AmesburyDemocrats.org

As the newest crop of Amesbury students prepares to head off to college, parents should remind them of one very important item for the to-do list: register to vote.

Without a doubt, campuses throughout the country will be engaging in strong voter registration activities. However, students who register as residents of the town where their college is located will not be eligible to participate in local elections unless they register here in Amesbury. Parents should point this out so that there won’t be any surprises or disappointments if their children do want to support candidates whose names will appear only on local ballots.

For information on registering to vote, visit our Voting FAQs page, or call Town Hall at 978-388-8100.

Friends,

Over the past 18 months, our administration has built a foundation for real, lasting change. We have delivered lower rates and more competition in auto insurance, an increase in jobs, 340,000 more people with health insurance, the protection of marriage equality, and a best-in-the-nation plan to help people facing home foreclosure.

I signed into law the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative–a 10-year, $1 billion investment that makes Massachusetts a world-leading center for research, innovation and healing.

We announced the final report of the Commonwealth Readiness Project, which many of you helped to craft. The report outlines the next steps in education reform, with the goal of creating a 21st-century education system that allows our children to compete in a global economy.

Today, I signed into law a comprehensive energy policy that will enable the Commonwealth to meet its energy needs through increased conservation while fostering the continued growth of our clean-energy sector. This comes on the heels of a first-of-its-kind oceans bill that will protect our seascape for generations.

The common thread that ties these policies together is a dedication to long-term, fundamental change, and this is just the beginning. We have an ambitious agenda, and there’s much work still for us to do.

This summer, I am looking forward to hearing from you. In July and August, I’ll be in every corner of the Commonwealth hosting a series of town hall meetings. This is my chance not so much to talk as to listen. I want to hear your concerns and your ideas. I want to continue the conversation we’ve been having about moving Massachusetts forward.

I hope you’ll join me. Weather permitting, we’ll be holding these town halls outside, early in the evening, often at your local town hall. Bring your kids. Bring your parents. Bring a lawn chair. Bring a friend or a neighbor, and let’s talk about what we can do together.

We’ve only just begun to change the way we govern in this state. There’s a lot of work left to do, and we have no time to waste. I am committed to working with you over the next two years, and if re-elected, over my next term, to see this through. It’s an exciting time for Massachusetts. I hope to see you this summer.

Warm regards,
Deval

In its first campaign ad, the Obama campaign has aimed high. Check it out at the following link:

Obama Campaign Ad

Of the 39 Presidents of the United States, 14 were Democrats:

William Jefferson Clinton: 1993-2001
James Earl Carter: 1977-1981
Lyndon Baines Johnson: 1963-1969
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: 1961-1963
Harry Truman: 1945-1953
Franklin Roosevelt: 1933-1945
Woodrow Wilson: 1913-1921
Grover Cleveland: 1885-1889;1893-1897
Andrew Johnson: 1865-1869
James Buchanan: 1857-1861
Franklin Pierce: 1853-1857
James Polk: 1845-1849
Martin Van Buren: 1837-1841
Andrew Jackson: 1829-1837

During the 1800s, a hybrid party – “Democratic-Republicans” – existed, but this group morphed into what we now call the Democratic Party. If you add these presidents (Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams), this brings the total to 18 Democrats and 17 Republicans. Advantage, Dems. Let’s keep the ball rolling in 2008!