MOVE LOWELL FORWARD ENDORSES SLATE OF NINE CANDIDATES
Lowell, MA – The local political action committee, Move Lowell Forward, has officially announced their endorsements for the Lowell City Council. The slate consists of nine candidates, the full number of open seats on the Council.
They have endorsed incumbents Kevin Broderick, William Martin, and James Milinazzo, along with challengers Franky Descoteaux, David Koch, Joseph Mendonça, Patrick Murphy, Ben Opara, and Raymond Weicker for City Council.
The endorsements come after a rigorous review of returned Move Lowell Forward questionnaires, the voting history of incumbents, and of all candidates' campaigns, backgrounds, and past experience.
“We wanted the best, most impartial outcome possible,” says Cliff Krieger, chair of the PAC. “We took our evaluation of the candidates very seriously.” Questionnaires were at the heart of the process, he said. “We wanted to know what ideas the candidates were bringing to the table on the issues facing Lowell. Though we have a stated commitment to supporting professional city government, we created a process to be as fair as possible to any and all who took the time to answer our questions.”
Topics for the questionnaire ranged from ones regarding professionalism in city government, to quality of life, to inquiries on affordable housing, transportation, the proposed 0.75% local meals tax increase, and the Hamilton Canal District project, among others.
“We are proud to endorse these candidates, though it was difficult to narrow it down,” said Pat Vondal, a member of Move Lowell Forward. “There were a high number of deserving candidates and we appreciate all the participation we had. We're very lucky to have such a great array of candidates vying for our Council vote this November.”
The PAC hopes that by carefully selecting a slate of candidates, it will give voters one more tool to use when deciding on their nine City Council votes this November, and that it will result in better turnout. They encourage voters to ask themselves which of the many candidates will best ensure professional city management, stable and efficient government services, better schools, high quality of life, and sound economic development and planning. They feel that it is the individual voter who must take the decision to vote and who to vote for, but it's difficult for voters to spend exhaustive hours doing research, which is where Move Lowell Forward feels they can contribute.
The PAC has also released the contents of the questionnaire, though not candidates' individual answers, on their website, http://www.movelowellforward.com.
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