Q: Your website touts you as the progressive Democrat in the race. What makes you the progressive choice, as opposed to the other candidates?
I think being the progressive choice means that I bring a unique combination of real-life experience coupled with legislative writing, drafting, and advocacy. I’m not supported by any special interest groups. I don’t owe any political favors, so I will be an independent voice for the will of the people in the legislature. I’ve also got years of pragmatic consensus-building experience, working on legislative issues and meeting with advocacy groups, and drafting and whatnot. I feel like a progressive democrat is somebody who has fewer ties to the political establishment and who’s a consensus builder and who has a unique ability to look at social problems in the course of life and try to figure out how to solve them if it requires a legislative issue or to be involved in unlawful rule-making and to try to stop that, like the Registry of Motor Vehicles in the previous governor’s administration.
For me, and for the people I’ve spoken to in the community, a progressive is somebody whose politics looks forward, who’s young, fresh, new, and who tries to realize solutions. And to keep these solutions moving forward, and try to build consensus. So that for me puts the progress in progressive. Also, advocacy on behalf of those who are most at risk for injustice.
Q: You said that you wanted to seek out solutions. What are the most important problems in this district that require solutions?
Well, I think that we’re looking at serious environmental problems in the world today and in this district, and I think the solution would be real clean energy solutions like the wind project, which is a real clean energy solution. Once that’s built there’s little maintenance, no pollution, and long-term effects.
Q: Do you support Cape Wind?
I support Cape Wind, and I think that it’s a real clean energy solution, unlike some other alternative energy solutions that may use solar energy, may have short term panel or chemicals in them have, in the long term, it’s uncertain how other forms of energy will affect the environment, and I think that Cape Wind is a real clean energy solution, and I like it, and I think that the question is where.
Q: Do you see any opportunities for wind or solar energy in your district?
I do, because off the coast of Charlestown there is. Massachusetts is one of only two states that have an alternative wind project, and it’s a wind turbine that will be developed off the shore of Charlestown, and that’s right in the district. So I’m excited that we’ll have the opportunity to do that, to develop it, and I think that Massachusetts can be a leader in product services and technology worldwide, and something like that will bring interest and investment into Massachusetts, and the technology sector has a great tax base for growing the economy, so I support the governor’s interest in investing a billion dollars in technology.
I think that partnerships with technology companies are not something that requires legislative rulemaking, but requires outreach to companies and incentives for companies to come to Massachusetts. I think we’re on the verge of an era in politics where we have the opportunity for the government to reflect our shared values and I think that developing technology is around the corner in terms of the future.
Q: What would you do to encourage technology companies to come to Massachusetts in general and in particular, to locate in your district?
If possible, I think that tax incentives can be provided, and I think that building relationships with companies that might be considering moving here. Part of it is tax incentives, which is a state issue. Part of it is reaching out and building relationships with companies and bringing them to Massachusetts and introducing them to people in the community and talking about our intellectual capital base and facilitating those relationships to deepen interest in development in Massachusetts.
Interview continues at .08 Acres
So far he has not demonstrated why he is any more progressive than the other three candidates who are far more experienced than he is, nearly indentically progressive on the issues, and actually live in/are from/care about the district.
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Ross is trying to pull a Patrick, be a non experienced outsider who can “out progressive” the other candidates, cept the difference here is that Deval was truly more progressive than the other guys on a host of issues from marriage, to taxes, to Cape Wind. And that even as a Beacon Hill outsider he still had relevant experience. And conversely his outsider status has hurt his ability to govern so why is that even an asset?
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While I am a Galluccio supporter I would be completely comfortable with Flaherty or Nowicki since they both clearly care about their neihborhoods and their district and they both are progressive. Mr. Ross is clearly just an out of stater who thought he could win an easy open race by simply claiming to be the leftiest lefty, it shows his political naivete and I sincerely hope he is defeated by one of the other three.
You may have a point about Nowicki and the Gallooch, but how is Flaherty more experienced? He and Ross have very similar backgrounds.
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Also, not having lived in the district very long doesn’t translate to “out of stater.” According to his site bio he’s lived in Boston for 13 years. 13 years and someone’s still an “out of stater”? That unfounded elitist attitude is one of the most obnoxious things about Bostonians, but I shouldn’t get started on that subject…
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These “carpetbagger” accusations make some sense when, for example, a person moves from out of state to run for a seat, but not when they move, say, 3 miles from their former residence so as to technically reside in a district. I live in Cambridge, does that mean I can’t know or care about Somerville?
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Do you have any idea what the boundaries of this district are? It’s possibly the most gerrymandered district in Massachusetts. It’s absurd to say a guy from Downtown Boston or Brookline or wherever Ross lived before (I can’t remember which, but I think it’s one of those) can’t “know” or “care” about the district, and then disregard the fact that probably none of the Cambridge candidates (maybe not even the Chelsea candidate) know anything about the part of the district in Saugus.
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I can’t believe how much Ross gets picked on on the BMG forums. You have a point about Ross being less experienced, and he does have a tendency to refer to himself as “the progressive canditate” every chance he gets, as if repetition will make it so, but where is the rest of this bile coming from? What am I not understanding about this guy that gets other people so pissed off?
does not sound like bile to me. The whole comment seemed carefully considered to me. Perhaps I’m phlegmatic or overly sanguine, but I detected no bile here.
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Interesting point of trivia is that its borders closely resemble the original Gerrymandered district, although I believe that was Congressional. Also Rep. Guitteriez’ district in Chicago is the most Gerrymandered Ive seen, at one point its only a mile wide, but its to keep Hispanics the district majority which I support since they would be disenfranchised by a perfect square.
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That said I will agree with KBusch that its not bile, I just find it somewhat insulting that Ross comes in having no local experience and tries to take the race away from three qualified public servants who because they are political insiders, neighborhood pols, are viewed to represent regressive politics.
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Perhaps my own indignation at Ross is that it seems that only his surrogates on BMG are trying to discredit Anthony Galluccio who has an excellent record as a public servant over his past mistakes, that is the true case of real bile and low blow attacks and I am shocked BMG has been tacitly endorsing it and giving it a forum.
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Also your comment lacks logic, frankly 13 years in MA does qualify as an out of stater compared to life long residents like the other three candidates and myself. Moreover they actually live in the communities in the district, sure they might not be the best informed on Saugus issues but neither is Ross who is also not informed about any local issues in Cambridge or elsewhere due to the fact that he lives and works in the Back Bay and moved here because it was an open seat and he thought saying he was progressive a thousand times would win over the BMG types. Luckily I am confident he will get his ass kicked by the more qualified candidates who actually have a record to run on.
Just wondering: If Ross had moved from out of state to a community in the district he is running to represent, say, Cambridge or Chelsea, 13 years ago, would you still reject him out of hand? I’ll agree that moving across town lines into the district just to run for an open seat should lose the man points. If that’s what your beef with Ross is, fine. But would you REALLY hold against him something he has no control over, like not being born into a family in Massachusetts, as you’ve said? Christ, the guy has spent the bulk of his adult life here.
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Did you, perhaps, vote for Tom Reilly in last year’s governor’s primary, since Chris Gabrieli grew up in upstate NY, and Deval was born in Chicago?
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This whole “you can never be one of us, no matter how long you live here or how hard you try” angle is total bull, and you know it. On Sept 11th, I’ll be voting for the candidate who I think would make the best senator, not the fellow whose lived in our gerrymandered senate district the longest.
the bile was directed towards ross