FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2020
Jesse Mermell Earns 19 Local Endorsements from Somerset, Mansfield, Medfield, Foxborough, Wellesley and Brookline
BROOKLINE – Jesse Mermell today expanded the coalition of local leaders supporting her campaign for Congress by earning 19 endorsements from six key communities.
“As COVID-19 has devastated local budgets across the country, it is essential that the next Congresswoman from the Fourth District has the right experience, vision and coalition to fight for federal funding to support our municipalities,” said Mermell. “I’m honored that so many local leaders from across the district – south to north – have placed their trust in me to stand up for them in Congress. Together, we can take on Donald Trump, fight for Medicare for All and reproductive justice, and lead an equitable recovery to COVID-19.”
Those endorsing Jesse today are: Mansfield Select Board Members Frank DelVecchio and Jess Aptowitz, Chair for the Medfield Democratic Town Committee Steve Teehan, Executive Director of the Coalition for Social Justice, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Raise Up Massachusetts Coalition and former Board Member of Family Values at Work Deb Fastino of Somerset, Wellesley Town Meeting Member and past Chair of the Wellesley Board of Selectmen David J. Himmelberger, Chair of the Brookline Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Michael Jacobs, and Brookline Town Meeting Members Scott Gladstone, Jane Piercy, David Lowe, Rebecca Mautner, Hadassah Margolis, Barbara Gutman, Mark Gray, Dennis Doughty, Puja Mehta, Mike Sandman, and Werner Lohe. Chair of the Foxborough Democratic Town Committee and Democratic State Committee Member Dennis Naughton and Democratic State Committee Member and Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Bay State Stonewall Democrats Claire Naughton are also endorsing in their personal capacities.
“Jesse will not only be a strong, progressive voice in Congress but she will also put in the work to build coalitions and elect Democrats up and down the ballot,” said Mansfield Select Board Member Frank DelVecchio. “I know that Jesse will fight for the support that local governments need to recover from the economic fallout of COVID-19 and I’m proud to support her.”
“I’ve seen Jesse in action,” said Mansfield Select Board Member Jess Aptowitz. “We need a coalition builder like her in Congress who will show up for every single community. I know Jesse will be that leader for the Fourth District.”
“Jesse will be a Congresswoman for every community in the Fourth District – from Brookline to Medfield to Fall River and everywhere in between,” said Steve Teehan, Chair for the Medfield Democratic Town Committee. “We need this seat to be represented by a strong Democrat who will stand up for our progressive values and stand up to Donald Trump. I know that Jesse is the best candidate to rise to the challenge.”
“We have both known Jesse for years and trust her judgment,” said Chair of the Foxborough Democratic Town Committee Dennis Naughton and Democratic State Committee Member Claire Naughton. “Jesse’s knowledge of how government works and progressive stance on the issues have convinced us that she is the candidate who will provide the best representation in Congress for the 4th Congressional District.”
“Jesse has a strong track record of advocacy, having been a leader in campaigns for equal pay, increasing the minimum wage, and Paid Family and Medical Leave,” said Deb Fastino, Executive Director of the Coalition for Social Justice, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Raise Up Massachusetts Coalition and former Board Member of Family Values at Work. “I worked alongside Jesse on the Paid Family and Medical Leave negotiation team in Massachusetts and was impressed with her progressive, pro-worker business perspective. She’s a leader who understands what it will take to revive the Fall River economy and community.”
“The next representative for this seat will face steep challenges as we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout,” said Wellesley Town Meeting Member David J. Himmelberger. “Jesse has never shied away from a challenge and I know this will be no different. She is the best person to lead the Fourth District through this crisis in a way that centers equity and justice, and I’m proud to support her.”
“In Congress, Jesse will fight for a fair economy,” said Chair of the Brookline Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Michael Jacobs. “She will make it a priority to ensure that every person in the Fourth District has access to safe and affordable housing, and that’s why I’m proud to support her.”
“I have known Jesse since we began serving together in Brookline Town Meeting around 20 years ago,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member Scott Gladstone. “I know that she is a strong feminist voice that can get things done in Congress on the progressive issues that are dear to me and my family. I am also an active progressive Zionist who can vouch for Jesse as a supporter of Israel, a Jewish and democratic state, and as a proponent of the two-state solution.”
“I support Jesse because she has a track record of fighting for policies and programs that lift up women, families, and the economy,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member Jane Piercy. “She will take this experience to Washington and fight for reproductive freedom, paid family medical leave, improvements in public transportation, and a strong economy.”
“Jesse’s dedication to social justice, climate sustainability, and community well-being is boundless,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member and former Chair and current Board Member of Climate Action Brookline David Lowe. “Working at the grassroots level with Jesse to found Brookline Climate Week showed me her character, her ability to think on her feet and with her heart. She delivers value and is the representative we need in Washington in these troubled times.”
“Jesse is the right person to represent our district – she understands the many varied communities that make up the Fourth Congressional and can represent us well,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member Rebecca Mautner. “She has done the work, at all levels of government and in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, to create real change and deliver results. She is creative, pragmatic, and incredibly effective.”
“As a progressive community organizer, a woman, and a mother, I am thrilled to support Jesse,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member and Founder, Inspo:Expo, Got Masks MA, and Welcome Blanket Brookline Hadassah Margolis. “With her track record of standing up for women’s rights and getting things done, Jesse is the right person for the job. I know she will fight for me and my daughter.”
“I’m proud to support Jesse Mermell for Congress because she is the progressive fighter this District needs,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member and former Member of the Raise Up Massachusetts Coalition Barbara Gutman. “I worked with Jesse on the Raise Up Massachusetts Coalition and I’ve seen firsthand how she is driven by a desire to create a fair economy that works for everyone and lifts up working families. I know that she is the leader we need to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis in an equitable way.”
“We need Jesse’s bold, progressive leadership in Congress to rebuild from all of the damage done by Donald Trump these past few years,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member Mark Gray. “Jesse will fight for affordable health care, tackle economic inequality and make sure no community gets left behind as we recover from COVID-19. She will stand up for every city and town in this District and I’m proud to support her.”
“I’ve known Jesse to be a progressive champion for Massachusetts families since she was on the Brookline Select Board,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member Dennis Doughty. “She’s passionate, compassionate, and hardworking. She will be a strong representative for this District in Congress.”
“Voters should know that Jesse Mermell will fight tirelessly to create opportunity for everyone and will center equity in her decision making every step of the way,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member Puja Mehta. “I’m so excited for Jesse to represent that Fourth District in Congress and stand up to Donald Trump.”
“From her first weeks as the youngest member of Brookline’s Select Board, Jesse has been thoughtful, thoroughly engaged, and progressive,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member and Chair of the Brookline Advisory Committee Mike Sandman. “When she moved on to statewide roles, she continued to work on the issues that matter to the whole community. She’s also a real person — congenial and accessible. She’ll be a fitting successor to her illustrious predecessors from the Fourth District.”
“As the Select Board leader of Brookline’s Climate Action Committee, Jesse was one of the first to step forward and take action to address global warming, fighting to ban plastic bags and styrofoam, working to establish Climate Week, updating the Town’s climate action plan, and helping secure Green Community status,” said Brookline Town Meeting Member Werner Lohe.
Today’s 19 endorsements build on the growing coalition of progressive local, state and national leaders and organizations who are supporting Mermell, including Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, former First Lady Diane Patrick, national advocate for gender equity Barbara Lee, SEIU Massachusetts State Council, the Massachusetts Teachers’ Association, IBEW Local 103, the Massachusetts State Council of Machinists, and the Coalition for Social Justice.
A full list of Mermell’s endorsements can be found here.