Terry Meehan aims for State House

- Paul Clements

Worcester's Terry Meehan (D.) is making a bid for the State House of Representatives for the seat of outgoing Rep. Guy Glodis (16th Worc.). Meehan has been a public figure for two years now, ever since he began his campaign to expose the judge who denied him custody of his son.

Meehan, a new car salesman for Harr Ford, entered the lair of Probate and Family Court Judge Arline Rotman in '95. Meehan saw Rotman as a judge bent on deciding in favor of the mother regardless of the real best interests of the child. He saw a judge who refused to admit evidence which supported his position; a judge that refused to acknowledge the importance of the father-child relationship; a judge who trampled the state and federal constitutions in her rulings against men; a judge who cared so little about justice that she would put her head down on the bench and fall asleep during testimony.

This judicial kidnapping of Terry, Jr. angered Terry Sr., and his anger turned him into an activist for judicial reform and father's rights.

Meehan attempted to appeal his grievance in the court of public opinion by appearing on radio and television talk shows and taking out newspaper ads in the Worc. Telegram & Gazette, Worcester Magazine, and the Boston Herald.

The campaign struck a responsive chord in many people whose experiences in the courts had left them cynical, disillusioned, and bitter. Local radio stations were inundated with calls, and Terry Meehan became a household celebrity, with most respondents supporting his cause.

Now Meehan is attempting to take his pro-father stance into the State House.

According to Tara Stoddard, campaign manager, Terry intends to tackle issues of general human and social interest such as taxes, day care, early childhood development, veterans affairs, elder affairs, education, crime, medical insurance, and judicial reviews.

To promote and facilitate his candidacy, Terry has gathered a team of eight District Contacts, four Project Coordinators, and several advisors.

Ms. Martha Keller will serve as campaign Treasurer. Several meetings have already been held, and strategies for the campaign are starting to gel. District contacts are scouting for advertising locations and opportunities. Local organizations are being solicited for support. A telemarketing campaign is being investigated, and several mailings are being planned.

No one would suggest that Terry Meehan will change the state's political world overnight. He is dedicated to the struggle, however. It certainly won't be easy to swim against the tide of the status quo and the entrenched political special interests, but Terry is willing to try.

This writer knows that Terry Meehan's opposition comes from those very elements which stand to gain the most from the courts' bias against men and fathers. Their attempts to discredit Terry for the crime of loving his child and despising those who would hold his son for ransom should fall on deaf ears to those of us who are Terry Meehan's peers.

If unjust courts have separated you from your child because of political correctness, you need a state representative who understands how you feel. That's why I say "Me for Meehan!"

- Paul Clements

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