LETTER: ShhAir Leaders Support Barrett for State Senate
Three leaders of the grassroots citizens' organization, speaking for themselves, support Lexington Democrat Mike Barrett in the race to replace retiring state Sen. Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, in the Third Middlesex District.
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To the Editor,
We were surprised to learn that the president of Cape Air commuter airlines has become involved in our 3rd Middlesex District State Senate race by endorsing Mara Dolan of Concord. Dan Wolf is a state senator from the Cape who also leads Cape Air, a commuter airline serving the Boston area and the Cape and Islands.
As leaders of the grassroots citizens’ organization ShhAir, we have spent many years fighting to contain expansion of aviation at Hanscom Field, and have worked especially hard to keep commuter airlines, with their many negative environmental impacts, out of this airport. Our work has benefited from the full support of our state legislators and congressional delegation.
We would be concerned about having a state senator who had accepted an endorsement from the head of a local commuter airline.
By contrast, candidate Mike Barrett of Lexington has spent the last 15 years working on Hanscom expansion issues together with citizens, our local officials and state delegation, and the historical preservation community. There is no question about his commitment to, and knowledge about, keeping Hanscom a sustainable airport in our midst.
Margaret Coppe, Barrymeade Drive, Lexington
Lori Eggert, Bonnievale Drive, Bedford
Kay Tiffany, Reed Street, Lexington
Mara Dolan
2:39 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
I am opposed to expansion of aviation at Hanscom Civilian Airport and I am an ardent supporter of the preservation of the natural and historic resources that are impacted by the facility. Cape Air has never run flights at Hanscom, and is not interested in doing so. Cape Air recently received an award from the Environmental Protection Agency for its environmental protection policies. Sen. Dan Wolf is a great Progressive and one of the Massachusetts State Senate's leading environmentalists. I am very proud to have his endorsement. I have said from the beginning of this campaign that I'll let voters know where I stand on issues, and that I'll leave it up to the other candidates to do the same. If anyone has any questions about where I stand, I'd love to hear from them. Please write to me at Mara@MaraDolan.com. All the best, Mara Dolan
Lily Barrett
9:45 am on Thursday, June 21, 2012
From Francine Stieglitz's letter to the editor, published today in the Lexington Minuteman:
"At last week's candidate debate in Waltham, Mara spoke proudly about the endorsement and said Dan Wolf has assured her he has never considered bringing regular operations to Hanscom.
"However, the facts show otherwise. In the spring of 2001 articles in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald reported his company's active interest in providing passenger flights to and from Hanscom. Under the headline 'New Flight Seeks to Take Off from Hanscom,' the Globe reporter writes: 'Further enlivening things is the revelation that Cape Air-Nantucket Airlines, based in Hyannis, is considering seeking approval to compete with PanAm at Hanscom on service to Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.' And, yes, Mr. Wolf was CEO at the time.
"Susan Fargo, our retiring state senator, well understands the need to fight expansion of Massport's Hanscom Field, in cooperation with other members of the state delegation. Mike Barrett, my candidate to succeed Susan Fargo, has a long track record of fighting Hanscom expansion and clearly agrees with Susan."