The 2010 Elections   (Released November 4) Massachusetts: Holding Steady The Nation: Reshuffling, Recalibration, Recommitment The Arc of Massachusetts would like to congratulate the winners and to thank all the candidates who put themselves forward and ran spirited races across the state. As we all know, Massachusetts marches to "its own drummer", which makes most of us proud, and some of us frustrated. And now it's time to go back to work on common ground.   The Arc cannot in its role endorse or take a positive role in favor of candidates in elections (although we can endorse or reject ballot questions).  This election report does recognize the impact of results on lead supporters of The Arc.  Many friends of The Arc were re-elected including leaders who have carried amendments or spoke on caucus debates including Fred Berry, Therese Murray, Karen Spilka, Tom Sannicandro, Alice Peisch, Peter Koutoujian, Carolyn Dykema, and Gale Candaras. Catherine Clark has won Richard Tisei's Senate seat and we hope she will continue support of our issues as she did in the House. The entire advocacy community welcomes the re-election of these old friends in the legislature, and looks forward to working cooperatively with them again, and welcomes our new representatives and senators as well. We will be hosting a Legislative Reception for new members in February, and will turn to our families and friends to help us educate our new legislators about intellectual disabilities and to share your stories of success and challenges that we face. We are saddened to learn of the defeat of Rep. Barbara L'Italien, who has served as a leader in the legislature as Vice-Chair of House Ways and Means. In that role she served on budget conference committees, and has been a consistent and inspirational political leader in our field. This is a significant loss for our community.  In addition, we lost another friend and ally in the defeat of Rep. Paul Kujawski, who played a key role in Arc advocacy.  At the national level, we are in for significant change. In both the House and Senate, there will be many new faces, and in the House a leadership change. There will be a reshuffling of seniority and committee chairs, and the next few months will be ones of speculation about the new Congress and theories about how the "power" dynamic of Washington DC will be recalibrated in January. Who wins, who loses, how will the philosophy of the Tea Party be expressed in Congress? For our community, this is a time for a recommitment to our core values and guiding principles-----       that disability is natural;       that we continue to move toward self-direction of supports;       that individuals and families are the most important stakeholders; and       that a 21st century paradigm of strengthened integration of services and supports, and education and employment opportunity, is our new baseline. These are principles that can cross the political aisle because they are not just matters of budget line items and size of state agencies. They are an expression of the new emancipation of the disability community, seeking family empowerment, individual growth and independence, desire to work and learn, to live integrated lives.  Join with The Arc of Massachusetts to welcome our new legislators in February, as we designate "partner families" to maintain continuing links to new legislators. Join us to introduce legislation that will embody the values of the Massachusetts Alliance for 21st Century Disability Policy (MA 21) - representing The Arc of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change (MFOFC), Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts, Disability Law Center, Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong (MASS), Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) and the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress (MDSC).  With your help and commitment, we look forward to an exciting and productive 2011.  But let's start now. Now Congratulate Newly Elected Officials and Others --  See our memo