(EAST BOSTON- April 1, 2016) An endorsement meeting of the Ward 1 Democratic Committee was held on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club. The purpose of this meeting was to consider an endorsement in the First Suffolk & Middlesex Senate race.
The meeting was attended by fifteen (15) members of the Ward committee and six (6) of the seven (7) democratic candidates. The candidates who addressed the committee included: Joseph Boncore, Lydia Edwards, Diana Hwang, Rep. Jay Livingstone, Paul Rogers and Dan Rizzo. Unfortunately, Steve Morabito was not feeling well and notified the committee that he would be unable to attend. The six candidates each delivered five-minute speeches about their backgrounds, qualifications and their platforms. The candidates presented great information and those in attendance asked some great questions, which spurred a lively and informative discussion.
Following the presentations by the candidates the Ward committee took an endorsement vote, with 15 members in attendance a minimum of 10 votes was required for a candidate endorsement. None of the candidates garnered enough votes to receive an endorsement.
Voters in the First Suffolk & Middlesex District, which includes all of East Boston, head to the polls on April 12,2016 for the primary election.
Source: Michael Sulprizio, Ward Committee Chair, 617-438-0952, msulprizio@comcast.net
(BOSTON- March 23, 2016) State senate candidate Diana Hwang delivered almost 1,100 petitions yesterday to the MBTA’s Fiscal Management Control Board urging them to restore late night T service. The service’s last night of operation was Friday, even after a decision by the control board to cut the service drew criticism from Federal officials for failing to determine if cutting the service would unfairly impact low income communities and people of color.
Two weeks ago, Hwang, along with State Senators Linda Dorcena Forry and Sonia Chang-Díaz who have endorsed her candidacy, called on the control board to complete their equity analysis before closing the service. The analysis, which was completed last week, showed exactly what Hwang, Forry and Chang-Díaz suspected – that it will have a disparate impact on low income and minority residents.
“Over a thousand people joined me today in saying ‘enough is enough’ when it comes to decisions being made behind close doors that hurt our communities,” said Diana Hwang. “There are so many residents in the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex district who rely on the T operating at later hours on the weekend so they can go to and from work. People feel like they aren’t being listened to, and that they need a voice in the halls of power. That’s why I’m running for State Senate.”
Delivered with the over one thousand petitions from residents was the following letter:
March 21, 2016
Dear Members of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board:
The MBTA’s financial difficulties are well-known and documented. We have a history, as a state, of under-investing in public transportation and last year’s deplorable service interruptions brought this issue to a painful head. I certainly appreciate the difficult work you are doing to rectify the situation and I fully support raising the revenue we need for public transportation by increasing the tax rate on millionaires.
However, I feel strongly that we cannot cut MBTA costs at the expense of the hard working men and women who use late-night service to travel to and from the jobs they desperately need to feed and shelter their families. Your own equity analysis showed that these cuts hurt low-income riders the most. East Boston is ground zero for this concern. It is physically impossible for late-shift workers who work downtown or in other parts of the city to walk home to East Boston after their shift ends. And a cab ride can cost them hours of pay. Late-night service shouldn’t be a luxury. Rather than eliminating it on weekends we should be working towards expanding it to weekdays.
Recently, I urged the MBTA to reconsider and now, more than 1000 individuals have joined me by signing a petition asking you to do the same (see an enclosed list of their names). I ask that you do whatever you can to accommodate the transportation needs of those who so desperately rely on recently terminated late night service.
Sincerely,
Diana Hwang
Candidate for State Senate, 1st Suffolk & Middlesex District
Diana Hwang, a Democrat of East Boston, is a candidate for State Senate for 1st Suffolk and Middlesex representing Chinatown, Downtown, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, parts of Cambridge and North Suffolk County including East Boston, Winthrop and Revere. The special election democratic primary is on Tuesday, April 12.
Source: Cayce McCabe
press@dianaforsenate.com
(Boston, MA 2/16/2016) – Former Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong (Wong Sou Fun), Quincy City Councilor Nina Liang and Newton City Councilor Amy Mah Sangiolo (Mah Hwei Mei) have all endorsed Diana Hwang for State Senate, citing her work as a mentor for young Asian women across Massachusetts.
“The significant needs of young Asian-American women were largely neglected until Diana Hwang’s ground-breaking organization, Asian American Women’s Political Initiative (AAWPI), began to reach out to them and awaken their interest in public service and political power,” said City Councilor Amy Mah Sangiolo. “I have witnessed first-hand the power of Diana’s leadership to make a difference in these girls’ future. As the longest serving Asian American in the state, I would be thrilled to see Diana elected to the State House.” Amy Mah Sangiolo has served Ward 4, City of Newton since 1997, and was the first Asian-American elected to the Newton City Council.
Founded in 2009, the Asian-American Women's Political Initiative (AAWPI) is the nation’s first and only leadership organization for Asian-American women. The organization grew out of Diana’s direct experience of being the only Asian in the State House – and the recognition that those numbers would not increase unless the role of politics – and the power of government were better understood by the next generation of young women leaders. Over the last 6 years, under Diana’s tutelage, more than three dozen young women completed a one-of-a-kind State House fellowship and mentoring program and most have gone on to work on campaigns, in legislative offices and actively participate in their communities.
Quincy City Councilor Nina Liang, the first Asian-American woman to serve on the Quincy City Council also cited Diana’s work for AAWPI in her endorsement.
“I had the privilege to attend one of AAWPI’s graduations and see the transformative difference that Diana Hwang had made in these young girls’ lives,” said Nina Liang. “I encounter, in my own community, Asian youth who serve as their families’ only link to the outside world and yet feel intimidated by the power of the State House and the larger political community to affect change. Diana and her organization made a difference to that with her leadership and passion, and she would bring the same commitment to changing the system from inside the building when she is elected to the State Senate.”
Lisa Wong, the former mayor of Fitchburg Massachusetts, was the first Asian-American Mayor in Massachusetts history. “Diana Hwang is a true trailblazer who has the proven ability to organize, lead and most importantly to listen to the needs of the community,” Mayor Wong shared. “Diana has spent her entire career fighting for women, immigrants and working families. As State Senator, she would fight fearlessly for the needs of the district as she has for the needs of the Asian girls she has mentored.”
Mayor Wong, Councilor Liang and Alderwoman Mah Sangiolo join a growing list of endorsements for Diana Hwang’s State Senate Campaign. In previous weeks Diana has been endorsed by Boston State Representative Dan Hunt and the only two minority women in the State Senate, Senators Sonia Chang-Diaz and Linda Dorcena Forry.
The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Diana Hwang previously served as a legislative aide in the State House and a Chief of Staff in the Boston City Council. Diana serves as Board member of the UMass Center for Women in Politics, served as co-chair of the Boston Women’s Fund and is a founding member of Mayor Walsh’s Women’s Commission. Diana currently lives in East Boston and previously lived in Revere.
Source:
Cayce McCabe
press@dianaforsenate.com
617-615-7011
