About 200 people came out to hear from several Democratic leaders, including Congressman Seth Moulton, Secretary of State Bill Galvin, Rep. Jenny Armini and others at the Marblehead Democratic Town Committee picnic behind the Veterans School on Aug. 25.
The Gus Percy Band entertained the crowd until comedian Jimmy Tingle took the stage to introduce the speakers and tell a few jokes. Kids jumped around a bouncy house, and people lined up at food trucks. Folks lined up to snap photos with a lifesize cardboard Kamala Harris.
“The enthusiasm coming out of the convention is incredible,” said Moulton, who brought his two young daughters to the picnic. “But we’re going to have to work hard.”
Moulton encouraged people to talk to family and friends and “put in real terms what is at stake” in the election. He also urged people to knock on doors and make calls… and not just for Harris and Tim Walz.
“We’ve got to hold onto the Senate and win back the House,” he said.
He asked people to support the Serve America PAC, which works to get veterans elected.
After he addressed the crowd, Moulton told the Current, “I’ll be campaigning like hell” around the country until election day.
Armini, who lives in Marblehead and is running unopposed for a second term as state representative, fired up the crowd with her speech.
“What a week to be a Democrat,” she exclaimed. She spoke about the values discussed at the convention, including freedom.
“And not the phony version pedaled by the other side,” she added. “Freedom over our own bodies. Freedom from fear of being gunned down at the grocery school or at a school. Freedom from poverty, hunger and the -isms and phobias that divide people and limit their possibilities. That’s real freedom.”
State Auditor Diane DiZoglio spoke about the work her office is doing to assure that state agencies — like the MBTA and Convention Center — are spending taxpayer dollars wisely. She urged voters to approve Question 1 on the state ballot that would give her office the “explicit authority” to audit the Legislature.
“The system on Beacon Hill is broken,” DiZoglio said. “Our Legislature is one of the least transparent in the nation.”
Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker spoke about his recent hiring of a restorative justice coordinator, “to keep people out of the system, when it’s appropriate.”
“It’s about better outcomes for society,” he said.
Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger referenced former President Donald Trump when he joked, “I have room at the jail… and we have orange jumpsuits that match his hair.”
Kathy Hempel, chair of the Democratic Town Committee, said the picnic “exceeded our expectations.” She urged anyone interested in getting involved in campaigning to reach out to marbleheaddems.org/contact-us.
The Current attempted to contact Marblehead’s Republican Town Committee without success.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
