Community Organizations Rally to Defeat Question 1

BOSTON/Roxbury - Over 150 people participated in a "Community Unity Rally" to support the "No on Question 1" campaign this evening at Roxbury Community College. Speakers from several sponsoring organizations vowed to defeat the statewide referendum question - which would eliminate the Massachusetts state income tax by 2010 - saying it will cut over 40% or $13 billion from the state budget, including $158 million from Boston Public Schools. Rally sponsors included ACORN, Boston Tenant Coalition, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Hyde Square Task Force, Jobs with Justice, Mass. Affordable Housing Alliance, Mass. Peace Action, Mass. Senior Action, Mass. Community Action Network, Mass. Haitian American Voters Coalition, MassVote, Mass. Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, ONE Massachusetts, Unions of Minority Neighborhoods, and Urban Edge. Entertainment was provided by Ritmo en Accion, Lee Wilson, Meiver De la Cruz, and Eroc and Optimus of the Foundation Movement.

Editors's Note: We have decided to leave this story as a News Brief given the resounding defeat of Question 1.