Nomination Petition Signature Drive is in full swing...we need your help!

[paineinthearse]

JOHN BONIFAZ FOR SECRETARY OF STATE --- NOMINATING PETITION SIGNATURE DRIVE --- A CALL FOR MASSACHUSETTS PDA VOLUNTEERS AND OTHER PROGRESSIVES TO COLLECT SIGNATURES BY APRIL 15, 2006, SO THAT WE CAN BE ASSURED JOHN BONIFAZ IS ON THE BALLOT.

The John Bonifaz for Secretary of State Nomination Petition Signature Drive is in full swing. And we need your help in collecting signatures ... now!

1. If you are able to volunteer a few hours for John's campaign TODAY, the timing couldn't be better ... because the Campaign has the capacity to identify all of the Town Hall Meetings being held in MA today, Saturday March 25, where you can collect signatures from people who attend. If you can commit for TODAY please contact Sid Levin, Acton, MA 978-263-6515, sidlevin @ verizon.net, or Nicoli Bailey, Marblehead, MA 781-631-3839, nicoli.bailey @ gmail.com .

2. Naturally, you can also at any time go to any local supermarket/shopping center when there is heavy foot traffic and collect signatures there using official nominating sign-up sheet(s). For help in these efforts, again, please call Sid or Nicoli, above. And, of course, if you know of events in your town or precinct where signature gathering for John would be helpful, please tell us about them!

The Bonifaz Campaign has set the goal at 50 to 100 signatures for each volunteer. With 100 people volunteering to collect signatures we will succeed in putting John on the ballot!!

DEADLINE: the official deadline to submit nominating papers to the town clerks is May 9, but our goal is to have 10,000 signatures by April 15, so as to not leave certification in the various town halls until the last minute. If you can commit to getting 50--100 signatures, please contact Sid Levin, Acton, MA 978-263-6515, sidlevin @ verizon.net, or Nicoli Bailey, Marblehead, MA 781-631-3839, nicoli.bailey @ gmail.com . To email the campaign directly, info @ johnbonifaz.com. Or visit John's website, www.johnbonifaz.com for more information.

Thank you on behalf of John and on behalf of those who know ... we can do better.

BONIFAZ CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS
7 Harris Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
617-524-5151

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all ...~Martin Luther King, Jr..

[welshTerrier2]

1. so i called Bonifaz ...

the convention delegates on my town's committee are all "progressives" ... we've been inviting candidates for various offices to speak to us at our monthly meetings ... last week, Barrios spoke ... he was great btw ... i had quite a discussion with him ...

after he left, it was time for committee business ... i pushed to invite the Secretary of State candidates and volunteered to be in charge of contacting them ... so i made my little motion and the guy who's our town moderator said, "what's the point, there's only one guy running" ... to put this delicately, i corrected him ...

they wouldn't allow me to invite one candidate without inviting both (at separate times) ... with this caveat, my motion passed unanimously ...

when i got home, i went straight to the Bonifaz website ... he has a "calendar" page of his scheduled speaking commitments ... the date we wanted was available ...

i called the "contact us" phone number for two days and no one answered ... finally, i got through ... as i started explaining the reason for my call, a woman said to me, in a somewhat hostile tone, "we're in a meeting here" ... how the hell was i supposed to know that? she told me to just send an email ... i did ... that was on Thursday night ... so far, nada ...

i understand campaigns are busy and that my little town may not be their highest priority ... and i would never put this sort of interaction ahead of the critical issues Bonifaz has raised ... but they really need to do better than this ...

i've held off contacting the Galvin campaign until I get a response from Bonifaz ... my phone and my inbox are just sitting there kind of staring at me ...

[paineinthearse]

3. There is no excuse for a "hostile tone"

Ever.

That said, if one were to visit the campaign office one would see that it is minimally staffed. It is certainly not to the scale of the Deval Patrick HQ.

That said, if anyone is interested in donating time at the office, or doing other volunteer work, give your name and contact information via

Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

[bottomofthehill]

4. i've held off contacting the Galvin campaign

I don't get it, are you going to contact the Galvin campaign if you do not hear from John? Maybe you should be fair and contact them both, maybe Galvin wont show up and you can M/F him till the cows come home but it seems to me that there is a one sidedness to your post.

[welshTerrier2]

5. update

i have heard from the Bonifaz campaign ...

i received a very nice response and we're trying to find a date that works ...

my committee's position, which i don't agree with btw, is that we either get all candidates or none ...

once i get a list of available dates from Bonifaz, i'll contact Galvin ...

don't like that? join my committee and i'll be glad to turn the work over to you ...

[paineinthearse]

6. Your committee must think it has a lot of weight!

I've never known a small town committee to insist both/all candidates for office attend the same night. In fact, unless it is a huge regional meeting, candidates prefer not to be in the same building at the same time.

I think you are getting blown off by the powers that be.

If an invitiation is extended to all and one declines, the inviation should not be conditional on "all or none".

[PuraVidaDreamin]

2. I had the chance to hear John today and I'm impressed

Not that I wasn't before. I was at the Mass Voters for Fair Elections meeting in
Worcestor, and grabbed a bunch of petitions for signatures.

(Also met Jill Stein- and wow she is quite impressive also)
wish she would run for something other than Sec of State.