Thursday, March 19, 2015

Vote for Hannah Kane for State Representative


She is running in the 153rd District in the Massachusetts State House.  This is part of the State Legislature, the part of our state government that passes laws and hopes that the Governor will sign those laws.

This is a map of the House districts in our state.

This is an enlargement of the 153rd district, colored purple in this map.

It includes all of Shrewsbury and Precincts 4 and 5 in Westborough (about half of that town).

The election date is March 31, 2015.


This is a special election.  Matt Beaton, who was the State Representative for that district is now working in a different part of the state government, so the seat is currently vacant.

She hosted a nice going-away party for him last December.  The following two paragraphs and the photo were all copied from this undated article in the Shrewsbury Lantern.

 Candidate for State Representative Hannah Kane will hold a farewell and thank you to outgoing State Representative Matt Beaton from 7-9pm on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at the Italian American Victory Club, 26 Dewey Road, Shrewsbury.

All are welcome to wish Matt Beaton well in his new position as Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs for the Commonwealth.

Link to the website of The Governor's Secretary for Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Matthew A. Beaton is in charge of this important state agency now.


She has been active in the community for many years

This a photo of her at the Shrewsbury Garden Party in June 2011, copied from this undated article about the event in the Shrewsbury Lantern.

The man next to her is Peter Blute.  He was a U.S. Representative for two terms, from 1993-97, and he ran for re-election a third time, but he was defeated by Democrat James McGovern in November 1996.

Peter was later named the Deputy Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party.

Link to the page on her campaign website that shows her professional achievements.  There are many examples of executive experience that would help any member of the State Legislature perform his or her professional duties.

June 5, 2016 update. On the date that this essay was published, her campaign website was active, but now that she has won her race and is now a Massachusetts State Representative, this campaign website is no longer active, but she is now using a different website.

Link to her new website.

Her Twitter account is @HannahEKaneMA


The Shrewsbury Garden Club isn't just a social event

It's a fundraiser for local groups that need the money. These two paragraphs and the photo were copied from another article in the Lantern, written after the 2011 event emceed by Peter Blute.

The Shrewsbury School Committee was honored to welcome to last nights meeting, Heather Logrippo, and Hannah Kane, representing the many members of the Shrewsbury Garden Party Committee in attendance, who presented the School Department with a check for $25,000.  These funds are raised from the fantastic annual Garden Party event, held each year in mid-June, which in three short years has become a part of the very fabric of Shrewsbury.


This years event, emceed by Shrewsbury’s own Peter Blute, was held in the gorgeous gardens of the Fallon Home in Shrewsbury center, and attracted hundreds of Shrewsbury residents, along with countless generous sponsors and a plethora of some of the best silent auction items ever compiled in one place.  This was the third year of the event, and the second year in a row in which $25,000 was raised to benefit the students of Shrewsbury.

Look closely at the two women in the photo above. They both have warm smiles on their faces, they both have comfortable, casual body language, and they're both sitting close to each other, without any awkwardness or stiff poses.

These two women have known each other as friends for a long time.  The photo proves it.


The qualities of a good fundraiser

Raising this much money for local schools requires a person to have certain qualities, all of which will enable Hannah to be an effective State Representative.  She had to help organize the event weeks in advance, including making sure that her schedule allowed her to be there, rain or shine.

She had to be friendly enough to ask for donations and friendly to everyone who gave a donation.  She had to be honest enough to make sure that the donated money was all delivered to the school department, and she had to keep good records so that all of this money could be accounted for.


Some of the organizations that have endorsed her

Link to the page on her campaign website that a copy of all of these endorsement letters.


The issues that she cares about

These three paragraphs were copied directly from the priorities page of her campaign website, the best place to find any candidate's list of issues.
The key issues of my campaign will be applying a tourniquet on unfunded mandates, restoring and improving state aid to cities and towns, improving care for our most vulnerable without stripping their dignity and reversing regulations that stymie growth.

As a small business owner, I see daily the challenges and roadblocks that prevent economic growth, allowing me to bring that perspective to State government. We cannot continue on the path of obstruction.

I am prepared to be a voice of reason on Beacon Hill, and am willing to hear all sides of the issues, compromise with others who may not share my point of view, and work to make progress every step of the way.


There's a refreshing freshness and honesty in her campaign

Listen to her, in the following YouTube video, announcing the beginning of the campaign.  I see and hear an unusual combination of inexperience as a public speaker combined with a lot of experience being a valued member of a community of friends.

People who are State Representatives can learn how to give speeches in committee rooms and at the podium inside the Legislative Chamber of the Massachusetts State House.  State Representatives do need to be able to relate well to a wide variety of other people.

She has already given talks to large groups, but she's obviously not as experienced in this area as some other people are, people who have been working as legislators for many years.

During the announcement of the beginning of her campaign, she makes eye contact with her audience instead of staring into the video camera.  She has the vital quality of being a friend, even when she knows that she will be speaking to a large online audience.

I like what I see.  You will, too.


The official announcement of her candidacy

Link to the announcement that was printed January 15, 2015 in the Worcester Telegram.


At the beginning of her 15-minute remarks, a woman walks behind her, moving some helium balloons out of the camera's viewpoint.  An experienced public speaker would have had this done before she began speaking.

Hannah doesn't put the microphone right in front of her mouth.  This reduces the volume of her voice a bit, and it distorts the sound of her voice a bit, but again, I get the impression that she is more used to talking one-on-one with friends and relatives, or as part of a small group.

She isn't wearing a Hillary-style pantsuit or a professional woman's suit that includes a matching jacket and slacks.  On the day that she decided to make this very important announcement, she wore clothes that I might expect her to wear on any other day of the year.  That tells me that she still considers herself a member of the same family that wants her to run for public office, a member of the same group of friends who want her to run for office, and a member of the same organizations that want her to run for office.

She mentions her husband and three children in the first minute of the video.  There is a softness in her voice when she talks about them that tells me that she loves all of them very much.

She mentions her parents at the end of her second minute of the video, and she looks right at them when she mentions them.  They also mean a lot to her.

Her audience, judging by the sound of their applause, is seated very close to her, indicating that they are her friends and neighbors and that, because she knows them very well, she is comfortable having them near her when she makes announcements.  Whenever she hears applause, she patiently waits for them to finish before she speaks again, reinforcing her respect for them.

Her body language, while she speaks, visually and in the tone of her voice, shows humility and modesty.  She is clearly appreciative of the many friends she has, who have all worked hard to help her prepare for that moment.

This woman deserves to be a State Representative.  Please vote for her.


November 25, 2016 update

Hannah didn't have a Republican opponent in the primary election that was held on September 8, and she didn't have a Democrat opponent in the general election that was held on November 8, so she is still the State Representative in the 11th Worcester District.  Link to her page on the Ballotpedia website.


July 12, 2018 update

The Hannnah Kane Charity Classic is an annual golf tournament that benefits the Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services.  The link above has the final financial results, which are reproduced here.

In its' first year (August 2015), the event raised $45,000 for this charity.

In August 2016, they raised $51,000, and in August 2017, they raised $54,000.  The photo on the right was taken at the end of the 2016 event.  The photo below shows the 2017 results.


Tweets written by her or about her

Note: Some of these tweets mention an effort to build a new school.














November 19, 2018 update

This half-hour video, uploaded on October 12, 2018, shows a round-table discussion of local issues, including a new school.  This discussion was hosted by State Representative Hannah Kane.

Link to a September 6, 2018 news story in the Shrewsbury Post.  She had just won a primary election.

Because no Democrat ran against her, she will be reelected.



August 21, 2019 update

I found another video of Massachusetts State Representative Hannah Kane.

This one shows her, sitting at her desk in her statehouse office, talking about legislation that deals with rare diseases.

Her Twitter account is @HannahEKaneMA  Link to her Facebook page.
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