If you're in or near Massachusetts, we could use your help...

[ralbertson]

One of our mutually-favorite Presidential candidate's staunchest Senatorial supporters sent out this email to his MA list today:

Politics and baseball

I take incredible pride in all that Massachusetts has given me -- from my earliest walks as a child with my mother in the woods outside Groton learning to care about the environment, to raising two incredible daughters in our state, to all these years serving as Lieutenant Governor and Senator. And I remember the first time my parents took me to Faneuil Hall and told me to listen to the echoes of the revolutionary debates that gave us our democracy, and the great struggles from the abolitionist movement to the women’s movement and the labor movement.

Massachusetts is not just home, it’s been my teacher. And the lessons and values I learned in our state are what I take to the floor of the United States Senate every day to fight for what we believe in.

And this year, I’m asking Massachusetts for the privilege of continuing to serve, continuing to work, and continuing to fight alongside Ted Kennedy as part of our new and growing progressive majority in the United States Senate.

The formal process of running for reelection begins now, and I want to ask you for your help.

To qualify for the primary ballot in Massachusetts, a candidate must secure the signatures of 10,000 voters who are either Democrats or unenrolled in any Party.

It is a massive grassroots undertaking, and my campaign to collect the signatures is already under way. I need your help.

We're holding a series of signature-gathering events around Massachusetts in the weeks ahead, and the first one is this Saturday in Boston. We’ll gather at our campaign headquarters at 129 Portland St. in Boston beginning at 9 am, and spread out across the Boston area gathering signatures. If you have some time to spare and you’re in the Boston area, please come on by, meet with me and my staff, and help us gather signatures.

To find out more and to sign up as a volunteer, please visit our volunteer center:

http://www.johnkerryforsenate.com/get_involved

Even if you aren’t in Boston, please sign up as a volunteer, and we’ll let you know when we’re in your part of the state.

And I'm also asking for your ideas. I got into public service as an activist, and I know that the best ideas come from people who are active themselves in their own communities. So, if you've got an idea on where and how to collect, if you want to go it alone or with a group -- we'll get the nomination papers out to you, wherever you are in Massachusetts.

Just send us an email at this address with your ideas:

[e-mail]

To celebrate this effort, we'll be holding a special event this summer at a Lowell Spinners game at LaLacheur Park for those of you who collect 100 or more signatures. It promises to be a great night of two of our favorite pastimes -- politics and baseball.

So, I hope you join us for our signature drives across Massachusetts. I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.


Thanks for all your support,
John Kerry