I was asked to represent the Jay Gonzalez campaign at my caucus, but in the end he came and spoke for himself. So, even though I haven’t been active on BMG for some time, I decided to post my talk here where people who are thinking about the governors race would see it.
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When I started to get calls to work on Jay’s campaign I was thinking something many of you may be thinking: Charlie Baker is unbeatable. But I asked a variety of people what they think Charlie has done for the state, and got mostly surprised silence.
In answer to the flip side of that question, I got lots of answers.
While Baker has been governor and in the middle of an economic boom, Massachusetts’s bond rating was lowered.
Our transportation systems are a wreck.
The Department of Revenue had a data breach and misled the public about it.
The Department of Revenue failed to deliver child support payments to about 1,500 parents since the beginning of the year.
There was more, but I became convinced Charlie could be defeated.
Still, I listened to all 3 Dem candidates before making a commitment.
In the end I choose Jay for three reasons:
His experience, his success, and his vision for the Commonwealth.
First his experience.
Jay has strong experience in Massachusetts government both as Deval Patrick’s budget chief and as a bond lawyer, helping more than 100 cities and towns with bond financing to build roads, schools, libraries, etc. He was the Chair of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care and CEO of a health insurance company.
I decided he had the right experience.
Was he successful?
As our Budget Chief, Jay earned the Commonwealth its highest bond rating ever, and that was during the recession. A high bond rating can save the state millions in interest cost.
As President & CEO of CeltiCare Health, Jay helped tens of thousands of low-income residents gain access to affordable health care, and the company added hundreds of jobs.
Under Jay’s leadership CeltiCare was the first insurer in Massachusetts to remove restrictions on life-saving detox treatments, to limit initial prescriptions for opioid painkillers, and to proactively assign case managers to members suffering from substance abuse disorder. The company was named a Boston Globe 2016 Game Changer for these innovations. http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2016/05/11/four-innovative-ideas-for-fixing-opioid-crisis/nxlYSjMzo0UMPEI9NBPbVI/story.html
Jay’s success was good enough for me.
Last, his vision for the Commonwealth.
Jay sees a Massachusetts in which proper fiscal management, single payer health care, a $15 minimum wage, and equal pay will be game changers in stimulating our economy.
His vision for the state is one in which:
People can afford the health care they need;
We invest in a working transit system and housing that people can afford to live in;
Every child has access to quality early education;
Our criminal justice system restores justice, fairness and common sense to how it treats people;
We restore funding to our environmental budget to protect our clean air and water, and fight the growing tides of climate change in the Bay State; and
The governor’s records become the people’s records, without executive office exemption, and transparency restores trust in state government.
I pledged to speak for Jay Gonzalez for governor because he has the experience, the success, and the vision for our Commonwealth that I believe in. I hope you do too.
johntmay says
First time I saw Jay I was impressed. It was at a regional meeting; a collective of Democrats from the Metro West area where he spoke to a group of us several months ago. I liked his energy. He’s the polar opposite of our current governor in that category. I liked his stage presence. Again, the polar opposite of our current governor. Jay’s the Jack Russel Terrier in contrast to Baker’s Yellow Labrador Retriever.
This is a study in contrasts that the media will find interesting and the public might pay attention to.
I like all three Democratic candidates running against Baker and will be proud to assist whomever wins the primary, but it’s Jay whom I think stands the best chance of winning because of his clear contrasts with Baker and his immediate appeal to the common voter, the working class stiff who knows more about the New England Patriots than his own government.
Jay ran the Boston Marathon a while after I saw him. He’s a man of the people and THAT is something that Democrats need to embrace in order to win elections,
Charley on the MTA says
Thanks so much for sharing Demeter, and welcome back. I would love more and more of this kind of testimony on behalf of the candidates – they’re quite under-exposed in the media, as we all know.
jconway says
Thanks for posting here Demeter. I am still undecided in this race precisely because all of the candidates running have articulated the right agenda, are focusing on the right issues, and have their finger on the pulse of what the grassroots of the Democratic Party is looking for.
Each has their strengths and weaknesses fknsure, but all would be better than Baker. Demeter hit the nail on the head by asking the right question for voters: name three major things that he’s done. I also think pointing out the aspects of the state that are getting worse on his watch is the right way to poke holes in the good manager facade. It is not just that he is failing to innovate, but many state services are starting to stagnate on his watch as well.
annewhitefield says
So glad that sensible people see the value of Jay Gonzalez. It is imperative to beat Charlie Baker and watching that sickening love fest for him by elected officials yesterday at the breakfast made me want to scream. STOP IT. Tell me what he has done, not that he is popular. Popular is so shallow. What has he stood for? The bar is so low, just that he is not as bad as Trump? Please, Massachusetts once led the nation. Now we are barely treading water. So sad. Wake up Democrats. Jay Gonzalez is the future. He is our best hope.