I’ve been in community with Evan MacKay for years, we have friends in common and I’m supporting Evan’s campaign for state representative. As somebody who used to live in the same conservative part of Florida as Evan, the idea that a progressive activist would be registered to vote as a Republican was perfectly reasonable. Party registration doesn’t affect who somebody votes for in November general elections, but in the few remaining “closed primary” states such as Florida, party registration affects what primaries you can vote in – unlike in Massachusetts, independents and third party voters cannot participate in Republican or Democratic primaries. The part of Florida where Evan and I used to live was very conservative, and the Republican party dominated. Democratic Primaries often didn’t happen, because no candidates would run.
This means that some people, just like Evan, could donate to Democrats, volunteer for Democrats and vote for Democrats in November but face an imperfect choice in primary elections: Register as Democrats and vote for an empty ballot where there were usually zero or only one candidate running for office, or register to vote as a Republican and vote in the election that would determine local elections. Progressives, liberals and moderates voting in the Republican primaries would occasionally have enough support to stop the most hard-right Republicans. These details are covered on Evan’s website.
Florida has for years been a closely contested state. Some people living in Cambridge choose to vote in other parts of the country where they feel their vote might make a bigger difference to stopping Trump and Republicans. I respect that personal decision – in fact, I know many Cambridge neighbors who wish they could vote in swing states! State representative Majorie Decker is trying to make people think Evan was a Republican in Massachusetts, which isn’t true. In fact, Evan was elected by the members of the Cambridge Democratic City Committee to serve in leadership of the organization.
The experience of living in a conservative part of the country and building coalitions for progressive change is an important perspective that I want represented on Beacon Hill. There are so many parts of the country that are doing more to stand up to Trump than Beacon Hill, where they pass the fewest bills. I’m excited to support a progressive organizer and hope our community will join in supporting Evan MacKay for state representative.
Shelley Rieman
Franklin Street, Cambridge
