On Saturday, I went to a "Rally Forward" event in support of Gov. Deval Patrick's re−election. The main speakers at the rally were Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, singer−songwriter James Taylor and Gov. Patrick (D−Mass.) himself. The rally, in Boston's South End, drew many of Patrick's supporters, including several other Tufts students.
During the governor's speech, he emphatically discussed "the issues," citing his accomplishments. Under his leadership, Massachusetts has topped the nation in a vast array of categories. The Commonwealth is No. 1 in health care coverage, as 97 percent of its citizens are now covered under Patrick's plan.
The Governor made public education a top priority throughout his administration, and as a result, Massachusetts is No. 1 in this area. Massachusetts finished first in the "Race to the Top" competition initiated by President Barack Obama, and it was awarded billions of dollars in federal funding in recognition of this huge success.
Under Gov. Patrick, the Massachusetts economy has steadily grown twice as fast as the rest of the country's. He has led the Commonwealth through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, adding over 65,000 jobs in this year alone.
All of these achievements were made possible, in the governor's words, through "optimism and effort."
This spirit characterizes Gov. Patrick's devotion to Massachusetts and its citizens. He acknowledges that the economy has a long way to go before it is fully recovered and that there are still thousands out of work. He intends to fix this and other remaining problems with more of his optimism and effort.
Gov. Patrick asked his supporters to apply this same optimism and effort to his election campaign. The facts are simple; if people don't work to get out the vote, the facts will not matter.
Patrick's challengers include Republican Charlie Baker, a former head of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Independent Tim Cahill, the state treasurer. A poll taken by The Boston Globe released on Sunday shows Baker has just pulled even to Patrick. The poll's findings expose voter sentiment as anti−incumbent and show voters are mainly focused on the economy.
The poll also shows an unusually high level of excitement among Republican voters. This indicates that on Election Day, turnout will be key.
According to the poll, "Some 78 percent of likely GOP voters say they are excited about the race, compared with only 37 percent of likely Democratic voters." This is of some concern to Patrick and his supporters, which is why he stressed the effort required to get out the vote.
Here on campus, Tufts Students for Deval Patrick, a newly formed group committed to working for Patrick's re−election, is focusing on getting out the vote as well. The group has canvassed for the governor, knocking on doors across campus as well as in the Somerville and Medford area. In addition, the group is focusing on registering people to vote.
We, as Tufts students, must recognize the importance of this election. As Massachusetts residents, albeit temporary ones, we will be greatly affected by the results of the election on Nov. 2. The governor−elect, whoever that may be, will either continue us on the path to prosperity or usher in a new era of poor decision−making and planning, leading us toward stagnation.
The choice is clear: Deval Patrick has shown immense leadership through hard times and clearly knows what is best for Massachusetts. He has been able to make the tough decisions, such as raising the sales tax, in order to make life better for the rest of the Commonwealth.
The Tufts community must come together and work for the common good. With optimism and effort, the outcome will be beneficial to all.
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Joshua Youner is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He is a member of Tufts Students for Deval Patrick and can be reached at Joshua.Youner@tufts.edu.
