Please vote for Senate July 25

UPDATED, July 22: My pitch is a straight strike. No change-up or curve ball: By 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, I would like you to vote.

The election is special — to decide whether Cindy Friedman, an Arlington Democrat, or Ian Jackson, an Arlington resident representing the Green-Rainbow Party, will be the next state senator for the 4th Middlesex District. Since 2008, Ken Donnelly had held the seat, until April 2, when he died.

What’s your excuse for not voting? 

It’s midsummer.

You’ll be away.

You don’t feel like it.

You don’t know anything about the candidates.

The political climate right now is so divisive that you wonder what difference voting makes.

Let me tell you the difference:

On June 27, Friedman topped Arlington favorite, state Rep. Sean Garballey. Every vote counted, as the final, unofficial count was relatively close — by 776 votes.

See the results as well as lot of other information here >> 

If elected July 25, Friedman would be the first woman to be newly elected to the Senate since Sen. Barbara L’Italien in 2015, and the 41st female state senator in Massachusetts history.

With two vacancies, the Senate comprises 20 male Democrats, six male Republicans and 12 women, all Democrats.

Fifty-one women — 39 representatives and 12 senators — now serve in the 200-seat state Legislature.

These are simply facts, not an argument to vote for Friedman. This column is not an endorsement; it is a straight pitch urging you to vote.

Apart from the excuses cited above, one of them is potentially a good reason to avoid the polls July 25 — the Trump effect.

On July 12, I asked on the Arlington, MA, Current Residents Facebook list:

“Do you think the reports of lies linked to our presidential election could keep you from voting July 25?”

Marcy Slack responded thoughtfully (her comments are quoted with her mission):

“To be honest, I’m conflicted.

“I’m so disenchanted and exhausted by what has become of our nation and the farce of ‘fair elections’ that I almost am to the point of feeling as if we truly do not have a voice.

“We live in echo silos; we listen to the news that best spins news toward our own values. We are further split between those who care about their fellow citizens (global and domestic) and those who care only about protecting their own skin.

“For the first time in my life I have found myself almost unwilling to even watch the news. Every CNN alert infuses me with terror and dread, worrying about what new atrocity has come to light or what new group will be further marginalized

“It has become a form of self-preservation to insulate myself from all of it, including elections because as we learned in 2000 and again in 2016, our votes do *not* matter, ultimately. Gerrymandering is the rule of order, and as a result, I’m no longer even convinced we are a sovereign nation.

“The only way to try to take back the reins of our government is to start small in local and state elections, but it’s hard not to succumb to the malaise and disgust left over from how far we have plummeted. So in summary, I just don’t know if I still have it in me to vote. I may have to abstain for my own well-being so that the murk and venom of the political cycle doesn’t consume me.”

I respect Marcy’s view while encouraging her to side with the better angel of her nature — vote.

Your vote is your voice in our democracy. Your voice and your vote are needed now more than ever.

The forces aimed at silencing votes are significant. Resist them. 

I write this despite the fact that one of the state Senate candidates has been strangely silent.

I have made numerous attempts to reach Jackson for comment about how he serve in the state Senate. These included three emails, starting June 28, and a recent phone call to his home. The woman answering the phone said he would call back. He has not responded.

Without comment from a candidate, the public can’t know where he stands. This information about Jackson is online >> 

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Katherine Clark (MA-5) have endorsed Friedman.

Even so, please vote.

This review was published Monday, July 17, 2017, and updated July 22.