2012 Day on the Hill

On Wednesday, April 25, Maggie Russell, Gloria Legvold, and Jean Herbert represented the Winchester League at this year's Day on the Hill. Legislators were busy with the budget confirmation, but several found the time to stop by, including Representative Jason Lewis and Winchester's new senator, Katherine Clark.

Representative Jay Kaufman from Lexington was one of the invited speakers. He reminded us that most people in government service are dedicated individuals with a "strong moral compass."  He made the point that in order to ensure a robust democracy, we need more people to run for office. Out of 160 members, only 21 have opponents in the coming election. Our second speaker was Pam Wilmot from Common Cause.  She spoke about the risk to democracy created by the Citizens United decision.  Her concern is in keeping with the League's position.  At the very least, candidates should be required to disclose where their contributions come from. She urged us to contact our representatives to pass Bill S.304, "an act relative to disclosure of political spending." She quoted Justice Louis Brandeis: "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Wilmot also reminded us that we should occasionally take the time to thank our legislators for the work they do. Following that recommendation, the three Winchester League members visited Rep. Jason Lewis in his office to thank him for his hard work. Perhaps the highlight of the day was the act of protest that took place outside the office of the senate president. All League members in attendance that day gathered in the hallway and sang several verses of "One Hundred Bottles of Water on the Wall" to urge President DeLeo to bring the Bottle Bill to passage.