“I talked about Shared Parenting. I saw the Chair”s eyes roll, as if to say, ‘Oh, not her too.”
“I talked about being an adult child of divorce, and my involvement with a single Dad and the movement I am a part of. I heard gasps, and sighs, and felt sympathy from the Chair and the others.’ —Fathers & Families Volunteer Coordinator Cheryl Quiambao
Fathers & Families members have attended 20 or so of the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s Platform Hearings currently being held in locations around the state, and have been urging the Party to adopt Shared Parenting. If you can attend any of the last few Platform Hearings (Friday, 3/27, Saturday 3/28, and Sunday 3/29), please do so–for locations & times, see the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s calendar page here.
If you’re interested in attending, write to Quiambao at cherylq72@gmail.com. Our activists have made a very strong showing, and we are very pleased.
Also, if you’re a Massachusetts Democrat or Independent, click here, go to the bottom of the page and post a comment explaining why you believe the Massachusetts Democratic Party should formally endorse Shared Parenting at its State Convention on June 6, 2009. All comments posted on http://massdemsplatform.blogspot.com will become part of the testimony considered by the Massachusetts Democratic Party in revising its Platform.
Below, Cheryl Quiambao, one of Fathers & Families‘ Volunteer Coordinators, describes what happened when she and several other members attended the Cambridge Platform Hearing:
Manny, a Fathers & Families activist, talked about Shared Parenting…[later] I talked about Shared Parenting topic. I saw in the Chair’s eyes roll as if to say, ‘Oh, not her too.’ I talked about being an adult child of divorce, and leading into my involvement with a single Dad and then too the movement I am a part of. I heard gasps, sighs and felt sympathy from the Chair and the others.
The drafting committee member even told me it is a compelling argument and he will be looking out for my testimony on the website so that he can bring it to the attention of those who he needs to. As I left, the Chair followed me out and shook my hand. She said I should look out for her email and try to come to the Sunday Progressive Democrats Meeting where she believes I will make a compelling case they would want to do something about.
Greg Sabine, a teacher and Fathers & Families‘ Brockton Town Captain, writes about the Framingham and Plainville Platform Hearings:
When it was my turn to talk I did the very clever thing of yielding my time to [Boston-area therapist] Jeff Parks. I wish we could have tape recorded Jeff’s comprehensive, brilliant and highly persuasive speech for wide distribution. Remarkably (and without a note in his hand), Jeff touched upon every aspect of the problem, and from every angle – as both a professional therapist and a caring adult. He went on at length, then expertly fielded all kinds of questions. I would say that his overall presentation went for about an hour.
The meeting was conducted by Kathy Ashton, co-chair of the party’s Platform Committee. A woman in attendance said there were two Fathers & Families members at other meetings talking about shared parenting.
The Plainville session today went exceptionally well, and their heads were basically nodding in approval to every point made. People thanked me for the information and seemed very sympathetic to our mission. We’ll see what the party bosses think on June 6th at the convention. My concluding remark went something like, “This (shared parenting) is gonna happen, so the political party that makes it happen first will have a big feather in its bonnet.”