This letter was published in the Wayland Town Crier in July 2020
Carmine Gentile (D-Sudbury) deserves your vote this November to represent Wayland precincts 1, 2, and 3 as State Representative.
Why should we re-elect Carmine Gentile?
Because Carmine shows up in Wayland, listens to Waylanders, and takes action for Wayland.
What has he done lately?
Glad you asked!
Gentile listened to survivors of sexual assault and led on legislation to test, track, and report in real time to survivors the results of kits which had been neglected for years, including funding appropriated from the Executive Office of Public Safety. During the legislature debate on the Student Opportunity Act, he negotiated school district partial reimbursement for special education transportation expenses, a long-neglected issue. Gentile listens to school leaders and fights every single year for our local districts’ priorities in the budget.
Gentile heard from local people who are fed up with excessive corporate influence in our elections. He serves on the Massachusetts Citizens Commission Concerning a Constitutional Amendment for Government of the People, focused on establishing that corporations do not have the same Constitutional rights as human beings and that campaign contributions and expenditures may be regulated. The Commission collaboratively proposed two Amendments to the United States Constitution to reverse the harm done by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, and together, Gentile and the other Commissioners will collaborate nationally in a non-partisan effort to pass the 28th and 29th Amendments to our Constitution, allowing Congress and the states to regulate and limit campaign spending once again.
This session, Gentile’s leadership is evident on legislation including:
· To protect Waylanders and others in our state from financial stress during the pandemic by waiving late fees and credit card debt collection while also extending Massachusetts’ income tax filing deadline (adopted and enacted)
· To prohibit use of “Round Up” (passed favorably out of committee)
· To increase home care worker wages, essential to seniors and persons with disabilities who wish to remain in their homes (widespread bi-partisan support)
· To establish energy neutral building standards
· To reduce drug costs through transparency, creating needs based Senior Citizen Property Tax Exemptions (passed in House),
· To expand Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding
You may have visited with Carmine during this regular office hours in Wayland (typically in the Selectboard’s meeting room), eaten breakfast with him at monthly Fridays at Mel’s Café, or talked with him at any of the regular Wayland events he participates in (ex. Touch-a-Truck, Wayland’s Domestic Violence Awareness vigils, First Parish immigration forum, and many more). He is part of our town, ever ready to listen and with the knowledge to act upon that information. We not only need Carmine to represent us, we need more legislators like him in the State House. Carmine shows up, listens, and acts. Vote for Carmine Gentile to raise the voice of Wayland on Beacon Hill.
Sincerely,
Wayland Democratic Town Committee