Capuano best choice

Capuano best choice

December 04, 2009 Published in Newburyport Daily News

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To the editor:

I am writing to express my support for Congressman Mike Capuano in the race for U.S. Senate.

While there are other good candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination, I feel strongly that his personal qualities of passion and pragmatism would make Congressman Capuano a great senator for Massachusetts.

I had an opportunity to get to know the congressman from 2002 to 2005 while I worked as an advocate for homeless children. When it would have been easy for him to show us the door, the congressman was helpful to our cause. He gave us an honest assessment about the difficulties we faced, combined with a determination that something could be done.

On the most important votes of the last decade, Capuano voted for what was right, not what was politically expedient. He was one of only 41 House members to vote against the No Child Left Behind Act because he was convinced that school districts would not have enough money to implement the mandates of the legislation. He pushed for a response to the genocide in Darfur. He stood up for our civil liberties by voting against the Patriot Act. He voted against going to war in Iraq because it was a diversion of our struggle against al-Qaida.

Capuano has been endorsed by the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, which said "beginning with his time as mayor of Somerville, Capuano has been a passionate and early defender of the environment where he hired the state's first municipal environmental officer and was at the forefront of curbside recycling in Massachusetts."

His broad experience as an alderman, mayor and member of Congress speaks to his ability to make the connections between our lives and how local, state and federal government can either help us or hurt us.

The diverse group of local Mike Capuano supporters includes state Rep. Mike Costello, Mayor-elect Donna Holaday, Councilor Tom Jones, Councilor Barry Connell and Hailey Klein from Newburyport; Mayor Thatcher Kezer, Rebecca Jordan, and Tom Iacobucci from Amesbury; LuAnn Kuder and Nancy Weinberg from Newbury; Lou and Dianne Masiello, Walter and Lucille Sidley from Salisbury; and Democratic State Committeewoman Kathy Pasquina from West Newbury.

This group may not agree on every local and state issue, but we agree on Mike Capuano.

I hope Democratic and Independent/unenrolled voters will join me in voting for Mike Capuano on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

Ed Cameron

Newburyport City Councilor