Candidates for Fourth District Congressional seat garner endorsements

Julie Hall of Attleboro, one of two Republicans running for the seat, has won the endorsement of MassGOP’s executive committee.“Julie is the kind of candidate that will offer voters in her district a clear-headed, conservative option as opposed to the crowded field of Democrats, currently engaged in a competition to see who can drift the furthest towards outright socialism,” MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons said.

***

Democrat Jesse Mermell of Brookline has won the endorsement of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The 23,000-member union cited Mermell’s commitment to labor rights, affordable and accessible healthcare and a COVID-19 recovery plan that centers on the voices of healthcare workers.

Mermell has also won the endorsement of the National Women’s Political Caucus, which her campaign says has helped elect prominent Massachusetts leaders including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and congresswomen Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan. The caucus cited Mermell’s pro-choice, progressive values and commitment to lifting up other women.

And state Rep. Carol Doherty, D-Taunton, and Taunton City Council President Barry Sanders have endorsed Mermell.

***

Democratic candidate Becky Grossman of Newton has begun airing her first TV ad, which calls for stricter gun laws. The ad recounts a conversation she had with her kindergarten-age son about what to do in the event someone starts shooting at his school.

Grossman has called for restoring the assault weapons ban, implementing universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, removing weapons from the hands of domestic abusers, and establishing a national “red flag” law. The ad can be seen at this link: youtube.com/watch?v=StdSEcX8G38

***

Democrat Ben Sigel of Brookline has released a plan to combat racism, hatred, bigotry, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. He said statistics show anti-Semitic incidents have been increasing and in Massachusetts, they’ve gone up 128% to over 114 incidents. His plan can be found at bensigelforcongress.com/racism and bensigelforcongress.com/anti-semitism.

***

Democrat Dave Cavell of Brookline has pledged to reject money from super PACs and called for the other eight Democrats in the primary election to do the same. “Unaccountable PACs are a central piece of what is wrong with our campaign finance system,” he said. “It is time that we as Democrats walk the walk, and reject unaccountable outside spending.”

Cavell has also called for Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to establish health standards for colleges and universities to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. He said the standards should include how often students are tested for the disease, what percentage of students are allowed back on campus, what percentage of positive tests would lead to closing, rules on social distancing and housing guidelines.

***

Democrat Alan Khazei has released his second TV and digital ad, this one citing his founding of City Year, building AmeriCorps and helping to create over a million national service jobs.

The Democratic and Republican primaries are slated for Sept. 1.