Hamilton Transcends Partisan Divide In Norfolk Commissioner Race

Press release from the campaign of Heather Hamilton for County Commissioner:

Oct. 7, 2020

Brookline Select Board Vice Chair and independent Commissioner candidate Heather Hamilton began her campaign for County office with a mission: cut through the partisan divide and engage Norfolk County voters of all stripes on how to make County government better.

Six months into the race, she’s already achieved that goal. “Win or lose, I’m proud to say that we’ve held signs all over the district and had meaningful dialogue with both voters and elected officials regardless of party affiliation throughout the County. We are truly the only countywide campaign in the race,” Hamilton said.

She added that she designed her platform of sustainability, accountability, transparency, and representation from the feedback she’s heard from Norfolk County voters. Specifically, this means making improvements like publishing accurate revenue numbers for the Presidents Golf Course, fully staffing the County’s engineering department, and wielding her platform to advocate for issues such as fighting the Weymouth compressor station and the Commissioners’ quiet effort to circumvent community concerns about a solar project in Walpole.

However, the campaign hasn’t just cultivated discussion on County policy. It’s brought people together. “My favorite story is from a few weeks ago. I grouped two volunteers from different towns who had never met before to stand out in Millis. A week later, I found a photo in my inbox of the two of them in Medway doing a standout I hadn’t even planned! They became fast friends, and they’ll be visiting towns in the area every weekend until Election Day!”

Standing out hasn’t been Hamilton’s only way of engaging voters offline. Three weeks ago, she held what may be a first for a Norfolk County race, a socially distant concert at the Hamilton Bar in Brookline. Hamilton’s sister, a wedding singer, sang dozens of classics on a warm Saturday afternoon to raise money for and awareness of her sister’s campaign.

“I didn’t think we would have any in-person events at all, much less a concert! We saw Democrats, independents, and Republicans turn out. Some had no prior familiarity with the office, but all came away able to say they had two rare experiences: attending a concert during the pandemic and participating politically without reinforcing the divide,” Hamilton said about the event. She added that there will be another concert at the Hamilton Bar from 1-3 PM on October 17.

Win or lose, Hamilton’s campaign harkens back to a style from another time, where someone who identifies as a public servant first and a politician second runs a campaign to listen to all voters and refrains from stoking the partisan divide.

For more on Heather’s biography and policy proposals, please visit her website, HeatherHamilton.org.

This press release was produced by the campaign of Heather Hamilton for County Commissioner. The views expressed here are the author's own.