The Medford Democratic Party will be holding its annual Candidates’ Night Forums with a focus on the highly contested local races for Mayor, School Committee and City Council.

The Mayoral and School Committee race will be held on October 5^th beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Alden Chambers at Medford City Hall with a small reception at 6:30 p.m.

The City Council forum will be held on October 12^th starting at 7:00 p.m. in Alden Chambers at City Hall with a small reception at 6:30 p.m.

Candidates will be asked questions by guest panelists, who will include this year representatives from the Medford Transcript, the Medford Daily Mercury and the addition this year of the new online newspaper, The Medford Patch.

Both events will be televised live on Channel 16 with a simulcast on Channel 3.

This year’s moderators for the event are Democratic City and Ward Committee members, Henry Milorin and Carolyn Rosen.

The public is invited to attend these informational events to see and hear the candidates running in the general election on the November 8th ballot.

This Tuesday, September 12, there will be a preliminary election for Mayor. This election will narrow the field of Mayoral candidates from three to two.

Polls will be open 7am to 8pm. To find out where you vote, visit http://wheredoivotema.com.

The Medford Democratic Party will be holding its Candidates Night Forums for local elections on the evenings of October 5th and October 12th.  Further information will be forthcoming.

Any Democrat wishing to volunteer for the Candidates’ Night Committee should contact its chair, Carolyn Rosen, at carolynrosen@comcast.net.

The May meeting of the Democratic City Committee will be Wednesday, May 18, at 7pm. It will be held in the Alden Chambers of Medford City Hall.

The guest speaker will be Robert “Bob” Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. He has been a strong voice and advocate for workers both in the private and public sectors. He has been a proven staunch supporter of collective bargaining for union employees.  He is a man who gets the job done. Bob will discuss the role of collective bargaining, and how it can be used and preserved in today’s economy.

The next meeting of the Medford Democratic City Committee will be Wednesday, March 9, at 7pm, in the Alden Chambers at Medford City Hall.

Matt Hartunian will be the speaker. In December, Ed Markey appointed Matt as the Political and Finance Director of The Markey Committee. This past election Matt was responsible for running Massachusetts’ 7th District’s coordinated Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort. He organized a thousand volunteers in an unprecedented coordinated campaign. It was the best GOTV operation ever executed in the 7th district and it was all due to Matt’s outstanding leadership and organizational skills.

The January 12 City Committee meeting has been canceled due to weather. Matt Hartunian, who was scheduled to speak, will speak instead at the March meeting (Wednesday, March 9, at Medford City Hall).

Ward caucuses for all eight wards will take place Saturday, February 5, at 10am at Medford City Hall. Each ward will elect delegates to the State Convention. The Convention will be held in Lowell at the Tsongas Center at UMASS Lowell on Saturday, June 4, 2011. Aspiring delegates must arrive to the caucus on time!

Matt Harutunian will be the speaker at the January City Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 12, at 7pm at Medford City Hall.

In December, Ed Markey appointed Matt as the Political and Finance Director of The Markey Committee. This past election cycle Matt was responsible for running the highly successful Massachusetts’ 7th District’s coordinated Get OutThe Vote (GOTV) effort. He organized volunteers in an unprecedented coordinated campaign

Please remember to vote today for your Democratic candidates, as endorsed by the Medford Democratic City Committee:

• Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov Tim Murray
• Attorney General Martha Coakley
• Secretary of State William Galvin
• Suzanne Bump for Auditor
• Steve Grossman for Treasurer
• Congressman Ed Markey
• Sheriff James DiPaola
• Terrence Kennedy for Governor’s Council
• DA Gerald Leone
• Sen. Pat Jehlen
• Rep. Paul Donato, Rep. Carl Sciortino, or Rep. Sean Garballey

Also, please vote “no” on all three ballot questions!

Medford Organizers:

The big news this week is the President’s rally for Deval Patrick and the rest of the Democratic team this Saturday October 16^th.  We are already getting an enormous response–so RSVP today to receive your tickets .  What an exciting combination:  President Obama, Governor Deval Patrick and a few songs from James Taylor!

And after getting fired up, it is time to go door to door!  This Sunday October 17th we will be doing a canvass in Medford beginning at 1 12:30 p.m.  We will meet at Colleen’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop, 61 High Street, Medford. This is a great opportunity to engage with voters from your city, find out what they are thinking and persuade them to support Deval Patrick, Tim Murray and other Democrats!  Please RSVP by emailing me or calling 617-921-3608.

Thanks!

Larry Field 617-921-3608