We, Alice Wolf’s husband and sons, are writing to endorse and ask for your vote for Marjorie Decker for state representative on Sept. 3.
Marjorie is the right person to represent the district, and we are confident that if Alice were here, she would be writing an endorsement letter.
A little over 30 years ago, a brash Cambridge Rindge and Latin School student walked into City Hall, threw a pile of condoms on the mayor’s desk and told Alice that she needed help in getting them distributed to high-school students at risk of Aids and pregnancy. Over the years, that brash, forward-thinking teenager became a mentee, intern, staff member, campaign manager and successor to Alice on the City Council and in the State House. And Marjorie and Bahij (and their kids) became close friends of Alice and Bob.
Marjorie and Alice came from different backgrounds and had different styles, but they shared core values that Marjorie continues to embody:
- The vision to see that a better and more equitable society is possible
- A sense of urgency to tackle real problems – especially those of the most marginalized and at-risk people in the community
- A commitment to pragmatic liberalism – combining an idealistic and optimistic vision of the future with the political focus and skills to deliver progress now
- An attitude of openness and accessibility to everyone in the district and beyond
- A tireless, seven-day-a-week, decadeslong dedication to Cambridge and its people
We’re aware that some in the community have questioned the balance Marjorie maintains between pragmatism and idealism – especially when it comes to the issue of transparency in the State House. The question is unsurprising, as Alice had to strike the same balance and was often asked similar questions during her tenure. The answer, for both of them, has been to make that balance a strength, engaging with leadership, pushing hard for their ideals and always focusing on making real progress and delivering real results.
In the end, we measure a legislator not just on their positions, but on their effectiveness … and in that regard, we think Marjorie measures quite well. She delivers on her (and our) ideals for the district, for Cambridge and for the state on a wide range of issues every day.
In any case, if you have questions about her approach, don’t hesitate to ask her!
Again, we hope you will vote for Marjorie Decker to continue to represent the 25th Middlesex District.
Bob, Adam and Eric Wolf
A stronger
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Was Marjorie Decker effective in her handling of Memorial Drive? Or more recently, responding to questions about her position at Berman Tabacco? She certainly hasn’t brought “an attitude of openness and accessibility to everyone in the district and beyond” to those inquiries. People have not hesitated to ask her these questions, but she’s hesitated to answer them in the first place.
And sheesh, imagine invoking your dead wife’s name to defend someone who has shown their true colors as a liar, a person with possible conflicts of interests, and a champion of the corrupt status quo.
I will in fact not be voting for Marjorie Decker, since in my eyes, she does not deserve to represent the 25th Middlesex District anymore.
Balancing pragmatism and idealism shouldn’t mean compromising your principles to sustain a flawed system, that’s just cowardice. When you vote to kick families out of shelter after five days just to give the wealthy an excise tax cut, you’ve clearly forgotten what it means to vote your values.
Alice was a true public servant and would be appalled by how Marjorie has changed. Once dedicated to serving us, Marjorie now holds a six-figure second job and spends her time seeking other positions instead of fulfilling the one she was elected to do. Her lack of kindness and disregard for the balance Alice always championed is disheartening.
There are several compelling reasons to reconsider voting for Marjorie Decker.
Firstly, she has been largely ineffective in passing significant legislation on critical issues such as climate change and transportation funding. This ineffectiveness may stem from her dual roles as a law firm employee and legislator, which detracts from her legislative responsibilities.
Additionally, Decker has demonstrated a lack of commitment to local environmental initiatives. For instance, she opposed the closure of a road to enable car-free events at Riverbend Park, contradicting her public claims of support for such initiatives.
Emails have surfaced revealing her opposition, which undermines her credibility and responsiveness to community needs.
Decker is a Zionist who is opposed to BDS. Evan as President of the Harvard Grad Student Union helped pass a resolution endorsing BDS. Cambridge has long been a haven for refugees, including many Palestinians, and they don’t feel safe having a state representative who supports an apartheid regime.
I look at it this way: This is a race between an experienced progressive incumbent who has successfully and repeatedly navigated the obstacles in the state house — versus an inexperienced idealist.
There are, without question, deep problems in our state legislature. To bring about change, one can throw stones from the outside – or work from within the existing reality in order to change the system. The former, in the very long term, may possibly some day bring about some reforms. The latter brings CHANGE, and brings it now. Former state reps who have bucked the system and opposed the speaker have all failed. Meanwhile, Marjorie has chalked up success after success.
Progress takes forever, badly needed legislation withers under a cumbersome system, and the house speaker has way too much power. While I share the frustration that people feel with our current elected leaders, we’re far better off with an effective, successful, proven progressive leader, Marjorie Decker.
@pkn: Your comment makes little sense. You mention that “work from within the existing reality in order to change the system” will bring “CHANGE, and brings it now” but then the following paragraph you say that “progress takes forever”. So, which is it?
From what I gather, Marjorie Decker is effective in the state house, but just for herself and Berman Tabacco [1]. I don’t think lying to your constituents in “progressive”, “effective”, or “successful” [2]. And Decker directly benefits from House Speaker Ron Mariano’s near monopoly of power. Her committee positions and “leadership pay” are a direct result of her support of Mariano, so she has no incentive to tackle the source of the issue [1].
Someone, like Decker, who lies to their constituents is in no way a “progressive leader”. Decker is corrupt and untrustworthy.
[1]: https://www.cambridgeday.com/2024/08/19/between-state-rep-salary-and-consulting-pay-deckers-take-home-is-highest-in-delegation/
[2]: https://www.reddit.com/r/CambridgeMA/comments/1etu190/a_contempt_for_constituents_why_you_should_vote/
@pkn The point is that Decker has not been effective and has help further progressive policies, as promised and claimed.
Oops. typo.
@pkn The point is that Decker has not been effective and has NOT helped further progressive policies, as promised and claimed.
“Progress takes forever, badly needed legislation withers under a cumbersome system, and the house speaker has way too much power. While I share the frustration that people feel with our current elected leaders, we’re far better off with an effective, successful, proven progressive leader, Marjorie Decker.”
Decker is fighting to maintain the system you identify as a problem, how is that effective? Effective at what? Power for its own sake?
@pkn When will we get this change we are promised? She’s been in the legislature for 12 years now, and it’s now less effective than ever, and horribly opaque. She’s lied to her constituents about Riverbend Park, and furthermore, she doesn’t even list any policy positions on her website. How are we supposed to vote for someone that has lied about what they support, and won’t even tell us what they plan to do if re-elected?
Well, I have to give it to you that she is certainly brash. Wasn’t she Alice’s aide at the time that she punched the cake at city hall because she didn’t get her way on a vote?