Three Big Endorsements
This week in the final days before the September 10th preliminary, I've received the endorsements of Progressive Newton and two local environmental groups, Sunrise Boston and the Massachusetts Sierra Club.
Susan Davidoff from the Progressive Newton Steering Committee says "Bill Humphrey is the best choice in this race for progressive voters. He is committed to addressing Newton’s affordable housing shortage and environmental crisis, and he has a strong record of fighting for all our residents on issues of economic inequality."
Sunrise Boston, the regional chapter of the youth climate action Sunrise Movement, selected me as one of 6 out of 50 applicants to receive their endorsement. In a statement, they said "These candidates fully understand the need for urgent climate action and will champion bold progressive climate policies like the Green New Deal at the local level and we are proud to endorse them. Thank you for fighting for our future!!"
I also received the endorsement of the Massachusetts Sierra Club, where I used to be the political committee chair myself and learned a lot firsthand about what a bold municipal environmental policy platform looks like.
These endorsements add to a growing list that already includes Engine 6, the Massachusetts Nurses Association union (representing City of Newton nurses and Newton-Wellesley Hospital nurses), the Bay State Stonewall Democrats, and many more.
How You Can Help the Campaign
Email your Ward 5 friends and ask them to vote for me on Tuesday
Word of mouth and personal recommendations are one of the most powerful tools we have for getting people to vote for me and to remember to turn out to vote in this Tuesday's Ward 5-only preliminary election. If you were thinking of emailing any lists of friends and neighbors about this race, now is the time to start doing that! You can even feel free to send them this email specifically.
Sign holding volunteer sign up
We are looking for volunteers to help and hold signs supporting me at the polls on election day -- Tuesday September 10! If you would like to sign up for a two hour shift at one of the 3 locations, please click here!
Voter Reminders on September 9th
Please email me if you are available on Monday September 9th to help distribute reminders to the doors of our supporters about the next day’s election.
Lawn sign requests
We are still looking to distribute lawn signs! Please email me if you are interested in having a lawn sign installed in your yard.
Door knocking update: Round 3 completed
On Sunday, I completed my 3rd full pass through the doors of Ward 5. It took us only 32 days. Since February 4th, my team & I have effectively (i.e. counting 3 passes) knocked 6,607 doors -- I did 5,810 myself -- and we have spoken to more than 1,600 different voters across 7 months.
Here are the top issues voters have raised: [Graph showing the top issues in order: Road/Sidewalk repair; Development & Zoning; Environment & Clean Energy; Housing; Road Safety & Bike Lanes; Traffic; Schools/Education; City Services; Senior Issues; Teardowns]
Public Events This Week
Newton Democrats Labor Day BBQ
On Monday, I spoke at the annual Newton Democrats Labor Day BBQ. Here's the text of my speech as prepared for delivery: "I'm Bill Humphrey and I'm running for the open Ward 5 Councilor seat this year. Most of you already know me from my work here in the Newton Democratic City Committee and countless campaigns.
On Labor Day it's a particularly good time to reflect on the fact that after the 2016 disaster, our party has only one path forward to victory and that is to be a mass-membership, multi-racial, environmental party of the American working class.
We also know as Democrats that the work of building our party back up begins at the local level, and that's why I'm running for the Newton City Council on a platform of making sure we are a community for everyone.
We need to act locally to get off fossil fuels, to provide affordable housing for all, and to strengthen our city services with strong public employee unions who have great healthcare and wages.
I've been going door to door --to 5,800 doors so far-- since the first week of February to do what we Democrats do best: to make the case voter by voter and mobilize those voters to rally behind our agenda because that's what will make us a community for everyone. Thank you."
Other Events
Tonight at 7:30, I'll join the other two candidates at the joint Area Councils Candidate Forum for Ward 5 at the Emerson Community Center.
Last night I attended the monthly meeting of Engine 6, where we heard updates on several proposed housing developments in Newton. (Don't miss the Engine 6 endorsement of my candidacy last week.)
On Tuesday, I attended the monthly meeting of the Friends of Hemlock Gorge.