Paul Ruseau for State Representative

Civic engagement is fun for the whole family! And extra fun for my daughter, who cast her very first ballot today.

🗳️ Tomorrow is the last day to early vote at Medford and Somerville City Hall(s)!

Thankful for supporters like David, who have dedicated their lives to giving back to the community. It takes a strong person to show up day after day, no matter how busy life gets or how close to home the issues hit; you make the world a better place.

📣 Early voting starts today! We checked the times and locations so you don’t have to!

📨 Voting by mail? Be sure to postmark them or drop them off at a ballot drop-box ASAP! Your ballot must reach the elections office or a drop-box by the time the polls close at 8 PM on 9.1.

📝 Need to drop off a vote by mail application? It must reach your local election officials by 5 p.m. on the 5th business day before the election.

☀️Voting early? Early voting starts today and goes through 8.28. Share this calendar with a friend and make sure they have a plan!

🗳️Voting on election day? Double check your polling location at sec.state.ma.us ‼️

Still deciding? Head to electpaul.org. I’d be really grateful for your support.

To say that I am honored to have his endorsement is an understatement. Thank you, Carl, for your words, and for the impact you’ve made on me, and in Massachusetts.

I worked on Carl Sciortino's first campaign for state representative — the same seat I'm running for today. Carl was a 26-year-old openly gay challenger taking on a 16-year incumbent who had voted to put a marriage ban into the Massachusetts constitution.

Carl won by 93 votes. That race, in Medford and Somerville, was part of stopping the amendment from ever reaching the ballot. I learned then that marriage equality in Massachusetts wasn't held by court decisions alone — it was held seat-by-seat, in places like ours.

Teachers support my campaign - that is not dark money.

Dark money spent on elections by corporations and wealthy donors is a scourge in our politics. I signed the Somerville Democratic City Committee’s People’s Pledge because I want to stop corporations from buying politicians and laws that benefit them.

I never expected that the SDCC would use this pledge to try to silence our public school teachers and their unions. I’m grateful to have the endorsement of the Massachusetts Teachers Association to be the next State Representative for the 34th Middlesex.

The MTA independently chose to send voters mail and digital ads saying why they think I’m the best candidate for our kids, our teachers, and our schools. This is not dark money. This is our teachers making their voices heard.

Equivocating an organization whose funding comes from small-dollar donations and union dues and an organization like AIPAC or the NRA is a fallacy - especially when the SDCC had not explicitly defined their terms within the resolution.

I would never sign a pledge if I thought it meant that our teachers or any labor union has to stay silent in this election.

I categorically rebuke any effort by corporations and anonymous donors to spend dark money in this race, and I support repealing Citizens United and passing laws at the state level to get corporate and billionaire money out of our elections.

On August 17th, I asked the SDCC to clarify whether they think transparent labor union independent expenditures should be treatedthe same as the secret developer and business lobby spending this pledge was created to discourage - I did not announce I sought to break the pledge or refuse anything.

As of August 21st, the SDCC has not responded to my question andhas since falsely and grossly mischaracterized my response in the press.

That is the kind of inside baseball the pledge was supposed to stand against, and I still do.

Thankful for neighbors like Colette who have given their life to public service and fight to hold our legislators’ feet to the fire. I’ll be sure to always do the same - you can bet on that.

Thank you Medford for Palestine for spending your Sunday with us. Your advocacy and conversations make the difference every day - and in this election.

We’re just 16 days away! Have a voting plan yet?

Voting by mail? Return them as soon as possible!

Need to drop off a vote by mail application? It must reach your local election officials by 5 p.m. on the 5th business day before the election.

Voting early? Voting starts in both Somerville and Medford August 22nd! Check the respective city websites for more information.

Voting on election day? Make your plan ASAP!

Still deciding? Head to electpaul.org

Lovely night canvassing across Somerville and Medford last night before the Safe Medford forum! Thank you all for organizing and for asking such detailed questions!