6 Comments

1. 

   Charlie Shapiro on September 5, 2014 at 5:03 pm

   An open letter to Village 14 readers (and others)

   Dear Fellow Democrat & Voter:

   It has come to my attention that in these final few days of campaigning, incumbent Governor’s Councillor Devaney is distributing a smear-campaign style letter.
   While she attempts to assign authorship to others, anyone familiar with the dynamics of the race will recognize the speech pattern and scatter-shot style of accusations typical of the incumbent.

   Two years ago Harry Margolis and I split 60% of the vote and Ms. Devaney was re-elected with only 40% support in the primary. She received less than 20% in Newton and less than 15% in Brookline. She barely carried her home town of Watertown. This year, it’s a 1-1 race and Mr. Margolis has endorsed me. For a list of endorsers, including a sitting Governor’s Councillor, please visit http://www.voteshapiro.org.

   Ms. Devaney’s controversial activities continue to be well documented in the press (including the mishandled Berman nomination) and have contributed to her further declining support. Unfortunately, it has now devolved into the politics of personal destruction. I have gone to great lengths to keep this campaign civil and issues-based while spending the last 3 weeks at forums and debates receiving a barrage of personal attacks.

   As a former teacher, and reporter, I have run an informative, positive, and 100% factual campaign focused on issues.

   However, with no media coverage of this race, each voter will need to be his or her own fact checker. I am quite confident the more research a voter does on the incumbent, me, and the Governor’s Council, the clearer it will be why 6 out of 10 voters two years ago voted for change.

   One place to start would be to watch the recent Arlington debate which can found at http://goo.gl/KX0NQd.
   For those with less time, my 3 minute candidate statement is at http://vimeo.com/104435236
   Other links include http://www.facebook.com/voteshapiro and of course the campaign website http://www.voteshapiro.org.
   A Google search will also yield useful information.

   On policy: For years Ms Devaney has publicly boasted she is the only Councillor to meet privately with every nominee. I believe subjecting a nominee to a 4-6 hour meeting, and then not sharing the info with the public or other Councillors is beyond the scope of reasonable. The purpose of the Governor’s Council is to hold public meetings where information obtained will be available to all concerned. Full transparency.

   I have full respect for members of the Governor’s Council. Each does due diligence in their own way. I have had multiple in-person and telephone conversations with several Councillors, and have cordial acquaintance with others. None have endorsed Ms. Devaney, while I am proud to be endorsed by Governor’s Councillor Albano who said “Charlie Shapiro is the long overdue progressive Democratic the district needs and deserves. I look forward to working with Councillor Shapiro to promote transparency and continue on the path to restore credibility to the Governor’s Council.”

   The vast majority of endorsements have been in my favor. For some, they simply want change, while others appreciate my plan to elevate public awareness, increase transparency, and increase public confidence in this important body. I carry that message everywhere i go and I am honored by such broad based support.

   To those who will be voting this Tuesday, I ask for your vote.
   I will work hard to upgrade the reputation of the Governor’s Council, end the drama, and represent you in a thoughtful, well-grounded, and constituent-focused manner.

   Please vote Charles N. Shapiro for “COUNCILLOR” (that’s how it’s listed on the ballot). More info is available at http://www.voteshapiro.org. Thank you.

   Charlie Shapiro
   Democrat for Governor’s Council
   Primary Date: Tuesday September 9th
   67 Walnut Hill Road | Newton, MA 02459
   [email protected] | http://www.voteshapiro.org
   http://www.facebook.com/voteshapiro
   Twitter: @charlie_shapiro

2. 

   Greg Reibman on September 5, 2014 at 5:21 pm

   Hard to know whether to laugh or cry after watching this video.

3. 

   Adam on September 5, 2014 at 7:18 pm

   Did that letter go out to all registered voters? It was simply… bizarre.

   • 

     Greg Reibman on September 5, 2014 at 8:29 pm

     Did Alderman Schwartz really endorse this woman? No matter what Shapiro did to him as alderman couldn’t possibly warrant supporting a woman who was arrested for throwing her purse at a clerk when she was asked to show an Id to pay by check. Oh yeah and then was Berman thing. Schwartz should have just stayed out of it. Bad judgement.

4. 

   Hoss on September 5, 2014 at 7:31 pm

   I’m liking the Rod Stewart makeover.

5. 

   Hoss on September 5, 2014 at 8:56 pm

   If either was a confirmed ISIS chief, what harm could they do here?