Our Political Advocacy Team supports voter education, candidate development and campaigns, and legislative action. We endorse progressive candidates for local, district-wide, and state office and provide on-the-ground campaign support. We assist campaigns nationally, work to improve transparency in government, and strive to promote civic engagement at all levels.
Send questions or ideas to political-action@grassrootscentralmass.org. .
Since our inception, Grassroots Central Mass has embraced the idea that change only happens when dedicated people learn about the details of important legislation and work to elect leaders on every level of government who reflect their beliefs and values.
Activism on National Issues
To bring our commitment to active political engagement to life, our members have written thousands upon thousands of postcards urging constituents everywhere to register to vote, to learn who the candidates are in their districts and what they stand for, and to vote for those who promise to work for equity, justice, and inclusiveness.
Our most exciting postcard campaigns involved registering unrepresented, young people in Georgia prior to the crucial 2020 presidential election. We were beyond excited when Georgia went for Biden – giving the majority of their votes to a Democrat in that state for the first time since 1992. Later we sent hundreds more postcards into Georgia and helped elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate, two Democrats in that generally Republican state. Needless to say, we were ecstatic about these three historic wins!
Creating a Regional Platform for Progressive Politics
Another important initiative of our Political Action Team involved re-invigorating regional Democratic Town Committees in concert with other concerned activists. While many in Grassroots Central Mass are not affiliated with any political party, many of our members serve on Democratic Town Committees and the Massachusetts State Democratic Committee. We work through these committees to give our progressive voices a statewide platform. Our Political Advocacy Team called together a regional round table of Democratic leaders to set priorities, share resources, and form new committees. Currently our region has strong Democratic Town Committees in Barre, Brookfield, North Brookfield, Oakham, West Brookfield, Monson, Sturbridge, and Spencer with newly formed DTCs in Brimfield, Hardwick and Warren.
If you are interested in learning more or finding a committee in your town, email: political-action@grassrootscentralmass.org.
We also work hard to support candidates running for municipal offices in the towns that comprise our Grassroots Central Mass region. In the last election cycle we helped get their messages out by hosting a Candidates Forum and by standing out at the polls for the candidates we actively endorsed.
Grassroots Central Mass holds live and virtual events. We also actively partner with political action groups including Brookfields Fight Fear (BFF), ActOnMass, Incorruptible Mass, and Mass Call2Action. These groups take action to raise awareness about crucial issues and legislation in the Massachusetts State House, voting rights and voter suppression on all levels of government, and the need for transparency in all governing bodies. You can find these groups noted on our Organizations We Support page.
Some Political Action Resources
The Massachusetts Legislature: Democracy in Decline (Nov 2021)
Global State of Democracy Report 2021: Building Resilience in an Pandemic Era
To search for the status of bills in Massachusetts
Subscribe to the Rise Up Western Mass Indivisible Newsletter
Subscribe to Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From an American