Endorsements in Boston City Council race
Here are my endorsements for the upcoming Boston City Council elections in which I will be voting.
Category Archives: Government activism
Massachusetts on-line assessment databases are a bit too accessible
While engaged recently in a discussion with a parent at our children’s school whom I felt was being overly paranoid about sharing her home address with other parents, I googled her name, suspecting that I would be able to illustrate to her that the information she was trying to protect was already available on-line. I… Read More »
It’s hard to take seriously a City Council candidate with no working Web site
One of the candidates for the at-large seat in the upcoming Boston City Council election is Matthew Geary. Given that he’s a 22-year-old college student and an honest-to-goodness Socialist, it’s hard to take him seriously, and the odds of him winning the election are approaching zero. But he makes it even harder to take him… Read More »
Vote in the “Peace Primary”
Please vote in the Peace Primary. From their Web site: Twelve groups promoting peace. One will win $100,000 to amplify their message in the 2008 election. You decide. The Peace Primary is your chance to ensure that the peace issues you care about are a priority in 2008. Personally, I recommend voting for the Genocide… Read More »
Boston Public Schools attendance policy is discriminatory
The Boston Public Schools attendance policy states that absences due to religious holidays are excused. See page 14 of the 2007-2008 Guide to the Boston Public Schools. This is not surprising, since it would be blatantly and obviously unconstitutional for a public school to treat absences due to religious holidays as unexcused absences. Unfortunately, despite… Read More »
A more satisfactory answer from the Boston Elections Department
Just got this response to my response: Dear Mr. Kamens: I truly did not mean any disrespect to you or any other voters. Unfortunately, we have a very small staff and 5 elections between September 11 and November 6. We try to send out notices when they might have the most impact. However, I respect… Read More »
“Paying attention” to Boston Elections too early? Shame on you!
I previously asked why the ballot information for the upcoming Boston city elections hasn’t been posted, and why there are signs up for a September 11 election in Allson about which there’s no information on the Boston Election department’s Web site. I sent these questions to the Boston Elections department. Here is how they responded,… Read More »
Voting in Boston on September 11?
I drove through Union Square in Allston tonight, and there were several signs up telling people to vote in elections on September 11. Say what?
Boston City Council elections should use preferential voting
As noted at Universal Hub, the Boston City Council submitted a home-rule petition over the summer, asking the State Legislature to allow them to dispense with a preliminary election which would have winnowed the field of at-large candidates from nine down to eight. The legislature agreed, and Governor Patrick signed the legislation. When I first… Read More »
USPS loses our mail during four-day mail hold
We were out of town from August 9 through August 13, and I put a hold on our mail delivery during that time through the USPS Web site. The following letter tells what happened next: