Letter: Sciortino Working for Medford
Medford Transcript
May 07, 2008
Medford -
To the editor:
I have never written a letter to the editor supporting a candidate before, but I've recently become aware that Rep. Carl Sciortino will be challenged this November by [Somerville] Alderman Bob Trane, who accused Sciortino of "under-representing the people here."
This accusation is simply false. Carl Sciortino has gone out of his way to listen to me and my concerns, and to help; I owe him the favor of sharing the story of his dedication to me and our community with other voters.
Last December, I sent a detailed criticism of the new Massachusetts health care plan to every senator and representative of this commonwealth. The letter caught the attention of Health Care For All, several local newspapers and a number of the representatives themselves.
The responses were grim, though, ranging from near apathy to simple disregard -- with one noteworthy exception.
Representative Sciortino responded to my letter at midnight with heartfelt concern and detailed questions for me about my situation. Ironically, he apologized for the brevity of his response, as it was late, and promised to follow up with me the next day. Indeed, I received another long e-mail the next day explaining certain components of the new health care law, his concerns and hopes and advice for my particular situation.
He had circulated my concerns to people who might be able to help; he had asked questions on my behalf; he encouraged me to stay involved in my government and to get friends involved in their districts. The conversational tone, the clarity and honesty of the e-mail were shocking and heartening to me and his concern for my voice was clear.
Representative Sciortino continued to follow up with me. I never contacted him without receiving a complete, thoughtful, honest response that rewarded my activism. He took on my problems as his own.
Bear in mind that I am an ordinary citizen, not a lobbyist or insider. If you are the same, but have never sought Carl's help or followed his work, I can understand how you might question his dedication to our community.
I encourage you, however, to contact, or even meet the representative. You will find that he is an absolute commodity to the people of this district and we should be ashamed of ourselves should we fail to re-elect him because of any perception that he is "under-representing."
He is tirelessly over-representing you, me and the rest of our district.
Look into it. You may find yourself writing a letter to the editor on his behalf.
Mike Manship
Brookings Street, Medford