| Newton MA News and Politics BlogI found it interesting that nowhere in the attached campaign flyer from Greer Tan Swiston does it say that she’s a Republican. Space is tight, though, I figured, and maybe it’s not the most important part of her message. So I checked out her website where space isn’t so precious and found — to my surprise — that again, she never says that she’s a Republican. I’m not sure whether this is a statement about Greer, Newton, Massachusetts or all of the above. Regardless, it doesn’t sit well with me.

Also on this flyer Greer states that she’s been appointed to numerous commissions by Governors Weld, Romney and Patrick. On her website, she states that she was “appointed by Governor Patrick to the State Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights.” A quick google search produced a press release stating that she was appointed, not by Gov Patrick, but by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. I followed up with a call to the governor’s office and found out that he does not make appointments to the commission.

I do not mean to detract from Alderman Swiston’s work on the commission. But her literature states that the governor, a Democrat, appointed her to an important commission, while two Republican governors also awarded her with appointments (I have not checked those out). It creates an impression — whether purposefully or accidentally — that she works well with Democrats and Republicans. That may indeed be the case, but I’d rather see her back it up with fact, such as her accomplishments as the only Republican on the 24-member Board of Aldermen.