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 Needham TimesNeedham's Orozco kicks off Senate campaign By Christine Hall Tue Jul 01, 2008, 01:10 PM EDT READ ONLINE READ TEXT July 10, 2008 READ ONLINE READ TEXT by Virginia Gomez July 3, 2008 READ ONLINE by Laura Kiritsy, Editor-in-chief July 2, 2008 READ ONLINE By Kathryn Connelly June 29, 2008 READ TEXT (pdf) in Needham, Attleboro June 29, 2008 READ TEXT to kick off campaign June 26, 2008 READ TEXT June 26, 2008 READ ONLINE READ TEXT May 12, 2008 READ ONLINE READ TEXT May 06, 2008 @ 07:36 PM READ TEXT (pdf) Orozco has submitted 943 signatures, more than three-times the number needed to secure a spot in the state Senate race in her Mass. district May 07, 2008 READ TEXT May 5, 2008 READ TEXT April 1, 2008 READ TEXT Wed Feb 27, 2008, 09:19 AM EST READ ONLINE READ TEXT (pdf) By Heather McCarron Tue Feb 26, 2008, 10:51 AM EST READ ONLINE READ TEXT (pdf) By Steven Ryan Wed Mar 05, 2008, 02:07 PM EST READ ONLINE READ TEXT (pdf) by Laura Kiritsy, Editor-in-chief Thursday Mar 6, 2008 READ ONLINE READ TEXT (pdf) by Laura Kiritsy Editor-in-chief Saturday Mar 1, 2008 READ ONLINE READ TEXT (pdf) BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Monday, February 25, 2008 11:49 PM EST READ ONLINE READ TEXT (pdf) By Heather McCarron/Daily News staff Posted Feb 25, 2008 @ 09:19 PM READ ONLINE READ TEXT (pdf) Bristol and Middlesex State Senate Seat READ TEXT Needham Times
On Saturday, I attended a wonderful campaign kick-off event on the Town Common for Needham resident, Sara Orozco, a highly qualified
Democrat running to represent Needham and 11 other communities in the Massachusetts State Senate. I was so impressed and inspired by
our long-time State Rep. Lida Harkins, who introduced Sara and publicly endorsed her candidacy. Rep. Harkins both welcomed a relative
newcomer to the world of Massachusetts politics, and reminded us of the embarrassing gender imbalance on Beacon Hill and the need to elect
more women. It was a classy and powerful message for the many young girls that were there with their parents, including my own two
daughters. Needham residents will be lucky to have both Lida and Sara representing them at the State House in 2009 Rachel Busby, Paul Revere Road
A crowd gathered in front of the Needham Town Hall Saturday morning as Needham resident Sara Orozco announced her campaign for the
Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District seat in the state Senate. As the only Democrat in the race, Orozco will face Republican incumbent state Sen. Scott Brown, who has served since early 2004, in the upcoming November election. Orozco is a practicing psychologist and mother of two. Her sons attend public school in the Needham, which, she said, is why education — in addition to health care and the economy — is one of her top priorities. State Rep. Lida Harkins, who also serves as chairman of the Democratic Town Committee in Needham and works alongside Brown, said that
she came to the event to formally endorse Orozco, who, she said, is well known in the district and among the local members of the
Democratic Party. Harkins added, however, that candidates running in the district really have to reach out to voters, citing Needham's registration statistics.
"You really have to work for your votes," she said. "I think about 50 percent of the people in Needham are unenrolled. There's a slightly higher
percentage of enrolled Democrats than there are Republicans, but any candidate in either party really has to reach out to the voters generally."
Orozco, who collected more than three times the number of required signatures to place her name on the ballot, addressed issues that many
voters from the district have. She said that in regards to the construction of casinos in the state, she is personally against gambling and the
casino industry, but is open to hearing proposals if such an industry would boost the Massachusetts economy. She also said that she feels
Proposition 2 1/2 tax overrides should be used as a last resort, and that local aid should be increased for cities and towns.
Although her resume lacks political experience, Orozco told the crowd that her work as a psychologist and experience in the health-care field would benefit the district if she were elected.
"I want to be able to work with a state government system that helps us all out. I am not a career politician," she said. "I did not run for
office because it was the next step in my career path. I decided to run because of what I do every day — listening to people and solving problems are two skills that I think are really necessary right now on Beacon Hill." Pedro Garrido, a Needham resident and long-time friend of Orozco, said he came to the event to show his support for change in the district.
"I support her because we need an alternative to Scott Brown," he said. "His record is not the record of most people in this district. I don't
really know what he stands for besides continuing more of the same. More of the same hasn't worked. It hasn't worked in Washington, and it hasn't worked here."
The Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex districts include Attleboro (wards 1, 2, 3 and precinct A), Franklin (precincts 2, 3 and 4), Millis, Natick
(precincts 6, 7, 9 and 10), Needham, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley (precincts B, F and G) and Wrentham. If elected this fall, Needham psychologist Sara Orozco could be the only openly gay member serving in the state Senate. But some gay-rights
advocates say attitudes in Massachusetts have shifted enough that her sexual orientation no longer represents the electoral hurdle it once was.
"It seems to be less of an issue" than in previous years, said Matt McTighe, political director of MassEquality, a group whose top priority is
protecting the legality of same-sex marriage in the state. The group has endorsed Orozco. "I think by and large, people really don't care."
Although Orozco would be the lone openly gay member of the Senate, according to her campaign and MassEquality, she wouldn't be breaking
new ground. Two former state senators, Cheryl Jacques and Jarrett Barrios, are openly gay, as are four members of the House of Representatives.
Orozco said she hasn't encountered hostility on the campaign trail, adding that she has spent most of her time canvassing door-to-door and attending Democratic Party gatherings.
"I believe as my exposure continues to grow, I will come across people with different beliefs and values," she said.
Orozco, running unopposed in the Democratic primary race, is seeking to unseat state Senator Scott Brown, a Wrentham Republican who has
represented the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District - which runs from Wayland in the north to Attleboro in the south - since winning a
special election to complete Jacques' term in March 2004. Brown, who won reelection in November 2004 and 2006, has come under fire from
gay-rights groups for voting in favor of a state constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to heterosexual couples. Brown said he won't focus on the race until after the legislative session ends July 31. "I don't know anything about" Orozco, Brown said. "I've met her once. I don't know anything about her campaign or what her motives are or anything."
Orozco said that protecting gay rights is one of her top four priorities, along with healthcare, education, and the economy.
"It's not that I'm a gay candidate," Orozco said. "I'm a candidate who cares about the quality of life for people, who happens to be gay."
In 2004, gay rights was seen as a national "wedge issue" used to divide voters after the state Supreme Judicial Court decision that legalized
same-sex marriage here. But the recent California court decision legalizing those unions there is unlikely to create much backlash, said Laura
Esquivel, senior vice president for political affairs with the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which works to elect openly gay people to public office.
"I think that the national discussion has sort of moved on," Esquivel said. "People are getting married now in California, and even if the issue is
on the ballot in California, we have months and months of Californians watching people getting married who are their neighbors, their family
members, their co-workers. . . . It's very unrealistic to expect those people in November to vote to take that away."
Esquivel said there are more than 400 openly gay elected officials across the country, up from around 50 when the organization started in
1991. She attributes the overall progress to greater political organization by gay groups and to more gays coming out to their friends and family.
"They realize gay people are people, too, and they are people other people know and respect and oftentimes love," she said.
Of course, simply being accepted by voters doesn't guarantee a victory for Orozco in November, noted MassEquality official McTighe.
"There have been openly gay candidates that have run and didn't win, but the reasons they didn't win had nothing to do with their sexual orientation," he said. © Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
I first met Sara Orozco many months ago when she attended a meeting of the Democratic Town Committee. It was a small gathering of 20 or
so active citizens, the agenda short, but the issues important to those in attendance. Sara, a citizen of Needham, made it clear that she was
there to listen and to learn, listen to the concerns of her fellow citizens, and learn about the local issues of greatest impact not only on the
future of our town, but to the future of our commonwealth. Sara also made it clear that it was her intent to take these concerns to the
street in the form of a campaign for the Senate seat now held by the Republican, Scott Brown. After our time together and the in-depth
discussion of our varied views, those who were there gave our signatures to Sara's nomination papers. It was a beginning.
Since that day, Sara has met with scores of small groups across the length and breadth of this Senate district. And in every meeting Sara has
given that same calm assuring voice to the people she has met that our concerns, our visions for our children's future, our desires for a higher
quality of life for our fellow citizens are shared by her, and in every meeting the people gave their voice back to Sara in the form of the signatures needed to place her name into nomination.
By the end of April Sara had succeeded in gathering over three times the number of signatures required to place her name on the ballot and she is now the Democratic candidate for the Senate seat representing our district. I fully support Sara Orozco in her quest to replace the Republican party candidate in the upcoming elections and I urge my fellow citizens to
lend her their hand and their help in electing a Democrat to represent the future of our district. Marty Gibeault, Plainville When we talked with Sara Orozco a few weeks ago, she was confident she would collect the necessary signatures to secure a spot in the
state Senate race for the district that includes Millis, Needham, Norfolk, Plainville, Wrentham, North Attleborough, Sherborn, Wayland and
parts of Franklin, Wellesley, Attleboro, and Natick. And sure enough, we heard this week that she had submitted 943 signatures, more than three-times the number needed.
"I'm thrilled by the outpouring of support from across the district. Our goal was to get twice the number of signatures required by law just to
be safe; but thanks to our volunteers, we more than tripled that amount with voters from each of our twelve towns represented," said Orozco a Needham psychologist and mother of twin boys in the Needham public schools. Orozco will officially announce her candidacy in May, once she has received official certification of her signatures from the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Democrat and Georgia State alumnus Dr. Sara Orozco is currently campaigning to replace Republican Scott Brown as the Norfolk, Bristol, and
Middlesex seat in the Massachusetts State Senate. She earned graduate degrees from Georgia State-a Master's and a PhD, both in psychology. Currently, of the 40 Massachusetts state
senators, five are Republican, and the remaining 35 are Democrat. This is her first time running for public office.
On her website, Orozco delineates her platform by asking questions: "Why are we paying more and more for healthcare but getting less?" and
"How do we provide our kids with excellent public schools that prepare them to compete in a global economy while balancing their needs to have safe, nurturing and fun childhood experiences?"
She also makes claims, citing the importance of equal rights ("We should never allow discrimination to be written into our state Constitution.")
and the necessity for environmental awareness ("And what about our environment and the responsibility our generations face to leave behind a better world than was handed to us?") as key issues in her campaign.
To these matters Orozco touts "common-sense solutions." A licensed psychologist, what qualifies her as adequate for occupying the
senatorial seat is her professional ability "to listen-to really be able to listen to what people are saying, and [find] solutions."
Orozco's personal and professional histories have been defined by success. A first generation American, born in Miami in 1963 to Cuban parents and raised Catholic, much of her development she attributes to strong family values. "Most people will say [my family] lived in a low socioeconomic area," she said in an interview with the Needham Times, "but somehow [my parents] made me think we had enough."
Before attending Georgia State, she double-majored in communications and psychology on a volleyball scholarship at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
And after GSU, her scholarly endeavors took her to the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California for post-doctoral training, and then to Harvard Medical School, where she accepted an academic appointment.
Ten years ago, she defeated breast cancer; eight years ago, she mothered twin sons.
In addition to being active in the field of psychology, she is a certified business coach and the CEO and founder of a small business, Orozco and Associates, a leadership development and training firm.
Additionally, she is a member of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce, the Boston Women's Networking Group, the Massachusetts Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association.
She has published and taught in the field of psychology, worked in numerous nonprofit organizations, and has a history of Civil Rights activism.
Marriage equality is a significant issue in this particular race. In May 2004, upon the refusal of the US Supreme Court to hear an appeal from
Massachusetts opponents of same-sex marriage, Orozco, a lesbian in celebration, wed her partner, an acupuncturist named Lori Herman.
Scott Brown has opposed pro-gay legislation ever since he gained the seat in 2004. If elected this November, Orozco will be Massachusetts' only openly gay state senator. © Copyright 2008 Signal & Urbanite
Dr. Orozco is a practicing psychologist in Needham. She has dedicated more than two decades to healthcare and human services. From her academic appointment at Harvard Medical School, to her position at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute conducting research funded by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, to her private practice, Dr. Orozco helps people deal with the difficulties in their lives, to find solutions, and to move forward. Dr. Orozco is committed to quality healthcare for all families — a commitment that has deepened as a parent and a breast cancer survivor. Dr. Orozco is the founder and CEO of Orozco & Associates, a locally based consulting firm made up of independent corporate psychologists and business consultants who work within companies to transform workplace relationships and to provide leadership training. She is a sought-after corporate speaker and a member of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Orozco lives and works in Needham. Her eight-year-old twin boys attend the Needham public schools. "I am running because I believe this district deserves an active voice in the State Senate and someone who will bring vision, commitment and tenacity to the job," said Orozco. "We face enormous challenges, from strengthening our economy, to ensuring access to quality health care, to making our public schools the best that they can be. I will use my experience as a health care provider, a business owner, and a parent to identify common-sense solutions for the challenges we face." "One important qualification for this job comes from my work as a psychologist, which has taught me to listen closely to people to help them find solutions to the problems that keep them up at night. I will bring that same gift for listening and shared problem-solving to the people I will serve." Describing her commitment, Orozco said, "I feel that my accomplishments in life are the direct result of the opportunities offered to me through public education, women having equal access to athletics through Title IX, and through access to quality health care which may have saved my life when I was diagnosed with breast cancer ten years ago. And now I feel it is my turn to give back and help shape a state government of which we can all be proud." "In the weeks ahead, I look forward to meeting voters across this district, and talking with them about the challenges that they and their families are facing. This will be a grassroots campaign focused on the needs of real people, and what we can do together to improve the quality of life in our communities." The Norfolk Bristol & Middlesex District includes the communities of Attleboro (wards 1 and 2, ward 3, precinct A), Franklin (precincts 2 to 4, inclusive), Millis, Natick (precincts 6, 7, 9 and 10), Needham, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley (precincts B, F and G), and Wrentham. |
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DISTRICT REPRESENTED: NORFOLK, BRISTOL AND MIDDLESEX. Attleboro (wards 1 & 2, ward 3, precinct A), Franklin (precincts 2, 3 & 4), Millis, Natick (precincts 6, 7, 9 & 10), Needham, Norfolk , North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley (precincts B, F & G), Wrentham This web site paid for by the Committee to Elect Sara Orozco. Dina Creiger, Treasurer • 5 Alfreton Road • Needham, MA 02494 © Copyright 2008 Sara Orozco for Massachusetts Senate. All rights reserved.
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Press Release
