My name is John May. I live in Franklin Massachusetts with wife, Laura. We have two sons, Frank & Greg, who are students at UMass Amherst. A few years ago, I voted Republican and only Republican. I bought into the idea of the Reagan revolution. A series of events in my personal life illustrated the fallacy of Reaganomics and the realization that government is not my enemy. I learned that good government is vital to us all, especially those of us in the middle class. In 2008, for the first time in many years, I voted for Barack Obama. I lost a lot of my Republican friends over that. After years of indoctrination about what Democrats were supposed to be like, I was reluctant to get more involved with them, but I did volunteer to canvas and phone bank for Jim McGovern. At that time I was (and remain) concerned about the Tea Party and its extremist nature and I wanted to make certain that Jim was not replaced by his Tea Party opponent.

While volunteering on the McGovern campaign, I met many Democrats from Franklin as I started to attend committee meetings with them and the Democrat MNW Alliance organized by Paul Yorkis. I was still not a registered Democrat. On the day that Elizabeth Warren announced her candidacy, I decided to change my voter registration to Democrat. I have since become very active with our local town committee. Jeff Roy has done a remarkable job at boosting membership, attendance and encouraging us all to get involved. On that note, I was proud and honored to be nominated and elected as a delegate to the state convention.

Attending the convention just confirmed my discovery of who Democrats are and what we stand for. I had a wonderful time, met truly nice people, and heard some great speeches. Someone from the Warren campaign asked if I would stand behind Elizabeth during her press conference after the convention and I was happy to oblige. After that, I was asked if I would speak with a reporter about my reason for being at the convention and supporting Elizabeth Warren; again, it was my pleasure to help.

There’s a lot of work ahead for all of us, but I cannot think of a better cause, or nicer people to work with.

Thank you!

John May

Franklin Massachusetts

2

My name is Patrick Tai. I am a volunteer for Elizabeth Warren as well as for President Obama. I am 66 years old. This is the first time in my life I did any political activities; so I am all novice. I live in Cambridge and my EW team leaders are Elizabeth Kline and Ginger Ryan (ward 7).

I was very surprised that I was selected as a delegate (Minority add-on). I was very excited to join other veteran delegates on the train. I was so happy to talk with Warren herself (whom I have met a couple of times) and met her family.

The Convention itself was a blast. I was very excited, and the results were better than I had hoped for. It was definitely a very good experience for me.

戴振梁

Patrick Tai

3

Governor Patrick’s speech and the congressmen’s (Neal, Keating, Markey, and McGovern) tributes to Barney Frank and John Olver made me proud of my party. I enjoyed getting info from the exhibit booths and talking with delegates from various districts (most of whom I knew beforehand). Warren’s victory eliminating a contested primary election made the trip worthwhile.

Stan Zoll

4

The 2012 Democratic State Convention was my 1st convention, I was excited to attend and represent my neighborhood. I awoke at 5:24 AM on Saturday too excited to sleep albeit a bit groggy from the Friday night parties. Meeting Elizabeth Warren Friday night at Smith’s Billiards and listening to her passionate speech as she stood on top of a pool table, riling up an already jubilant crowd is an image I will always remember. Meeting elected officials on Saturday morning and the senate candidates, listening to the passionate speeches, mingling with the crowds and the excitement of nominating a woman to be the US Senator was all exhilarating. Being part of the process that nominated a candidate to represent the Democrat Party was an amazing feeling , participating in the process that makes this the greatest country on earth made the trip to Springfield worthwhile. From my time of arrival in Springfield to the closing of the convention, I stayed to the absolute end, I had a great time, it lived up to my expectations.
Don Ingerson
City of Lynn, 4th Ward, 4th Precinct

5

I was very happy to vote for Elizabeth Warren at the convention. Nobody in the party had to tell me to vote for Elizabeth Warren. I voted for her because she supports and can be a strong advocate for my values. The news media really got it wrong in assessing why Elizabeth Warren won by such a huge margin. Being there to see how wrongthe press could get it, is a needed reminder of how little thepress really understands politics. Many in the media think of this as a game. Whereas the delegates knew this was serious business that affects the lives of the people of the Commonwealth.
-Steven Greenberg