Melrose Fire Fighters endorse Katherine Clark for Congress

MALDEN – Katherine Clark earned the backing of the Executive Board of International Association of Fire Fighters Melrose Local 1617 in her campaign for Congress. Katherine earned the endorsement because she will stand up to the extremists who have shut down our government and focus on the issues families talk about around their kitchen tables: securing pay equity, investing in education and reducing gun violence in our communities.

"Katherine gets our job and she understands what's important to working families," IAFF Melrose Local 1617 President Dan White said. "We're supporting Katherine to go to Washington because we know she'll focus on the issues that really matter to middle-class families and our communities."

Over the last month, Republican extremists have fought to take food out of the mouths of hungry children, attempted to stop 30 million Americans from getting health insurance, and attacked women’s rights in the course of shutting down the government. In Congress, Katherine will take action to get Congress to return to prioritizing families as they work to cover health care costs, pay for college educations, and save for retirement.

“I’m honored to have the support of Melrose Fire Fighters, who are such an integral part of our community,” Clark said. “Every day, they safeguard our city and look out for our residents. In Congress, I’ll join them in fighting for Melrose and all of the 24 cities and towns in the Fifth Congressional District.”

Katherine has been endorsed by EMILY’s List, the Women's Campaign Fund, Attorney General Martha Coakley, Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan, former State Senator Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, State Rep. Marjorie Decker, D-Cambridge, and State Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose. She also has the backing of the Melrose Democratic City Committee, the Winchester Democratic Town Committee, APWU Local 100, IBEW Local 2222, IBEW Local 2321, the United Steelworkers Union Local 12012, Ironworkers Local 7, NAGE/IBPO/SEIU Local 5000, Teamsters Local 25, and the IBEW Local 123.

About State Senator Katherine Clark
Katherine Clark is a Democratic candidate for Congress in the Massachusetts Fifth Congressional District. Katherine was sworn in for her second term as a Massachusetts state senator representing Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield and Winchester on January 2, 2013. She was first elected in March 2008 to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Senator Clark serves as the Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. She also serves on the Joint Committees on Public Health and Public Safety and Homeland Security. Senator Clark is a member of the Advisory Council for the Department of Early Education and Care. In 2011, Senator Clark was appointed to the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy Advisory Board at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Katherine and her husband Rodney are raising their three school-age boys in Melrose.