One of the most interesting down-ticket contests in Tuesday’s municipal election is Allison Sharma’s write in campaign for the ward 4 city council seat.
Sharma launched her campaign following a rapid series of still not fully explained events when veteran councilor Jay Harney seemed to be handing Chris Markiewicz a free ride onto the Newton City Council, when Harney announced that he would not seek another term after the deadline to launch a campaign had passed and Markiewicz was the only remaining candidate on the ballot.
You can watch the NewTV debate between the two candidates here.
If you live in Ward 4 and want to write in Sharma please be sure and follow the directions in this graphic so as to be sure your vote counts.
I’ll also have volunteers at all three Ward 4 polling locations handing out instructions and stickers to educate folks on how to vote for me. It definitely takes some attention to detail to vote for me, but I think Ward 4 voters are up to the challenge!
No matter who you support, I think everyone can agree that all of ward 4 should understand how to vote for Allison if she’s their choice.
@Bryan: Agreed.
Through months of door-knocking, coffees, meet-and-greets, etc., I have earned the support of hundreds and hundreds Ward 4 voters. But because of the size and complexity of our ballot, many are confused about how to vote for me. It’s only fair that if someone would like to vote for me, they know how to do it.
Supporters of my opponent have repeatedly said that ‘it doesn’t matter how he ended up on the ballot unopposed; we have two great candidates now and it’s just like any other race.’ But the reality is that it’s far from a typical race . I am working ten times as hard as my opponent to get my message out, to communicate to voters that indeed they do have a choice in Ward 4, and to educate them on how to vote for me.
@Bryan Barash – The two page ballot, combined with Ward 4 boxes on both sides, can be confusing for people who have not been paying close attention. Most people do not know that they have to write in Allison’s name and fill in the bubble, and it is crucial to get her name in the right Ward 4 spot. Not having a name on the ballot is a huge disadvantage, so every bit of education helps!
Remember:
1. WRITE-IN ALLISON SHARMA ON THE BACK OF THE BALLOT.
2. THEN FILL THE BUBBLE.
Or, you can use a sticker we’ll be handing out near the voting locations.
Last night Team Allison spent hours printing instruction sheets for how voters can make sure they correctly write/sticker her in. We’ll be out near all three voting locations to help anyone who needs further help. This is part of a huge effort to educate voters on writing-in that is on top of the full court press Allison has made knocking on doors & meeting residents across the ward. Allison has worked tirelessly to earn ward 4 votes and is in this race to win – please help her over the finish line!
@JSchneider – sorry if the way I said it was confusing, I agree with you completely.
@Bryan, apologies! I definitely read your comment the wrong way. Glad we agree.
@Nathan Phillips: So grateful to have you on my team!