please be sure to vote!

Yours in service,

Rep. Mike Connolly

ELECTION DAY 2022 IS FINALLY HERE!

Polls are now open until 8 pm today.

Have you voted yet? Or do you have a plan to return your ballot or vote in person?

If you are still holding on to a Vote By Mail ballot, Secretary Galvin recommends that voters who have yet to mail their ballot bring it to a local drop box to avoid it not reaching election officials in time. Technically, it has to be postmarked by today and arrive at the local elections office by 5 pm on Saturday — but the surest way to ensure it is counted is to return it today.

Also please note: many wards, precincts, and polling locations have changed this year as a result of the Constitutionally-required decennial redistricting process.

For City of Cambridge voting information, please see the Cambridge Election Commission website.

For City of Somerville voting information, please see the Somerville Elections Department website.

For statewide polling location information, please visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website.

Here in Massachusetts, we have a historic opportunity to elect women to our Constitutional Offices and to win tax fairness and some immigrant justice by voting Yes on Questions 1 and 4. For the record, I voted Yes on all four questions.

I'm proud to support the Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll ticket — they will be the first all-woman elected gubernatorial ticket in our nation's history, and Maura Healey will be the first open lesbian elected Governor in our nation's history as well. In addition, I am very excited that Maura has included support for local option rent control in her housing platform, and she's also expressed support for our fossil fuel-free local demonstration projects and supervised consumption sites, which are proven to help save lives in response to the opioid epidemic.

It's also important to support Diana DiZoglio for State Auditor — I've been proud to call her a colleague in the state legislature, but she's now facing some vicious attacks from Charlie Baker's political machine as Republicans try to hold on to a single statewide office. Diana is smart, tough, fearless, and very independent, a perfect combination for the position of state auditor.

Nationally, we face the very real possibility of an end to the democratic system and the total loss of reproductive freedom if election-denying Republicans are allowed to gain control of Congress. Let's hope the polls are wrong, and please do everything you can to encourage your friends and relatives in other states to vote blue today.

Anyways, I'm heading off to the polls right now to record voter turnout data for the Maura Healey, Kim Driscoll, and Andrea Campbell campaigns. Then circa noontime, I'll be joining Maura Healey and Ayanna Pressley at the West Branch Library in Somerville.

Please make sure your voice is heard in this critical moment, and as always, feel free to contact me directly with any questions about voting here in Cambridge and Somerville.

Yours in service,

Rep. Mike Connolly

Dear Friends, Supporters, Colleagues, and Cambridge and Somerville constituents —

I want to invite you to my end of year virtual event, Housing For All by 2024 — it will take place one week from tonight, Wednesday, December 29, at 6 pm.

Entry to the event is free of charge and welcome to all, but you must register in advance via this Zoom link.

The event will be hosted by my campaign committee and will serve as my end-of-year fundraiser. But I've never been too keen on standard fundraisers, so this is going to include a lot of exciting substance, too.

The plan is for me to do a 15-minute presentation to tell the story of some of what we've accomplished on housing policy over the course of my first two-and-a-half terms on Beacon Hill — from passing the state's largest-ever Housing Bond Bill in 2018, to passing the nation's strongest Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium in response to the pandemic, to winning fights in our community for graduate student housing and permanently affordable housing, etc. 

From there, I am going to ask the question: What will it take — and what will it look like — if we are to make those familiar words Housing Is A Human Right a reality here in Massachusetts?

This presentation will include a list of near-term goals — such as urgent investments in Low Threshold Housing and wraparound services, right to counsel, Tenant Opportunity To Purchase, eviction sealing, local options for real estate transfer fees, fixes to pending issues with rental assistance programs, investments in public housing, and a lot more.

Next, we'll talk about building the movement to lift the statewide ban on local rent stabilization. Just yesterday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced the formation of an advisory committee on rent stabilization, and on January 11, the legislature's Joint Committee on Housing will hear testimony on the bill I filed with Rep. Nika Elugardo, the Tenant Protection Act, which would allow our city officials to consider options for tenant protections.

Finally, the presentation will offer suggestions for the path to winning guaranteed Housing For All by the end of the year 2024. It will also suggest some key milestones that I hope will help us build on the efforts of so many advocates, organizers, and public servants who are all working so tirelessly to advance housing policy on so many different levels.

After my presentation, we will have remarks from Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, State Senators Sal DiDomenico, Pat Jehlen, Lydia Edwards, and Jamie Eldridge, State Reps. Nika Elugardo, Christine Barber, Dave Rogers, and Steve Owens, Cambridge City Councilor Quinton Zondervan and Councilor-elect Burhan Azeem, Somerville City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen and Councilor-elect Willie Burnley, Jr., and Worcester City Councilor-elect Etel Haxhiaj, and local advocates/organizers Nicole Eigbrett, Beth Huang, Bill Cunningham, and Tracey Pratt.

The list of participants is still in formation, so I am expecting additional officials, advocates and organizers to be added to this list in the coming days — and hopefully, you'll join us and add your voice to the conversation as well!

Please use this link to register in advance for the event, and if you are able, please consider making a contribution to the Committee To Elect Mike Connolly so that I can continue doing this work of bringing people together to build momentum for winning a statewide program of Housing For All.

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns — and here's wishing you and your family a very happy and safe holiday season!

Yours in service,

Rep. Mike Connolly

It's finally here: Election Day 2020!

Polls are now open across Massachusetts until 8 pm.

You can confirm your polling location here: http://WhereDoIVoteMA.com.

If you already voted by mail, you can look up whether your ballot was accepted via this page: http://TrackmyBallotMA.com.

If your Vote By Mail ballot wasn't accepted, you can still vote in-person today.

If you still need to return a Vote By Mail ballot, it must be postmarked by today.

For surest results, drop your Vote By Mail ballot in an official ballot drop box. Here's a map of Cambridge drop boxes, and here's a map of Somerville drop boxes. The drop boxes are open until 8 pm.

HOW I'M VOTING, HOW TO VOLUNTEER, AND WHY I'M HOPEFUL

Last week I voted by mail via a drop box here in Cambridge. I voted for V.P. Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Ed Markey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, State Senator Sal DiDomenico, Yes on Question 1 for Right to Repair, and Yes on Question 2 for Ranked Choice Voting.

As a committed progressive and democratic socialist, I voted for Vice President Biden with clear eyes. I don't think he goes far enough on issues such as the Green New Deal or Medicare For All, and I don't approve of many parts of his record.

That said, I understand that removing Trump from office is the prerequisite for any progress in our nation. Our democracy and our planet cannot endure another four years of having this racist in the White House. Survival depends on removing Trump and his criminal enablers from power.

Hello Boston!

My name is Mike Connolly, and I have the honor of representing Cambridge and Somerville up there in the Massachusetts State House.

As one of the Co-Chairs of the Massachusetts campaign for Bernie Sanders — I want to welcome you all to Boston Common!

Thank you for being a part of our multiracial, multigenerational, working-class movement to defeat Donald Trump. Together, we will transform our country to make it work for the 99% of us.

Are you as excited as I am to have Bernie Sanders in Boston this afternoon?

Boston is known as the cradle of liberty — the birthplace of the American revolution. And three days from now, on Super Tuesday — we are going to go to the polls to make the political revolution a reality here in Massachusetts!

Boston Common is known as the world‘s first public urban park. This Common has hosted revolutionaries from John Adams to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — so it’s very fitting that we gather here today in support of Senator Sanders, for Bernie is both a revolutionary leader and a true champion for public good.

Bernie is fighting for guaranteed housing for all. Bernie will cut the military budget so we can afford to invest in public transportation (like the Green Line). Bernie is standing up for public education — for free public college and university and for the cancellation of all student debt. Bernie will fight for a federal jobs program and a Green New Deal. And last, but not least, when we win this election, we will fight with Bernie to implement Medicare for All.

My commitment to Bernie's agenda — and my commitment to this movement — stems from my personal background.

I was raised in public housing in Norwood, Massachusetts. I spent time in foster care as a kid and benefited from government programs like Head Start. As I grew up, I came to believe that government would play a central role in helping all those who are on the margins of society. 

But like many of you, as I got a little older and as I lived through the Great Recession — and I watched as the Wall Street banks got bailed out but the foreclosure crisis and the homelessness emergency continued to get worse — I started to doubt whether those ideals that I grew up believing in were really possible. I started to wonder — maybe I’m too naive? Maybe I’m a little too optimistic...

I distinctly remember the day when all that changed.

It was October 4, 2015, when I went down to the Boston Convention and Exposition Center, and I walked into a room with 21,000 people there for Bernie Sanders. And perhaps the most impressive part of that evening was how there were another 4,000 people standing outside in the rain because they couldn't even get in the room. Senator Sanders spoke to us in that room for about an hour that evening — and then he went out into the rain and gave another speech to those people...

And it was in that moment that I became convinced that real change is possible. Not because of the words of any one individual politician — but because of our collective power as a movement.

That evening changed my life. I decided to run for State Representative — I was endorsed by Our Revolution and the Democratic Socialist of America — and with the help of hundreds of volunteers in my community, I was able to take on the local political establishment and win.

Now I’m working up there in the Massachusetts State House and in a few minutes you’ll hear from one of my colleagues and fellow Bernie co-chairs, State Representative Nika Elugardo. Rep Elugardo and I are advancing legislation called the Tenant Protection Act, which would lift the statewide ban on rent control. 

And that's what this is all about — it’s not about one individual voice. It’s about us coming together to change the system. 

In conclusion, I just want to say that from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, to the movements for a Green New Deal and Housing for All in this decade, Senator Bernie Sanders has always been on the front lines of the fight for social justice in this country. And this is precisely what makes him the candidate best positioned to defeat Donald Trump in November.

Super Tuesday is the most important day of the Democratic primary process. So when Bernie’s done speaking today, I'm going back to Cambridge to knock on doors and to Get Out The Vote for Bernie Sanders! And tomorrow, I’ll be in Somerville knocking on doors for Bernie Sanders! And if everyone who is in this audience joins me — and if we all knock on doors, make phone calls, and send text messages, we will win the Massachusetts primary for Bernie Sanders!

Not Me, Us. Not Me, Us. Not Me, Us. Not Me, Us. Not Me, Us. Thank you.

Photo by Phyllis Bretholtz.

Representative Mike Connolly was recently named a "Pro-Choice Champion" for the 2017-2018 legislative session by NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, the political leader of the state's pro-choice movement.

Last month, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts released a detailed scoring document that considered actions such as lead sponsorship, co-sponsorship, roll call votes, and leadership efforts to advance legislation supporting reproductive freedom in the Bay State. Rep. Connolly earned the highest possible grade (A+) on the scorecard; he joins a group of 26 Representatives (out of a total of 160 Representatives statewide) to earn the highest possible grade for the 2017-2018 legislative session.