About the Ward 4 Dems
The Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee is the hub for Democratic activism and engagement in Boston's Ward 4, which spans parts of the neighborhoods of Back Bay, Fenway, and the South End.
With a core message of advancing the progressive policy initiatives of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, our committee plays a vital role in promoting economic and social justice, leadership accountability, and broad community involvement.
We offer opportunities for local Democrats to hear from electeds and candidates, learn about and advocate for progressive policy, and work to elect strong Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. We believe that civic engagement should be informative, welcoming, and, of course, fun.
Join us to see grassroots democracy in action. Our meetings on the third Tuesdays of the month are open to all.
Our Members
Members are invited to join these subcommittees:
* Ward 4 Scholarship Program Subcommittee
As well, the Ward 4 Executive Board includes the elected Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Outreach Officer.
Ward 4 Members
Amelia Aubourg
Shaina Aubourg
Gary Bailey
Mary Ann Brogan
Harold Brogan
Robyn Casper
Andrew Carter, Secretary
Jonathan Cohn, Chair
Beata Coloyan
Nina Garfinkle
Lisa Graf
Renee Harmon
Ryan Hatcher, Treasurer
Haroon Khan
David King
Carol Lasky, Vice Chair
Ed LeMay
Sandra Lipson
Tim Mahoney
Suzie McGlone
Margaret McKenna
Andrea Olmstead
Sheneal Parker
Anne Renehan
Ruth Rothstein
Jacqueline Royce
Benjamin Siegel
Jane Siegel
Janet Slovin
Don Steinberg
Kimberly Vermeer
Jacob Wessel
Chayla White, Outreach Director
Grant Young
Twenty-Year Members
Jovita Fontanez
Daniel Ocasio
Bryon Rushing
Associate Members
Lynn Foster
Marie Huhta
Kamala Jones
Marleen Nienhuis
Karen Pressman
Our Programs
The Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee holds monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of the month. Our agendas feature electeds, candidates, and policy advocates. We provide an opportunity for residents of the community to learn more about upcoming elections, engage with their elected representatives, and deepen their knowledge of local, state, and national issues and how to take action on them.
We regularly host candidate forums to increase voter education around major elections. View some of our recent candidate forums.
Check out our speaker archive.
Ward 4 at Work
Annual Ice Cream Social
Holiday Party
Jonathan Cohn
Candidates Forum
Candidate Endorsement
Voter Registration
David King
Monthly Meeting
Boston Ward 4 Twitter Feed
As we are approaching the end of the current legislative session, we are asking for your help to pass critical child care legislation! Use this link to email your state legislators, urging them to pass H.4795/S.2883 by July 31! https://bit.ly/cmtebill #mapoli #MARunsOnChildcare
@Ward4Dems @bostonward10 @BostonWard18DC Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/candidate-forum-the-races-for-suffolk-county-district-attorney-and-sheriff-tickets-347444384507
Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday!
@bostonward5dems
@bostonward10
Boston Ward 17 Dems
@BostonWard18DC
#mapoli #bospoli
Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee
Immigration Justice Resolution (January 2020)
WHEREAS the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda has had a chilling effect on immigrant communities around the country, threatening the ability of both documented and undocumented immigrants to exist in public space;
WHEREAS state and local law enforcement are not being paid to act as federal immigration agents, and should not be tasked with such work;
WHEREAS basic constitutional rights should be granted to all, regardless of immigration status;
WHEREAS the immigrant population of Boston and Massachusetts contributes to the city and commonwealth’s economic, social, and cultural vitality;
WHEREAS welcoming people of all backgrounds is a core Democratic Party principle;
WHEREAS undocumented immigrants should be able to fully exist in public space as members of the community;
WHEREAS preventing state and local law enforcement from acting as immigration agents, and removing immigration status as a requirement for obtaining a driver’s license, enhance true public safety for all residents of the city and the commonwealth;
WHEREAS the 2017 Massachusetts Democratic Party platform affirms support for “eliminating policies that make local and state officials responsible for the enforcement of national immigration laws” and for “testing and providing drivers licenses to all of-age residents regardless of immigration status”;
WHEREAS it would be a moral stain on our Commonwealth if in the four years of the Trump presidency, our State Legislature passed no laws to protect hte rights of our immigrant community;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED that the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee calls on all of its state legislators to support the Safe Communities Act (S.1401/H.3573) and the Work and Family Mobility Act (S.2061/H.3012) and to advocate for their swift passage this legislative session.
Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee
Climate Action Resolution
WHEREAS, the consensus among the scientific community is clear that global warming is occurring now and that human activity is a dominant driver;
WHEREAS, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made it clear that the new decade remains humanity’s last real chance to prevent climate chaos;
WHEREAS, average temperature records continue to be broken month after month and year after year, and those under age 32 have never experienced a month of below average temperature;
WHEREAS, the United States and 194 other countries promised to reduce their carbon output “as soon as possible” and to do their best to keep global warming “to well below 2 degrees C” in the 2015 Paris Agreement;
WHEREAS, the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s 2017 platform calls for “aggressive action to prevent and mitigate the effects of climate change and protect our environment” and “in wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels”;
WHEREAS, Massachusetts has not passed comprehensive climate legislation since the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, despite the worsening of climate change in the decade since;
WHEREAS, states like New York and California have taken the lead on passing comprehensive climate legislation;
WHEREAS Massachusetts’s US senator Ed Markey has led the call for a Green New Deal that recognizes the urgency of the climate crisis and the economy-wide transformation it demands;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED that the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee calls on our state legislators to advocate for bold and comprehensive climate legislation, including—but not limited to—creating a detailed plan for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045 (and electricity by 2035), putting a tax on carbon emissions to fund green investment across the state, increasing investments in public transportation, and other steps to rapidly decarbonize our economy in a sustainable, equitable, and just fashion.
Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee
Reproductive Justice Resolution
WHEREAS, on January 22, 1973, in a historic and landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the U.S. Constitution safeguards a woman's ability to make her own personal medical decisions about when or whether to have children, as grounded in "the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy, including a woman's qualified right to terminate her pregnancy;" and
WHEREAS, this right has been affirmed in subsequent Supreme Court cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016); and
WHEREAS, the Trump-Pence administration’s repeated attacks on, and stated desire to restrict access to, abortion and other reproductive health care have given states across the United States a green light to pass unconstitutional barriers to safe and legal abortion; and
WHEREAS, many states including Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, and Missouri have, in direct conflict with Supreme Court precedent, recently passed laws that ban or restrict access to legal and safe abortions, and similar measures have been proposed in several more states; and
WHEREAS, with the appointment last year of Justice Brett Kavanaugh tipping the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of restricting abortion, these state laws are additionally intended to serve as test cases for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and effectively restrict or eliminate access to legal and safe abortions across the United States; and
WHEREAS reproductive health, including abortion, is a vital component of overall health, and health care is recognized as a fundamental human right; and
WHEREAS, an individual’s freedom to make reproductive decisions is vital to their safety, well-being, economic opportunity, and ability to participate equally in society; and
WHEREAS, The Massachusetts Legislature is currently considering S.1209 and H.3320, also known as the “ROE Act”, which would remove medically unnecessary abortion restrictions and inflammatory language from Massachusetts law, ensure that a pregnant person can access abortion care after 24 weeks of pregnancy in the case of a fatal fetal diagnosis, and improve a young person’s ability to receive trained support and safely access abortion care.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee calls on the state legislators representing Ward 4 in the MA House and MA Senate to support the ROE Act and ensure its swift passage.
Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee
Voting Access Resolution
WHEREAS, voter turnout in Boston for the 2016 Presidential election was about 66%, and turnout is typically substantially lower in other state and local elections;
WHEREAS, state and city government have the power to enact laws and procedures for elections that surpass existing federal and state voter accessibility standards, that encourage increased voter participation, that create more accountable representation, that uphold voting rights, and that promote greater awareness of our political process through civic education;
WHEREAS, other states have already adopted progressive policies aimed at enhancing voter access and civic participation including, but not limited to, same-day voter registration and early voting for all elections;
WHEREAS, New Hampshire, for example, has adopted same-day registration, which was critical to the success of Democratic candidates in the 216 Presidential and U.S. Senate elections in New Hampshire;
WHEREAS, many other states, meanwhile, have adopted policies aimed at suppressing voter access and civic participation, a trend which is likely to continue while Republicans control most state legislatures and governorships;
WHEREAS, Massachusetts has long been a progressive national leader in areas such as marriage equality, universal health care, and common sense gun control, yet remains behind other states in terms of voter access policy; and
WHEREAS, it is important that Massachusetts serve as a counterweight to the increasingly conservative and cynical political climate in other states and federally.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED that the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee:
- Urges the elected officials representing Boston Ward 4 including, but not limited to, State Representatives, State Senators, City Councilors, the Mayor of Boston, and Democratic State Committee Members, to support, promote, and seek the adoption of legislation and public policies providing for expanded voter access and civic participation both in Boston and across Massachusetts including, but not limited to, same-day registration and early voting for all elections; and
- Urges its members to speak with family, friends, neighbors, and other activists about the importance of voter access and to urge those individuals to contact their local elected officials to support policies providing for expanded voter access and civic participation including, but not limited to, same-day registration and early voting for all elections.
