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Anna Callahan
Anna Callahan (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives to represent the 34th Middlesex District. She lost in the Democratic primary on September 1, 2020.
Callahan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2020
See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 34th Middlesex District
Incumbent Christine Barber won election in the general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 34th Middlesex District on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Christine Barber (D) | 98.6 | 17,668 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.4 | 259 | ||
| Total votes: 17,927 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 34th Middlesex District
Incumbent Christine Barber defeated Anna Callahan in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 34th Middlesex District on September 1, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christine Barber | 58.0 | 6,051 |
 | Anna Callahan | 41.9 | 4,370 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 16 | ||
| Total votes: 10,437 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Anna Callahan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Callahan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am running to lead the fight for good government and transparency in the State House, champion a Massachusetts Green New Deal, and change the conservation around housing as a human right. Not only will these be legislative priorities, but I plan to build coalitions and grassroots movements around these issues.
In 2016 (while living briefly on the west coast) I helped elect a slate of candidates for both city council and mayor in Berkeley, CA, as well as a public financing of elections ballot measure. I was appointed to the Open Government and Fair Campaign Practices Commissions where I helped finalize and implement those laws. I then founded The Incorruptibles and worked with Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, union organizer Jane McAlevey, and others to create workshops that empower people to achieve bold progressive change through movement-building local electoral work. I have trained people in dozens of cities in person, and many more online.
I served on the board of Mass Alliance for over a year. I run a podcast on state politics, Incorruptible Massachusetts, where I interview some of the most progressive State Reps, as well as organizations involved in the progressive movement.
- We need more than progressive values from our state rep; we need progressive action. Transparency is the #1 reason why we cannot get progressive policy passed through the Massachusetts State House. On most bills, there is no way for people to know how their own state rep is voting, so they cannot hold them accountable.
- The Massachusetts State House has rules, financial incentives, and a culture that breeds an undemocratic concentration of power in the hands of the Speaker. State reps should be accountable to their constituents, not the Speaker. The constituents of the 34th Middlesex deserve a representative who will fight for them and their values; not play politics and contribute to a system of corrupt inaction.
- We will not get bold action on climate change, single-payer health care, or criminal justice reform without getting a lot more people engaged in politics. Elected officials have a duty to seek out communities who are disengaged, going to them and not waiting for them to come to office hours, and empowering them to take action in bringing about the change we all want. We must build coalitions of under-served communities.
The Massachusetts State House is rated very poorly on good government. Transparency is a basic necessity of good government that allows us to hold elected officials accountable. We must make all votes public, allow legislators and constituents enough time to read and mobilize around bills, and reign in the power of the Speaker so that popular bills can move forward.
Climate Action: Every time we turn around, scientists say they got it wrong - climate change is even worse than we thought. We must take urgent action, and residents of MA are ready. However, our legislature cannot even commit to 100% renewables by 2050 because of the power the Speaker has in the State House.
Criminal Justice Overhaul: Massachusetts can lead the nation in moving toward restorative justice, with a goal of healing communities not punishment for punishment's sake. I will work with members of the Black community and other communities of color to push forward the legislation most important to them.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
