The next year is going to be tough for Massachusetts.

The state isn’t immune to the recession people worldwide are now faced with. Unemployment is on the rise, budgets are being cut and retail stores are closing their doors. Residents everywhere are feeling the crunch, and they’re turning to their local and state officials for help.

At this time of economic uncertainty, residents need an experienced legislator representing them in the State House. For Concord, this legislator is Cory Atkins.

Atkins, a Concord resident, has served as the town’s state representative for nine years. She is already familiar with the inner workings of the General Court and has established herself as a leader, by serving as House chairman of the Science and Technology Caucus. She knows the coming months will be challenging ones for her constituents — regardless of the stigma that Concord is an affluent community — and is willing and able to fight for her towns’ fair share of local aid.

This year, Richard McClure, an independent from Chelmsford, has challenged her for her seat in the 14th Middlesex District. He has specific ideas for legislation he would like to file, including dissolving the Mass Turnpike Authority and legalizing casino gambling provided 50 percent of the net tax revenues go back to cities and towns as local aid. But McClure has also spent most of his campaign pointing out where he feels Atkins has failed the district instead of explaining how he is a better candidate. This campaign should be a learning experience for McClure, who has potential to be a strong, viable candidate, and hopefully he will use it as a starting point for a future run for office.

At the same time, Atkins should take her reelection as an opportunity to reflect on her career as a legislator, and should do all she can to represent her towns well in her next term. As much as residents have come out to support Atkins, both on the campaign trail and in letters to this paper, her representation hasn’t been perfect. When Sal DiMasi was chosen to serve as House Speaker following backroom talks and with no opposition, Atkins was the only legislator to vote “present,” to show her disagreement with the process. While this act shows she doesn’t follow the herd, it also came back to bite her — her requests to enact special legislation and home rule petitions that Concord voters had passed fell on deaf ears for several months as punishment.

When it comes time to introduce legislation, Atkins could focus more on the needs of her specific district. Bills she has recently sponsored, including requiring gender-neutral phrasing in all legislation and requiring drivers to keep two hands on the wheel at all times (in an effort to curb cell phone use), are all well and good, but don’t necessarily help her constituents — especially financially. If she is reelected to another term, hopefully she’ll consider sponsoring bills that address issues that hit closer to home for her constituents.

In the end, however, Atkins is the district’s best choice. She deserves your vote as representative for the 14th Middlesex District.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/concord/news/opinions/x1157504316/ENDORSEMENT-Atkins-has-experience

Boston, MA – Today, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts — the leading statewide advocate for privacy and a woman’s right to choose — announced its endorsement of State Representative Cory Atkins of the 14th Middlesex District for reelection.

“NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts is very proud to endorse State Representative Cory Atkins,” said Andrea Miller, the organization’s Executive Director. “Representative Atkins has been a steadfast pro-choice voice at the State House, and we applaud her clear commitment to protecting privacy and promoting reproductive health.”

“I am honored to have the backing of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts,” said Atkins, “As State Representative, I have demonstrated my support for reproductive rights, and I pledge to continue to be a strong advocate for women’s health, safety, and reproductive freedom.”

Miller added, “In the spring of 2007, the United States Supreme Court issued a devastating decision that upheld a ban on safe, medically appropriate abortion methods which makes no exception to protect a woman’s health. With the right to choose so under attack at the federal level, we need state legislators who will stand up for women’s ability to make personal, private decisions about pregnancy and childbirth here in Massachusetts, including protecting safe, legal abortion and improving access to birth control,” added Miller.

Miller concluded, “We are committed to doing all that we can to safeguard reproductive freedom for women in Massachusetts. One of the best things voters can do this year is to support candidates who do the same, which is why we are urging this district to reelect Representative Cory Atkins.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts is the driving force behind the election of many pro-choice state legislative candidates. The organization provides direct assistance to candidates, mobilizes its pro-choice grassroots base in targeted districts, trains candidates and volunteers, and produces and distributes a pro-choice Voters’ Guide.

For more information, visit www.prochoicemass.org

“MLEV is proud to endorse Representative Cory Atkins for re-election,” said MLEV Executive Director Lora Wondolowski. “Cory has been a real leader on Beacon Hill on environmental issues at a time when we need tremendous leadership to address the climate crisis.”

Representative Atkins, who received a near perfect score on the MLEV 2006 scorecard, commented on the endorsement saying that she “can’t thank MLEV enough for their early endorsement and looks forward to continuing what has become a valuable partnership.”

Representative Atkins cites combating climate change, protecting open space, and reducing exposure to toxic chemicals as her top environmental priorities. She recently received a score of 86% on MLEV’s 2007 Mid-term Environmental Scorecard and has a 94% lifetime environmental voting record.

For information on all MLEV’s 2008 endorsed candidates, go to www. mlev.org.

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Paid for by Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.