Dear Friends,
This coming Tuesday, we urge you to vote Evan MacKay for State Rep from Cambridge!
Evan (they/them) is running for state representative in the 25th Middlesex District. They are the peace candidate in the race and a leader in the movement to reform an undemocratic State House.
The difference between Evan and the incumbent, Marjorie Decker, is the difference between two approaches to progressive politics. Rep. Decker is a progressive who works solely within the system – who has chosen to get as much out of the current State House as she can by being a loyal lieutenant of the Speaker. She is a player within the leadership structure and, within that limitation, helps pass some valuable measures. Evan MacKay is a progressive who leads efforts to change the status quo, stop secret State House deals, and end control of the legislature by a conservative leadership beholden to corporate interests. This system has stifled progressive change in Massachusetts for far too long. See the op-ed by Our Revolution Cambridge for a more detailed account of the differences between the two candidates.
We believe the current crises – on a statewide, national, and international level – call for political leadership that understands the urgency of the moment and will rise to the occasion. That does not mean business as usual, either on Beacon Hill or in Washington. While the US wages war abroad and while democracy is under fierce attack at home, we need political representatives who will connect with the broader movement and work both within and outside the system for structural, not piecemeal, change. Representatives who are not afraid to take controversial positions or stand up to authority. Evan MacKay is that person in this race.
Evan is a union leader, pro-democracy organizer, and a Harvard teaching fellow. As a Cambridge LGBTQ+ Commissioner and the former president of the Harvard Graduate Students’ Union, UAW Local 5118, they’ve been organizing in Cambridge around issues of social, racial, environmental, and economic justice for more than a decade.
Evan has consistently stood up for peace issues at the heart of MAPA’s mission. They were the first Cambridge resident to speak in favor of a ceasefire resolution at the Cambridge City Council in 2023, when war fever was sweeping the country. When teachers and students stood up for Palestinian rights, they were attacked by powerful politicians in public hearings and the press. Evan organized support for the teachers and students within the UAW and in public meetings.
Evan has drawn the connection between the $1-trillion-plus military budget and the lack of funding for domestic programs that Cambridge voters care about – the need to support our public schools, improve our healthcare system, build affordable housing, and expand public transit. Evan will continue to make those connections and build a grassroots movement for peace.
This election matters. Contact the campaign here if you have some time to help in these last hours. Remind your family, friends, and neighbors to vote in the primary on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
In solidarity,
Jackie Dee King and Jonathan King,
for Mass. Peace Action