Asking for your vote this Tuesday

I want to say thank you to all the many people in this district for making this campaign one of the most extraordinary experiences in my life.  So many of you have welcomed me into your homes, told me your stories, and shared your ideas for how to make our great communities even better.                                                   

It's clear to me that we need a strong, dynamic voice to continue Will Brownsberger’s outstanding record of advocating for all of us at the State House.  I offer you myself as that voice.   

I offer you my combined experiences in the public sector and the private sector, which have taught me so much about policy-making, the legal and judiciary system, and the interplay between job creation and effective government action.

I offer you my strong work ethic, and my ability to collaborate. As a volunteer mediator, I have had very rewarding experiences while helping people work through difficult conflicts and resolve them—a skill that our contentious times demand in an effective legislator.  As a campaigner, I believe I have demonstrated my willingness to work hard—and listen harder—in order to understand the needs of this district’s residents.  And I have every intention of working just as hard to represent our district as your State Representative. 

I offer you my enthusiasm, and my compassion for the neediest among us.  I truly believe that a strong, competent, and sustainable state government can be a powerful resource that benefits all of us.  And as someone who has personal experience with government assistance, from the days when my family depended on Social Security survivor benefits, I know that government assistance can literally save people when profound struggles—poverty, homelessness, health crises—seem unsolvable.  Helping folks in need just makes good sense too – once back on their feet, they can go on to build successful lives and pay taxes back into the system.

As your State Representative, I will work tirelessly on key areas of concern to our whole district: further improving the quality of education for every child in Belmont, Arlington, and Cambridge; addressing the critical needs of our faltering, but vitally important transportation system; protecting the environment, including the issues of climate change that increasingly manifest themselves all around us; advocating for policies that create new, “green” 21st Century jobs to solidify our long-term economic prosperity; and controlling spiraling health care costs so that Massachusetts’ near-universal health insurance system can be sustainable for the long haul. 

But an effective State Representative does much more than focus on long-range priorities.  I will be responsive to constituent needs, constantly in contact with local officials, and available seven days a week to solve problems.  My commitment to the 24th Middlesex District, and all the people who live in it, is a solemn promise.  In these challenging times. when government is called on to do so much and its finite resources must be used wisely, you deserve no less. 

I'm seeking this office because I believe in public service.  I believe that people working together in common cause can solve big challenges. Private markets, profit motives, individual initiative, and personal success are cornerstones of our economic system.  But the role of government, whether in establishing rules of fair play, addressing problems that lie beyond the ability of individual action, or planning for long-term economic growth policies that will benefit all of us, is a critical element of our ongoing collective well-being.  

Most importantly, I believe in you, the people of Belmont, Arlington, and Cambridge.  I believe in the strength of our shared values and our devotion to building a better world.  We live in wonderful communities, we are proud of them, and we know how fortunate we are to be here.  But we must continue to work together, to secure our future and the future of the generations to come.   

For all these reasons, it would be my honor to represent you as your State Representative.  I respectfully ask for your vote this Tuesday, November 6th.