ONE Massachusetts is a bold initiative designed to transform the realm of the politically possible in Massachusetts. Its aim is to change the Commonwealth's underlying civic and political dialogue by giving activists across the state the tools to respond effectively to the continuous attacks on government that undermine the possibility of progress on so many critically important issues. Connecting the Dots, a forum on healthy communities, revenues, taxes and the role of government, was held at the Woodland Commons on the campus of UMass-Dartmouth on March 5, 2008. Organized by members of the ONE Massachusetts Leadership Team, the event informed participants about the realities of diminishing tax support for local and state government and some of the potential strategies that could be used to increase that support. Click here for the Herald News article about the event. For more information about the forum, contact Craig Dutra, President of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, at 508-996-8253.
 

(Top row, left) Participants sign in for the forum at the Woodland Commons at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth campus. (Top row, center) Craig Dutra, President of the Community Foundation of southeastern Mass and ONE Massachusetts Leadership Team, welcomes the participants. (Top row, right) Ed Lambert, Director of the UMass-Dartmouth Urban Initiative, points out the importance of getting citizens involved in their municipal government in Southeastern Massachusetts where voter participation is lower than in the rest of the state and where less than 20% have had contact with elected officials.  (Middle row, left) Judy Meredith, ONE Massachusetts staff and Executive Director of the Public Policy Institute, reminds the audience of the many functions that government plays. (Middle row, right) Yawu Miller of the Public Policy Institute goes over some of the statistics on the decline of tax support for government over the past twenty years. (Bottom row, left) Massachusetts State Senator Joan Menard comments on the work that is required to convince voters of the value of government-supported services. (Bottom row, center) Mary Tittmann, Polcy Analyst for the Mass Budget and Policy Center, describes some the effects of declines in tax support. (Bottom row, right) Patrick Bresette from the Demos Center for the Public Sector offered a strategic analysis of the public's current attitudes towards government and lays out some practical principles for rebuilding a fundamental appreciation of the unique role that government can and should play in society.