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Jesse Gordon for Randolph Town Council >
Events> Mass Dems Convention
Gordon attends Massachusetts Democratic Convention
and outlines candidate preferences for 2020
I was elected as a Randolph delegate to the 2019 Massachusetts Democratic Convention and attended the convention in Springfield on Saturday, Sept. 14. I posted several pictures on Facebook, leading to a lively discussion surrounding Elizabeth Warren (she was the keynote speaker at the convention). Numerous other candidates were also present at the convention, several of whom I also posted pictures on Facebook. So here I'll outline my candidate preferences in the 2020 election. I was asked during the 2017 municipal election to outline my presidential candidate preferences, so I'll start there: - I supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, with both financial contributions and volunteer work.
- I also supported Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein with both financial contributions and professional work (I interviewed her for the website OnTheIssues.org), but I voted in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, not the 2016 Green Party primary.
- In the 2016 general election, I supported Hillary Clinton for president, including volunteer canvassing in New Hampshire.
In the 2020 presidential race... - I am supporting Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary, including a financial contribution, and volunteering with ORMA-Randolph (the spinoff organization from Bernie's 2016 primary campaign)
- I am currently planning to vote for Bernie Sanders in the Massachusetts presidential primary in March 3, 2020, but I am not yet committed to that vote, since the field is large and still changing.
- I have contributed small amounts ($1 to $5) to several other candidates, mostly because the Democratic presidential primary debate rules count the number of small donors as a qualifying attribute to get into the debate. So these donations mean "I support getting this candidate into the debate"):
- Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke
- New Jersey Senator Cory Booker
- Alaska Senator Mike Gravel
- California CEO Andrew Yang
- California Senator Kamala Harris
- Massachusetts Governor William Weld - I have not donated to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren -- I was thrilled to hear her for the first time speaking "live" at the Mass Dems' convention (I had not seen a live speech before). But I am not supporting her candidacy with either financial contributions nor volunteer work, because I prefer Bernie Sanders.
- I assisted my mom with making a donation to the Elizabeth Warren campaign; mom chose to donate after seeing Senator Warren's performance in the second primary debate in August 2019. I guess you can count that as just a little "volunteer work for Warren."
In the 2020 Massachusetts Senate race... - There are currently four contenders for the Senate seat currently held by Senator Ed Markey, and one Republican.
- I have not yet decided whom to support in the March 3, 2020 Senate primary, excerpt that I will be voting against the incumbent Ed Markey (who also spoke at the Mass Dems convention, with an introduction from N. Y. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).
- The three other candidates for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat are:
- Rep. Joe Kennedy III
- Steve Pemberton
- Shannon Liss-Riordan - I had hoped to meet all three of those candidates at the Mass Dems convention (all three were there, I heard!), without much success; I was unable to even find their literature. So I'm still undecided in this race.
- I had accepted an invitation to attend Steve Pemberton's breakfast meeting, but I arrived too late because I attended the Crawford Square Redevelopment Planning Session scheduled in Randolph that same morning. I'm currently leaning toward supporting Pemberton, but I need to meet or read more, before committing.
- I had dreamed that Rep. Joe Kennedy would formally announce his Senate candidacy at the Mass Dems convention, but that didn't happen! Instead, he was the moderator of a panel discussion on immigration, which I attended and posted some photos online. In the past, I have donated to Joe Kennedy's campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, including attending his fundraiser event in Boston years ago, where I met his then-fiancee Lauren.
- Other candidates for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat whom I have supported in past years:
- CERES activist Bob Massie
- Newton Mayor Setti Warren
- Senator Ted Kennedy In the 2020 Massachusetts House race... - I support Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and am committed to voting for her re-election in both the March 2020 primary and the November 2020 general election.
- I supported Pressley both financially and with volunteer canvassing during the 2018 election.
- In past House races, I've supported both financially and with volunteer work these U.S. House candidates (most of whom were from neighboring districts, so I could not vote for them):
- Rep. Barney Frank
- Rep. Joe Kennedy III
- Rep. Niki Tsongas
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