By Barbara Smith,
Blogger and Social Justice Activist,
https://www.facebook.com/HWdemocrats/
The state representative race should never have been this close….
Here is a bit of history that explains what happened…..
Jamie Belsito, good friend to Anna Siedzik won the 2021 primary and general election to the State Representative seat vacated by Brad Hill, a Republican who held that seat for over 2 decades. Ms. Belsito, a former Republican had a financial war chest and staff in place left over from her unsuccessful bid for Congress, running against Seth Moulton in the 2020 Primary. Belsito lost against Moulton big time, but, I have to say that she has persistence because she loves to be the center of attention, especially photo opps….
When Belsito won the primary for state representative in fall of 2021,
I quit as chair of the Hamilton Democratic Town Committee. I could not ethically support a Trump supporter who gave Hillary Clinton piles of poop ratings…. https://www.facebook.com/groups/419447658432183/posts/1152248031818805
I could never support a candidate loyal to Anna Siedzik and the faith-based, president of the political lobby called The Hamilton Wenham Human Rights Coalition (HWHRC). Belsito PLEDGED to serve Siedzik and the lobby and NOT THE VOTERS, all the voters, both Republicans and Democrats….
Why was Belsito such a loyal Coalition pledger?
The answer is simple. Ms. Siedzik has lobbied for years to push a housing development that she believes answers to god and at the same time her pocketbook. Ms. Siedzik makes money when she and her employer, Andrew DeFranza sell housing units regardless of the environment, the Hamilton Planning Board decisions, density, rising taxes and other considerations. If anyone disagrees with this agenda… they get called a Racist, Anti-Human Rights, Bigot and Classist. The president of the North Shore NAACP just happens to be married to DeFranza and the former president Natalie Bowers is a good, loyal Anna Siedzik supporter, as well. They will not be happy until Hamilton looks like Newburyport…. says Ms. Siedzik:
After I quit as HDTC Chair….
the HDTC held a meeting last spring, 2022 to elect new officers. I attended this meeting and saw mostly people who have never attended a HDTC meeting before. Some were not even registered Democrats! Caroline Beulieu was elected secretary. She is the Hamilton Select Board member that Ms. Siedzik got into power by throwing the Coalition weight behind her run. Ms. Beulieu, a Christian Nationalist from Texas claims to be in charge of Hamilton “morality”.
Then James Knudsen, attended. He is the Christian Nationalist Select Board member official liaison to the tax-funded, Hamilton Human Rights Commission. He spends a lot of time trying to get Christian flags flown in public spaces…..Nancy Stehfest is an officer on both this tax-funded Commission, as well as on the political lobby HWHRC, and his wife Katie Knudsen is an officer of the Coalition. Nancy Stefhest was elected Chair in 2022. None of these individuals have ever attended a HDTC MEETING before. A couple of the regular Democratic Committee members attended including long-time secretary and Acting Chair, Darcy Dale and treasurer, John Beveridge.
Then along comes Kristin Kassner,
a highly qualified, competent, Burlington town planner, pro-Choice, Pro-reasonable development, a member of the Hamilton Steering Committee and a Democrat- who did NOT pledge to the Siedzik Coalition as Jamie Belsito did….. When I asked Nancy, the chair what the HDTC was doing to help elect Kassner, I was given a link to her website and told to go join the campaign.
Meanwhile, Wendy Dabcovich, Chair of the Ipswich Democratic Committee invited me to participate as she worked tirelessly to raise money, hold signs, get signatures, go door to door (as I did for Allision Gustavson in 2018) and like any normal Democratic Chair, get the Democrat ELECTED! I refused to work side-by-side with some of the very same Belsito supporters who bullied me.
So what if the Democratic chair actually did her job….
None of the newly elected Hamilton DTC officers, including the new chair, Nancy Stefhest did anything to help elect Kristin Kassner except maybe a token letter to the editor here and there….. I believe that they wanted Kassner to lose, so that Anna Siedzik could run against Lenny Mirra next time with the full force of her political lobby….
Hippocrit, Nancy Stehfest wrote a letter, a token to make it look like she is a Kassner supporter ….
“To the editor:
On behalf of the Hamilton Democratic Town Committee, I urge the legislature to seat our representative, Kristin Kassner, immediately.
The town of Hamilton recently experienced what it is like to have no seat at the table when Rep. Brad Hill resigned. We should not be subjected to this again, especially when the election recount has been certified.
Although I am sure Mr. Mirra is disappointed by such a close race, we must follow the lawful course and seat the elected candidate. I can find no precedent for leaving a former representative in place when the district he once represented no longer exists.
I urge the legislature to correct the misguided course they have chosen, and allow Rep. Kassner her just presence at the table during this critical time in the budget process.
Thousands of Massachusetts residents are not being lawfully represented during this crucial time.
Nancy E Stehfest, chair
Hamilton Democratic Town Committee“
Notice how Nancy Stefhest’s letter does not include one single affirmation that Kassner is an extremely qualified candidate for this office….
According to this article:
“Hamilton Democrats claim there is no one to file bills or look after the interests of the district. “Although I am sure Mr. Mirra is disappointed by such a close race, we must follow the lawful course and seat the elected candidate,” Nancy Stehfest wrote.
Wendy Dabcovich of Ipswich, who worked on Kassner’s campaign, also called for Kassner to be seated.“
Jeez, this article makes it sound like Nancy Stefhest actually worked on the Kassner campaign!!!!
Kassner won by 1 vote…..
So what if the Hamilton DTC actually got involved in the campaign?
What if Ms. Stehfest did more than tell committee members to contact the campaign while the officers did nothing?
What if the Anna Siedzik Coalition ENDORSED and encouraged members to work for the Kassner campaign?
What if I had never resigned as Chair and worked on the Kassner campaign instead of devoting my volunteer efforts to stopping the political lobby Coalition Hamilton takeover?
What If ?????