Electoral Victories

N2N-MA works on behalf of candidates for elected office who have been endorsed by a statewide committee of activists and volunteers. Here are the stories of our most significant elections.

2009 Elections

Maria Carrasco

Maria Carrasco has won a second term on the Lynn  School Committee.  A N2N-MA Board Member, Maria is the first Latina or Latino ever elected to office in Lynn and the only person of color on the School Committee in a city with over 70% "minority" student population. N2N's Lynn chapter contacted 1,500 infrequent voters to remind them to vote on Election Day.  A coalition of progressive Latino, African-American and white working class residents came together to support her candidacy.  As a result of a city-wide grassroots get-out-the-vote effort that led to high turnout rates, Maria finished third out of nine at-large candidates.  She was within just 220 votes of first place!

Joe O'Brien

Members were unanimous in supporting Joe O'Brien for Mayor, a long-time N2N ally and leader for progressive reform, and prioritized his race in Worcester.  Worcester N2N-MA members identified nearly 700 voters that pledged to vote in the election.  Joe won by a landslide, unseating an incumbent mayor for the first time in Worcester's history.

Elaine Pluta

A long-time ally of N2N-MA and mayoral candidate Elaine Pluta was endorsed by our Holyoke chapter after candidate interviews.  In the Tokeneke and Farnum housing developments, N2N-MA members worked hard in the days leading up to the election, urging their neighbors to get out and vote for Elaine.  Thousand turned out on Election Day and Elaine was elected the first woman mayor of Holyoke with a margin of victory of over 1,500 votes!

Rick Rushton

Rick Rushton was elected City Councilor-at-Large in Worcester.  N2N-MA members unanimously supported his endorsement for re-election.  He has been a strong supporter of our CORI Reform Campaign.

2008 Elections

Carl Sciortino

Many people said it couldn’t be done. Since 1984 no candidate had won election to state office in the city of Somerville without having their name on the ballot. N2N-MA proved them wrong, helping to reelect Representative Carl Sciortino by running a massive sticker campaign. N2N-MA staff took the lead on organizing volunteers, recruiting hundreds to join the effort, calling their neighbors, knocking on their doors, and spreading the word about the campaign. Over 400 volunteers made calls and handed out information on Election Day, making the Sciortino ground operation one of the largest in state history. Winning a decisive victory, N2N-MA helped keep this seat progressive, and re-elected a key ally who is a strong advocate for economic justice.

2007 Elections

  • Maria Carrasco

    Maria was initially motivated to get involved in N2N-MA because she was inspired by the energy around the MassHealth and minimum wage campaigns. She emerged as a leader, and was moved by the 2006 voter empowerment campaign to run for office herself. N2N-MA mentored Maria to become a viable candidate for School Committee, managed her campaign, and turned out over 500 low-income and minority voters to deliver victory by a margin of 41 votes. Maria is the only person of color on the School Committee in a city with over 70% “minority” student population. And she is the first Latina, male or female, ever elected to office in Lynn. Maria is running for reelection in 2009.

  • Jim O’Day

    In a hard-fought race, N2N-MA went head-to-head with the Worcester political establishment and stunned the pundits by electing underdog Jim O’Day as the next State Representative for the 14th Worcester District. While the entire political machine endorsed a local official, we got behind Jim O’Day, a social worker, a member of SEIU’s executive board, and someone we can count on to fight for working families. In N2N-MA’s precincts, Jim O’Day got 90% of the vote! This proved, once again, that low-income voters in the district’s largest public housing developments are a significant voting bloc, capable of having a decisive impact in the outcome of local elections. In the end, with added support from other voters throughout the district, Jim won his 3-way primary with 41% of the vote.

2006 Elections

  • Deval Patrick

    Voter turnout in low-income communities helped deliver the margin of victory for Deval Patrick, the first African-American elected to that office in Massachusetts and the state’s first Democratic Governor in 16 years. Deval Patrick took N2N-MA’s endorsement so seriously that he visited each of our six local chapters across the state to listen to what our members had to say. Our organizers ran intensive get-out-the vote campaigns in targeted low-income neighborhoods. In total, we knocked on nearly 40,000 doors, made more than 60,000 phone calls, and identified nearly 20,000 new supporters

  • Willie Mae Allen

    With N2N-MA’s backing, Willie Mae Allen won her race for State Representative in Dorchester/Mattapan with 52% of the vote. N2N-MA designed her campaign plan and had a full-time organizer working on her election, emphasizing the importance of volunteer recruitment and face-to-face voter contact. Willie Mae, with 38 years experience as a community activist, will be a strong voice for all progressive causes and we are excited to have her leadership in the State House.

2005 Elections

  • Linda Dorcena Forry

    N2N-MA played a critical role in the election of Linda Dorcena Forry, a Haitian-American woman who replaced Tom Finneran as State Representative for Dorchester, Mattapan, and Milton. We sat on her Steering Committee and helped to coordinate her phone banks and door-to-door canvasses. Volunteers from N2N-MA and the Coalition for Social Justice made more than 5,000 phone calls and sent district-wide mailings about her positions on affordable housing and health care. In the end, Linda won a five-way race by a landslide, defeating her next closest challenger – a conservative – by nearly two to one.

  • Pat Jehlen

    N2N-MA was part of a major effort to get one of our most progressive State Representatives - Pat Jehlen - elected to the State Senate. We made 1,000 calls to voters, created a district-wide mail piece, recruited dozens of volunteers, and ran an Election Day phone bank to get out the vote. Political pundits predicted a close election but Jehlen won her primary by over 2000 votes.

2004 Elections

  • Carl Sciortino

    With N2N-MA’s backing, Carl Sciortino defeated 16-year Somerville incumbent and Taxation Committee Vice-Chair, Vinnie Ciampa, by less than 100 votes. N2N-MA’s electoral organizing went head-to-head with the best Speaker Finneran could muster for Ciampa, his highest priority lieutenant to defend. And we won – thanks to a highly-organized coalition of activists fighting for fair taxes and equal marriage.

  • John Keenan

    N2N-MA’s support of John Keenan’s campaign ended ultra-conservative Mike Ruane’s 30-year reign as State Representative in Salem. In 2002, N2N-MA activist Heather Pickard rattled Ruane with a 42% showing. And, in 2003, Lucy Corchado, another N2N-MA volunteer, defeated Ruane’s aide for City Council. Encouraged by the strength of those campaigns, progressive John Keenan announced that he would run against Ruane. And, Ruane – intimidated by the challenge – resigned. Instead, he backed his aide and At-Large City Councilor Joan Lovely, who became the favorite to win the race. But John ended up getting 60% of the vote, winning his largest margin of victory in the Point neighborhood, N2N-MA’s power base in Salem.

  • Ed Augustus

    Ed Augustus, Congressman Jim McGovern’s former chief of staff, won the open State Senate seat previously held by conservative Guy Glodis in Worcester. The election became a rematch of the 1996 McGovern vs. Blute campaign for Congress, as Ed defeated Robi Blute, the right-wing former-Congressman’s wife, by a wide margin. Ed’s victory gives Worcester the most progressive representation of any big city in Massachusetts!

  • Jen Flanagan

    With N2N-MA’s help, Jen Flanagan of Leominster won her Democratic primary by 800 votes and went on to win the general election by a large margin. It is a huge political gain to have a Democrat who is responsive to low-income communities represent this swing district.

2003 Elections

  • Lucy Corchado

    The 2003 elections were historic for N2N-MA – we elected our first volunteer leader to public office. Lucy Corchado, a low-income Latina and longtime N2N-MA activist, won a seat on the City Council in Salem. Over 50 volunteers got involved with the campaign, electing her with 60% of the vote over the legislative aide of conservative State Representative Mike Ruane. Lucy is the first district councilor to come out of the Point, the predominantly Latino neighborhood in Salem where we organize.

2002 Elections

  • Thomas McGee

    A special election for State Senate in March of 2002 allowed us to significantly expand our organizing in Lynn while supporting progressive State Representative Tom McGee for Senate. We carried out Voter Empowerment Campaigns in three of the lowest-income precincts in the city and involved over 30 low-income volunteers in the campaign. This led to disproportionately high turnout in our precincts relative to others in the city. We also helped manage his district-wide voter contact program. Our support for Tom McGee helped him defeat his opponent 76% to 24%.

  • Heather Pickard

    Heather Pickard, an N2N-MA activist and low-income single mother from Salem, ran for State Representative against Mike Ruane, a 28-year incumbent with the worst Democratic voting record on progressive issues. While she did not win the election, Heather was the overwhelmingly favorite in precincts with high low-income & Latino populations. Voters in these areas turned out in record numbers and proved that they do pay attention and vote for candidates who will represent their interests on Beacon Hill. As a single mother and former welfare recipient who had never run for public office before, Heather sent a message to the State House that cannot be ignored.

  • David Sullivan

    David Sullivan, a State Representative from Fall River, took a particularly courageous stance when he led the fight to prevent the demolition of Watuppa Heights public housing. His willingness to stand alone for the lowest-income families in the city made him particularly vulnerable to opponents in his re-election campaign. N2N-MA’s Southeastern Massachusetts affiliate, the Coalition for Social Justice, led the fight to protect his seat, resulting in his re-election with nearly 60% of the vote.

2000 Elections

  • Jim Leary

    Our most significant election in 2000 was the defeat of conservative State Representative Bill McManus in Worcester. McManus, close to both Governor Cellucci and House Speaker Tom Finneran, stormed out of a public meeting with constituents in Great Brook Valley public housing, announcing: “I don’t care who you people vote for.” Progressive Jim Leary challenged McManus for the seat. N2N-MA mobilized Worcester’s largest public housing developments to support Leary. We also organized his field campaign – door knocking, calling and mailing every voter in the district three times by Election Day. As a result, Leary won with 71% of the vote. This was the biggest margin of victory against a member of House Leadership in state history.

  • Bob Spellane

    This same year, progressive housing activist Bob Spellane was also elected to an open seat for State Representative in Worcester. Spellane had a tight 4-way race with another progressive and two conservative candidates. N2N-MA formed a broad coalition of labor unions and community groups to unite behind Spellane. This grassroots organizing and our intensive voter turnout campaign prevented a spoiler situation where a right-wing candidate could have won the narrowly-decided race.

1996 Elections

  • Jim McGovern & John Tierney

    Our voter turnout efforts in 1996 helped to un-elect Republican Congressmen Peter Blute & Peter Torkildsen. They were replaced with liberal Democrats Jim McGovern & John Tierney, giving Massachusetts one of the most progressive Congressional delegations in the country. In both districts, our year-long campaigns to build low-income and working class enthusiasm for the issues at stake in the election led to impressive increases in voter turnout. As a result, McGovern won a surprise landslide victory and newly-registered voters from Lynn’s low-income housing developments accounted for more than double Tierney’s margin of victory.