April 19, 1775

Around 2:00am along the Battle Road on April 19, 1775, Paul Revere was detained by British soldiers. William Dawes, another night rider, witnessed the capture from a safe distance and was therefore able to skirt the Redcoat hazard and continue with his mission, which was the same as Revere's. The British held Revere for awhile and then released him, however they kept his horse. Adding a twist of irony to the story, Paul Revere had borrowed that horse for the occasion.



Credit for this information goes to signage at the Paul Revere Capture Site and a volunteer working at the Hartwell Tavern in Lincoln, Massachusetts at a demonstration at the Bloody Angle in 2007.

"Pressure makes diamonds."

During a telephone call with an employee from MassGOP this morning, I learned a new phrase, pertinent to the political environment enveloping Massachusetts and the people involved in those campaigns. When asked to whom the quotation is attributed, the gentleman at the Boston office suggested that perhaps a life insurance salesman back in the 1950's might have come up with it as a way of dealing with the stress of his job. Just before we said good-bye he added, "Women really like it".

On Tuesday, February 23, surrounded by family, friends and supporters, Lewis Evangelidis formally declared his candidacy for Sheriff of Worcester County. Showing he cares about the communities within the district, Mr. Evangelidis traveled north, south, east and west to make his announcement.

Read Representative Evangelidis' press release, along with accounts of the day in the Telegram & Gazette and the Milford Daily News.

EVANGELIDIS ANNOUNCES RUN FOR SHERIFF

Worcester - State Representative Lew Evangelidis (1st Worcester District) held a press conference outside his childhood home, a triple-decker located at 52 Tower Street in Worcester this afternoon to announce his campaign for Worcester County Sheriff. Evangelidis was joined by former Colonel of the State Police, Reed Hillman, who was on hand to make Lew's introduction.

Evangelidis is a former assistant district attorney, assistant state attorney and spent more than a dozen years working in the private sector before being elected to the House of Represnetatives in 2002. Evangelidis said, 'I am committed to being a professional, independent and innovative Sheriff who will keep the families in Worcester County safe. I believe that the job of Sheriff does not end at the four walls of the jail but extends to the four corners of Worcester County.' Evangelidis, who has the smallest staff of any office on Beacon Hill added, 'I'm not part of the old Worcester County political machine and I have not made nor will I make any job promises during our campaign. I will not accept campaign contributions from employees of the jail and the only criteria to be considered for a job promotion will be merit. Nothing else.'

Evangelidis has laid out a strong vision for the future of the Worcester County Sheriff's Department with several innovative initiatives aimed at reducing the instance of repeat offenders by returning productive and responsible former inmates back to our neighborhoods. Evangelidis believes that by cleaning up our neighborhoods we can bring increased business investment and job growth into Worcester County. Evangelidis pledged to develop crime, drug and cyber bullying prevention programs to be implemented in every school throughout the County. He has also pledged to crack down on disability and pension abuse at the jail.

When asked about the skyrocketing cost of incarceration Evangelidis said he will maximize any opportunity to save the taxpayers money, including swiftly deporting criminals who are in our country illegally rather than housing them at over $32,000 per year.

In the Legislature Evangelidis led the battle to toughen drunk driving laws with the passage of Melanie's Law. Melanie's grandfather, Ron Bersani said, 'I was fortunate to have Lew Evangelidis on my side in the fight for Melanie's Law. His passionate support during the contentious House debate was crucial in thwarting efforts to gut the bill.'

As a member of the Judiciary Committee, Evangelidis led the battle on Beacon Hill to increase the public's access to sex offender information, pass Jessica's Law to increase penalties for crimes against children, as well as efforts to repeal the Commonwealth's outdated insanity defense laws.

Reed Hillman, former Colonel of the State Police, added the following, 'I have worked with Lew Evangelidis for several years and I support his candidacy for Sheriff. He will bring an extraordinary level of professionalism and independence to the position of Sheriff of Worcester County.'

Visit Lew's website at
http://www.lewforsheriff.org/


Horn, Danielle M. "Evangelidis Makes Sheriff Bid Official." Telegram & Gazette 24 February 2010: B3.
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100224/NEWS/2240401


McHugh-Power, Shannon. "Evangelidis To Run For Sheriff." Milford Daily News 24 February 2010
http://www.milforddailynews.com/highlight/x739958619/Evangelidis-to-run-for-sheriff

A Groundhog Day Event in Littleton

On Tuesday, February 2, in Scott Brown's shadow, Mike Hruby and his support group once again put on a marvelous nuts 'n bolts session, offering speeches from a host of good, common sense candidates, as well as advice on raising campaign funds. Marty Lamb, contender for U.S. Congress, explains his Third Congressional Distrct spans from North Fall River to Princeton and out to Holliston, his home town. Marty pointed out that 59% of the voters in his district went for Scott Brown.



Mindelynn Young, Finance Director for Mary Connaughton, used a small business analogy to describe some general ideas in approaching donors, who she termed "investors".



"Build relationships, tell them what you're going to spend the money on, create a sense of urgency and follow up," advises Mindelynn.



"An auditor running for auditor. Go figure," says Mary Connaughton.

Mary Connaughton, former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, presented solid, practical reasons why she, a Republican, should hold the office of State Auditor.




Mike Hruby introduces Mary Connaughton, featured speaker of the evening.



Jim Gettens of Sterling details his military background. Jim is running for State Representative in the 12th Worcester District.

Two other candidates vying for State Representative in their respective locales also spoke but are not pictured. Paul Avello of the Second Middlesex District and Kurt Hayes of the 37th Middlesex District.

Pictures Of A Celebration

Scott Brown Victory Party

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Boston Park Plaza Hotel

Confetti flies through the air.


Resting quietly against the ceiling..



Everyone in the room waited for this moment when the balloons were first released.



United States Senator-Elect Scott Brown


The crowd, along with Uncle Sam, delights in confetti, balloons and of course, Scott Brown.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele pokes his head in through the door to scope out the situation.

His Name Is Scott Brown. He Lives In Wrentham, And He Drives A Truck.

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Vote Today

This truck could be seen parked between Town Line Garage and Princeton's own Mechanics Hall on Route 140 throughout the Martin Luther King holiday weekend.

Seen From The Street

Dick Callahan, Chairman of Holden RTC, paints pictures of vitality and zest as he campaigns for Scott Brown.



Thing about standing out for a great candidate is it's fun and invigorating.





Dick Callahan at the center of Holden on a crisp, cold Saturday in January.

Our Hearts Cry For You, Haiti

Although all of us Central Massachusetts GOP-ers feel a keen sense of urgency associated with the U.S. Senate campaign, it is important to step back for a moment and remember the people of Haiti who are enduring unimaginable agony. To be sure, words cannot adequately portray their suffering, that is, if one was fortunate enough to have even survived. Our hearts and prayers reach out to our Haitian brothers and sisters in this, their desperate hour, which will, by everything I have observed, stretch to weeks, months and years. As media attention fades, let us continue to remember Haiti's extreme adversity and help as we are able.

For those wishing to make a financial contribution, I suggest Church World Service. I have given to them in the past, and my daughter sent money to CWS that she and others raised for the tsunami victims of Thailand in 2004 -2005. Church World Service is religiously affiliated, however it is an organization that seems to make excellent use of dollars donated. Click on the second link to learn more about CWS' record of money in/money out.

Church World Service, home page
http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer

Church World Service, donation page. Scroll down for a quick and easy to read pie chart.
http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=how_donate


Johnson, Carolyn Y., "Big Fault Known To Span Region." Boston Globe 14 Jan. 2010: A9.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/01/14/major_fault_is_known_to_straddle_region_geologists_say/

No online link found.
Katz, Jonathan M. (of Associated Press) "Ruin, Desperation In Haiti." Boston Globe 14 Jan. 2010: A1.

From where I sit in the crow’s nest of “The Mayflower Commentary”, I am able to gaze across the vast ocean of politics, and as a result of that view, I humbly offer four recommendations, as we embark on a new year, on how to improve the GOP in Massachusetts. The operative word improve, in this case, means to win elections.

#1. Consider 2010 a priority year, a time to step out and put yourself on the front lines, an eleven month span to the day in which to act. There seems to be a confluence of events that are bending favor in our direction. Folks in general appear to be “fed up” with what is happening, at both the federal and state levels. The current Governor has proven disappointing, even and perhaps more importantly, especially to his base. Taxes seem to be multiplying like swamp mosquitos and the Obama Administration continues to push hard for more governmental entitlement programs.

With a favorable wind blowing, we need to act. As Marshall Horwitz, Vice-Chairman of the Holden Republican Town Committee says, “Do what you enjoy.” Simple. Straight forward. Marshall points out that if everyone does something he enjoys, whether that be making phone calls, holding a sign, calling into talk radio shows or writing letters, then the work that needs to be done will get done. The catch is that every Republican needs to quit complaining and moaning about the state of affairs and instead, do something constructive.

#2. “If you and another Republican agree on 90%, then forgive the other 10%”. State Representative Jeff Perry, astutely spoke those words on October 26, 2009 at a joint meeting of the Princeton and Holden RTC’s. No two people believe exactly the same, and there is not one candidate with whom anyone would agree with everything “under the sun”. Many times Republicans get caught up in that which divides and forget about the shared core value of fiscal responsibility.

#3. Be civil in your manner of speaking. Incendiary language has no place in Massachusetts politics. Republicans should be leading the way, setting good examples as it were. If our goal is to gain leadership positions, then we should be speaking as honorable, upstanding citizens, being cognizant not to use words meant to inflame . Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe wrote an article titled, “New adventures in incivility”, published the last day of 2009. In his piece, Mr. Jacoby muses how maltreatment of the opposition on the American political scene is common and even expected. He concludes with this pessimistic thought. “Gross and abusive rhetoric was a hallmark of the 2000’s. I shudder to think how low public discourse will go in the 2010s.” (12/31/09, p.A15). Work to prove him wrong.

#4. Focus on the fiscal. Drop the social issues. In order to win seats in the Legislature, candidates must appeal to Independents and will also need the full support of Republicans. Abortion and gay marriage divide. Fiscal conservatism unites.

In conclusion, my fellow GOP Mates, to start the New Year and the new decade, let’s swab the deck, heave the anchor, hoist the mainsail and get under way, and as sailors in the U.S. Navy say to those setting out on a voyage, “Fair winds and following seas.”


http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/12/31/new_adventures_in_incivility/
Jacoby, Jeff, “New adventures in incivility.” Boston Globe 31 Dec. 2009: A15.


Perry, Jeffrey Davis. My GOP . East Sandwich, MA: Perry Books, 2009.