Senior Taylor Barnard recently pulled nomination papers and is considering a run for the seat of Carl Sciortino (LA '00) in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Sciortino announced last week that he will be vacating his seat to become executive director of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts.
"I have sat down and spoken with Carl, and I had a great conversation with him, and that definitely made me excited to think about the prospect," Barnard said. " ... Right now, I'm just strongly considering it, talking with folks, seeing what things will shape up like. In terms of when I will make a decision - a final public decision - I think you'll probably see that come out within a week or so."
Barnard, who previously served as the President of the College Democrats of Massachusetts, is currently serving as President of the College Democrats of America. In order to get on the ballot, Barnard needs to file nomination papers with 150 signatures.
"We will start gathering signatures on campus fairly soon," he said. "I'm trying to focus as much as possible on getting signatures and support off campus because I think that is certainly an important part of the decision process."
The 34th Middlesex District in which Barnard would run is comprised of parts of both Somerville and Medford, and includes much of the Tufts campus.
"I hope that Tufts students would be excited about the prospect of someone from the school running on their behalf, as well as speaking with folks in the community about representing the community," Barnard said. "I think it's important to bridge between the two because the district is Medford and Somerville, and it is important to work with the community."
Sam Kelly, the Tufts Democrats campaign coordinator, explained that his organization would be supportive of Barnard if he chooses to run.
"Our plan is to continue registering voters, which we do throughout the year, encouraging them to sign so Taylor can get on the ballot, and if Taylor decides to run, we will strongly encourage our members to consider volunteering for him," Kelly, a junior, told the Daily in an email. "Tufts Democrats would be working alongside members of the Somerville / Medford community canvassing, phone banking and [doing] whatever else the campaign needs to succeed."
According to Kelly, the district is heavily Democratic, and the Sept. 9 primary will be the most competitive part of the cycle.
"Given that the primary is very early in September, a lot of this work would happen independently over the summer," Kelly said. "... Tufts traditionally has [had] extremely poor participation in the Massachusetts primaries - our precinct is actually the worst in the district in turnout. Our hope is that if Taylor runs, we will be able to mobilize the campus in a way that hasn't been done before for a local primary."
Barnard commended Sciortino's progressive work and said he would seek to maintain Sciortino's legacy.
"Carl has had an amazing progressive legacy, everything from when he first jumped into the legislature, right off the bat advocating for gay rights and the marriage debate ... He's continued that fight on behalf of women, on behalf of the LGBT community, here in this community working on the Green Line extension and spent a lot of time working on education, both K through 12 and access to higher education," Barnard said. "That's something I hold near and dear to my heart and believe that my own personal story is something that will resonate with the community around Tufts."
Regardless of his decision, Barnard believes the community needs a strong leader.
"I think that no matter what happens in this race, the next representative needs to follow in Carl's footsteps," he said. "He has been an amazing progressive advocate, and I think that's what this area needs and what the state needs."
