Endorsements
- SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
- Planned Parenthood
- American Federation of Teachers
- Mass Equality
- Massachusetts Nurses Association
- Retired Educators Association of Massachusetts
- Sierra Club
- Mass League of Environmental Voters
- Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus
- Massachusetts Teachers Association
- National Association of Social Workers - Massachusetts
I am writing to urge readers to vote for the re-election of State Representative Alice Hanlon Peisch in the Democratic primary on September 16th. Representative Peisch has earned my confidence and I hope she will have the opportunity to continue to serve the people of the 14th Norfolk District.
I am impressed with Representative Peisch's hard work and sound judgment. We benefit from her pragmatic and realistic approach to legislating. She has done an outstanding job advocating for our interests on education issues, has represented us successfully on home rule petitions, and is known for her attention to constituent services.
Representative Peisch has a thorough understanding of health care issues, including access, cost and quality. I am pleased that she approaches these issues without bias or self-interest and that she seeks and obtains sound counsel from people with a wide variety of health care expertise and diverse perspectives. I believe she will continue to appropriately address issues related to the landmark Massachusetts health insurance reform legislation enacted in 2006.
Please join me in voting for the re-election of Alice Hanlon Peisch in the Democratic primary on September 16th.
Sincerely,
Margaret Ann Metzger
Wellesley
To the Editor:
As the State Representative for Precincts 1- 9 in Natick, I write to endorse the re-election of Alice Peisch who has served as the State Representative for Precinct 10 in Natick, in addition to Wellesley and Weston, for the past six years.
Alice Peisch has been an effective legislator and a superb colleague who has worked hard on behalf of the towns in her district, as well as for the interests of the entire Metrowest area. Alice brings a sophisticated understanding of the political process and is able to work with colleagues as well as think on her own. She understands the critical importance of coalitions and consensus-building in reaching goals.
She has shown her leadership skills from the earliest days of her term when she successfully proposed legislation to establish a more equitable MCAS process for Special Education students. More recently, Alice's cofounding of the Suburban Legislative Coalition provided a vehicle for the suburban legislators to come together in support of our mutual interests, most notably increasing the amount of state aid for education (Chapter 70) in recent budgets.
I endorse Alice Peisch's candidacy for re-election as the State Representative for the 14th Norfolk District, and I strongly urge you to vote for her in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, September 16th
David Linsky
State Representative
I am writing to support Alice Peisch for reelection to the House of Representatives. I have been working on the Wellesley High School project for several years and in the last few months have had the privilege of working side by side with Alice. I have been in several meetings with Alice and the State Treasurer, Tim Cahill. It was clear that Alice is highly respected at the State House. In our meetings she presented Wellesley's priorities extremely well and was instrumental in convincing the state that Wellesley should have a new high school. I know she also met privately with the Treasurer on several occasions to explain to him our goals and gained his support. To suggest that we are building a smaller school because Alice did not in some way pave the way for us is in my opinion not an accurate suggestion. On the contrary, without the efforts of Alice and her clear position of respect in the State House I do not believe we would be getting an new high school at all. Alice Peisch is dedicated, savvy, and respected in our state and works hard for the benefit of all of us. She has my support, I hope she has yours as well.
Tom Goemaat
Wellesley
To the Editor:
State Representative Alice Peisch has officially represented Natick's Precinct 10 since 2002; however, we have found that Representative Peisch serves all of our community, not just one precinct. Representative Peisch is hard-working, accessible, responsive and honest, and understands how to make things happen on Beacon Hill without overpromising or burning bridges. The MetroWest delegation needs to work effectively at the State House on issues such as equity in transportation funding, ensuring economic growth, and local aid, and Alice is a key member of the team. We support her re-election and urge Precinct 10 voters to vote for Alice on Tuesday, September 16 or in advance by absentee ballot.
Sincerely,
Carol Gloff
Joshua Ostroff
Natick Board of Selectmen
Charlie Hughes
Erika Ball
Jay Ball
Former Natick Board of Selectmen
Alice Peisch has been an engaged and effective leader for Wellesley, and a strong advocate for important legislation in the State House. We look forward to voting for Alice's reelection on September 16.
Angus McQuilken and Victoria Budson
During the 4 and 1/2 years that I served w/ Rep. Alice Peisch in the House, I found her to be a strong and effective advocate for issues of concern to the Commonwealth's senior citizens. She worked hard to make sure that the Prescription Advantage Program remained a viable option for seniors who need prescription drug coverage, that the ceiling on property values for the Senior Circuit Breaker Program was increased so that her constituents could access the program and also helped me in my efforts to ensure that Medicaid coverage be expanded to allow seniors to stay in their homes as long as possible. Her ability to work w/ her colleagues to find common ground is what makes her an extraordinarily effective member of the House.
Michael Festa, Secretary of Elder Affairs
We wish to express our strong and unqualified support for the re-election of Alice Peisch to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. As a physicians and researchers who live in Wellesley, we have experienced first-hand Rep. Peisch's commitment both to her constituents and to the larger public health issues confronting citizens of the Commonwealth.
In particular, Massachusetts has for some years identified children born with birth defects (via the Massachusetts Birth Defects Registry), in part to assure that adequate services were provided to their families. However, the Commonwealth had not provided funding for that activity, which was instead transiently covered by federal funds. With those temporary federal funds coming to an end, we sought out Rep. Peisch. She immediately grasped the importance of the issue and drafted legislation to assure that the Commonwealth would adequately fund this critically important public health effort.
Her commitment to this effort was both outstanding and highly effective, and we are pleased to say that the current budget now provides support for the Massachusetts Birth Defects Registry. We and our colleagues greatly appreciate Rep. Peisch's leadership, and we strongly endorse her for re-election.
Allen A. Mitchell, M.D.
Wellesley
Lewis B. Holmes, M.D.
Wellesley
I am writing to support the candidacy of Alice Peisch for re-election as State Representative. Alice has been an effective and independent voice for the district that includes Weston, Wellesley and South Natick. She is a very effective legislator and her constituent services are superb.
I'd like to emphasize the good work that Alice has done on behalf of the towns in her district. As municipal leaders will tell you, Alice is not only responsive but proactive in looking out for her communities' interests. A few examples: Alice has been a critical liaison to the state treasurer for the town of Wellesley in its efforts to build a new high school, found unexpected transportation dollars for needed road improvements in Weston, and shepherded a variety of important home rule petitions through the legislative process. She has worked to provide cities and towns with effective tools to reduce and better manage health insurance costs She has responded aggressively to constituent concerns about commuter rail problems on the Fitchburg line.
Throughout her legislative career, Alice has been an independent voice, and is respected for that by constituents of all political persuasions. She is a regular visitor in Weston. She is attentive to our concerns as a community.
I hope you will give Alice Peisch your vote in the upcoming primary election on Sept. 16.
Ripley Hastings
Weston
As a former Selectman here in Weston, I want to commend State Representative Alice Peisch for her steadfast support of our community.
Alice favors strong land conservation programs enacted by local communities, as well as state programs designed to complement locally approved measures intended to maintain and improve Weston's superb public school system.
In addition, she is seeking to keep local property taxes within limits by supporting "Local Aid" funding levels, from the State, that keep up with changing economic circumstances.
For these reasons, among others, I urge Weston, Wellesley and Natick voters to vote for her re-election on Primary Day, Tuesday, September 16, 2008.
Respectfully submitted,
Joe Mullin
Weston
Dear Editor:
In 2002 we had lived in Weston for ten years. As active participants in our country's political process, we were registered as independent voters and religiously voted in all elections. The only communications we received from our then state representative were solicitations for more money and a promise to cut taxes. There was no mention of where the axe for tax cut would fall -- health, school, elderly care, etc.
That year we decided to get involved in our state campaigns. We were fortunate to have been able to elect a moderate who is responsive to constituent issues and concerned about our schools and the elderly while mindful of our state's fiscal constraints. In the past six years, Alice Peisch has been a forceful and compassionate voice for Weston at the State House. She meets regularly with town residents and is always available when needed. She is energetic and hard-working and a conscientious lawmaker.
Please join us in voting for Alice in the Democratic Primary on September 16 and then electing her to the State House on November 4.
Habib & Sandra Rahman
Weston
Dear Editor:
I am writing to express my strong personal endorsement of Rep. Alice Peisch as a candidate for re-election to the State legislature. In her six years as State Representative, Alice has worked tirelessly to advance the interests of Wellesley and our neighboring towns.
Three issues exemplify Alice's responsiveness to local issues vital to Wellesley. The most recent and prominent of these is the Wellesley High School project. Over the past several months, Alice has been instrumental in forging a compromise solution with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. This has enabled the Town's School Building Committee to proceed with a modified design to replace the existing high school with an expanded new building that will meet our needs for decades to come.
The second issue is the passage by the State Legislature in 2007 of home rule legislation necessary for Wellesley to implement a long-term plan to pre-fund our liability for post-retirement medical benefits to Town employees. With Alice's advocacy, Wellesley has now become a leader within the Commonwealth in providing responsibly for our retirement obligations to Town workers, with respect to both their pensions and medical benefits.
The third example is Alice's intervention with the MBTA to reduce chronic delays in the daily operating schedule of commuter rail trains along the Worcester-Framingham line. Through her close involvement on this issue over the past year, Alice succeeded in bringing about improvement in the MBTA's on-time performance, a welcome achievement for the many Wellesley residents who rely on the rail line for their daily commute.
Through her active, problem-solving approach on these issues and numerous others, Alice has promoted stronger public infrastructure, sound financial management, and improved local services by state agencies. Wellesley will continue to need her strong voice in the State House responding to our local needs. I urge you to vote for Alice Peisch for State Representative on Tuesday, September 16.
Greg Mills
Chairman, Board of Selectmen
Wellesley
Letter to Editor
The Wellesley Townsman
This is the first time I have submitted a letter to the Townsman. I write to urge you to vote to re-elect Alice Peisch as State Representative from Wellesley, Weston and South Natick.
During the past year, as co-chair of the Boston Bar Association Trusts & Estates Section, I worked on state legislation to improve and enhance our trust laws and probate court system. This is an area in which Massachusetts has lagged behind other states in modernizing its trust laws. When enactment by Massachusetts of its version of the Uniform Probate Code became a priority for the Boston Bar Association in early 2008, I immediately turned to one person: Alice Peisch.
While there were no specific constituency benefits attached to this bill other than obtaining greater efficiency for those accessing our state probate courts, Alice offered invaluable and gracious help in our understanding of the process on Beacon Hill and of ways to educate legislators on the benefits of our legislation.
In July 2008 I received an e-mail from Alice that the House had just passed the UPC and sent the bill on to the Senate. This news did not bring headlines in The Boston Globe but it did serve to highlight for me how one capable legislator can make a difference. On reflection, I was not surprised that Alice's advice was "spot on."
I have known Alice for nearly 30 years and I have personally observed how she tackles every issue: she always listens, she studies the options, she shows respect to others with differing views, and maintains her grace under pressure when others resort to personally attacking or undermining her. Alice's collaborative consensus building style, her insistence on gathering all the facts before forming an opinion, her tireless work ethic and ethical compass, her full-time commitment to her responsibilities as our State Representative, her availability to all constituents and her profound sense of caring for everyone in our community are qualities that Wellesley must retain as our voice on Beacon Hill. The alternative would be a catastrophe to our community.
I urge you to make sure you are registered to vote in the Democratic primary, and then actually go to the polls on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, to ensure that Alice Peisch continues to be Wellesley's voice in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Melvin A. Warshaw
Wellesley
I cannot imagine a better voice at the State House for Weston's interests than Alice Peisch. Representative Peisch understands Weston's issues and priorities, including increased state funding for education and infrastructure, plus health care and pension reform. We have benefited greatly from her knowledge, her experience and her unwavering dedication. I wholeheartedly support Alice Peisch for re-election.
Michael Harrity, Weston Board of Selectmen
Alice has been involved since the very beginning of the Wellesley High School Building Project process. She has been instrumental in effectively working with state officials to ensure that the needs of Wellesley citizens have been balanced with the rigorous building and financial requirements of the MSBA. Alice's experience, tenacity and leadership skills throughout this process have been unmatched. Alice has demonstrated she is a commited and strong advocate, a respected leader, and a thoughtful voice for her Wellesley constituents and I fully support her re-election as State Representative.
Katherine G. Babson, Chair, Wellesley School Building Committee; Wellesley Board of Selectmen
As state representative, Alice Peisch has consistently kept Wellesley citizens apprised of issues that may affect the town, and has been a responsive and effective advocate for the concerns and needs of her constituencies. Through Alice's leadership, Chapter 70 (state aid) funding to Wellesley has increased dramatically, including a 40% increase in the current fiscal year. As a member of the Wellesley Board of Selectmen for six years, I have worked closely with Alice and have been impressed with her skill and ability to collaborate, solve problems and focus on issues important to Wellesley, and the entire state - education, health care, environment, and economic development.
David Himmelberger
Former Chair, Wellesley Board of Selectmen
In the past six years, Alice Peisch has been a forceful and compassionate voice for Weston at the State House. She meets regularly with town residents and is always available when needed. She is energetic and hard-working and a conscientious lawmaker.
Habib and Sandra Rahman, Weston
Representative Peisch has a thorough understanding of health care issues, including access, cost and quality. I am pleased that she approaches these issues without bias or self-interest and that she seeks and obtains sound counsel from people with a wide variety of health care expertise and diverse perspectives. I believe she will continue to appropriately address issues related to the landmark Massachusetts health insurance reform legislation enacted in 2006.
Margaret Ann Metzger, Former Chair, Wellesley Advisory Committee
Rep. Alice Peisch has been a strong supporter of environmental legislation, and has been endorsed by the Sierra Club ever since her first re-election campaign in 2004. Rep. Peisch's strong advocacy for improved commuter rail service has been a key factor in the improvements in public transportation for the entire Metrowest area.
Phil Sego, Political Chair, Mass Sierra Club.
The Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters is happy to endorse Alice Peisch for re-election. Throughout her tenure she has been a strong voice for the environment on Beacon Hill earning a 97% lifetime score in our Environmental Scorecard.
Lora Wondolowski, Executive Director, MLEV
Re-elect Alice Peisch
TO THE EDITOR:
The state primary elections are next Tuesday, Sept. 16 and in the contest for Democratic nominee for State Representative in the 14th Norfolk District, which includes Weston, two committed and capable candidates are vying for the nomination. Dr. Larry Kaplan's interest in the environment and his experience in education and health care give him good credentials for important issues facing the district. But, my vote will be cast for Alice Peisch. She has served as our state representative for three terms. Peisch has worked diligently on many fronts on behalf of her constituents and specifically on issues important to Weston: she has supported health care and pension reform, and she has secured increased state funding for infrastructure and education. I will vote for re-electing Rep. Peisch because I want Weston to continue to benefit from her experience, her judgment and her tireless dedication.
Michael Harrity
Weston Board of Selectman
Peisch works hard to bring change
To the editor:
I am writing to support our state representative Alice Peisch who is running for re-election in a contested primary next Tuesday. Representative Peisch deserves to be re-elected. As an active member of Common Cause, I am most familiar with her record on government reform issues. Rep. Peisch is the chief sponsor of legislation supported by the Citizen's Coalition for an Independent Judiciary, which includes Common Cause, to reform administrative structure of the Massachusetts court system. The legislation would make the court system more accountable and professional and embodies the recommendations of the Monan Commission - a blue-ribbon panel set up by Chief Justice Margaret Marshall. Rep. Pesich also was the chief sponsor of a budget amendment that passed the house to limit legislative pensions to time actually served, rather than the current process of getting a years credit for serving a single day in any calendar year. Just this summer, Rep. Peisch, along with six other colleagues, worked hard to talk with other members on behalf of legislation that would establish a popular vote for president, rather than the current system that delegates presidential selection to a handful of battleground states. The bill overwhelmingly passed both the house and senate. Rep. Peisch has been active and outspoken on many more reform issues as well. We need more elected official like her with the courage to stand up for reform and with the clear skills and hard work she brings to the job.
Shirley Reiss
Merriam Street, Weston
Vote for Alice Peisch
TO THE EDITOR:
I am writing to endorse Alice Peisch for a third term as our representative to the State Legislature. I met Alice when I was Chair of the Weston School Committee and found her to be intelligent, thoughtful and one who represents her constituents extremely well. As a former member of the Wellesley School Committee, Alice truly understands the educational issues affecting communities like Weston and will collaborate with key figures to build consensus for the resolution of problems and the successful completion of new initiatives. Alice knows what is important to her district and has been successful in obtaining increased local aid for education in Weston. She listens to her constituents, researches all issues and works diligently to address unmet needs. Alice is an experienced, respected and effective leader and she has served our community with skill and dedication. I hope that you will join me in voting for Alice Peisch in the primary on Sept. 16 and the general election in November.
Maureen Ecker
Former chairwoman, Weston School Committee
Summer Street, Weston
