Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Kerrigan Runs for State Representative

By

Dear BMG Readers,

I am writing today to let this community know about my decision to run for State Representative in the 12th Worcester District – including Clinton, Northboro, Boylston and Precinct 2 in both Lancaster and Sterling.  I am extremely excited about this campaign and grateful for all those who helped me get nearly 450 signatures in less than 48 hours last weekend.

This campaign certainly won’t be easy.  Others in this race will have more money and start with higher name recognition.  But, I am blessed to have a wonderful and supportive family, as well as some of the greatest friends any person could hope for.  Together, we will out-work anyone, knock on every door, listen to every idea and concern; and I can promise, with that kind of support, we will win this election.  

This is a time for the kind of experienced and committed leadership I can bring to the State House.  I have had the honor of working for nearly twenty years in public life.  From Lancaster Town Hall to the halls of the State House and the U.S. Capitol, I have shown that I know how to make government work, and I want to put that experience to work on things that matter in your life and the lives of all the people in the 12th District.

The rich experience of my career has shaped me as a person and as a dedicated public servant.  My commitment toward public service brought me to Senator Kennedy’s office as a college intern where I continued to serve for fourteen years as his national and state political director.  

It was the belief in service and community that brought me to serve on the Lancaster Finance Committee at the young age of 24, and later as a Selectman in my native Lancaster as one of the youngest in the town’s history.

And it was service that allowed me to serve the people of Massachusetts at the state level in my role as chief of staff to Attorney General Tom Reilly where I was involved in major issues of public safety, health care and consumer and environmental protection.

Throughout my career I have been able to serve on the boards of some wonderful organizations including WHEAT, a Clinton-based human service organization dedicated to bringing much needed relief to low-income families in our neighborhoods.  I have also been fortunate to serve on the boards of the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund and as the founding president of the Mass Military Heroes Fund. These two organizations are dedicated to supporting the family members of those who were murdered on September 11th or went to war in its wake and were lost to us too soon.  My work on those boards remains some of the most rewarding work I have done.

I believe my experience and dedication to the people of Massachusetts, my energy and passion for public service, and my commitment to do the best job possible on behalf of the people of this district set me apart from other candidates.  I am a proud Democrat in the tradition of my former boss and mentor, Ted Kennedy, who taught me that to be passionate about issues and people, is an honorable way to live your life.  

This is a time when our commonwealth needs true direction, bold ideas, and leaders willing to fight every day to make those ideas a reality.  That’s what is really important in this race, not politics or strategy, but the real issues that families and communities face each and every day.  I look forward to a chance to get around the district and meet with voters about these and so many other issues, but I can’t be successful without your help and hard work.

Now the real work begins.  I am ready for that work, ready for this campaign and ready to become the next State Representative from the 12th Worcester District.  Blue Mass Group has added a wonderfully energetic dynamic to campaigns and public policy debates in this Commonwealth.  I am grateful for the intense interest and hard work of those who post here.  I look forward to getting to know a lot of you more and to a discussion with BMG not just about the campaign but about the Commonwealth and its future.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to speak to many of you soon.

Steve Kerrigan

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
0

Comments

  1. You should provide a web site as soon as you have one.

    <

    p>Thanks for posting.  I would like to know more about what you care about, and what you yourself have done in governance [the positions held show that you have real experience and I would like to hear more about this] – I am not in your district, though FYI.

  2. As you say Steve:” This is a time when our commonwealth needs true direction, bold ideas, and leaders willing to fight every day to make those ideas a reality.  That’s what is really important in this race, not politics or strategy, but the real issues that families and communities face each and every day.”

    <

    p>So let’s cut right to the issues sans lofty rhetorical flourish. Help BMGers know more about where YOU stand. Whether or how long you held a coat for Ted Kennedy or Tom Reilly is not important…where you stand and how YOU will vote is what counts. Here is a quick little YES or NO questionnaire:

    <

    p>1. I support casino gambling in MA.  Yes or No
    2. I oppose dumping extra funding into outside/late night sections of the state budget  Yes or No

    <

    p>3. I support  state revenue sharing to give towns and cities dependable local aid revenue source. Yes or No

    <

    p>4. I support letting communities decide for themselves whether to have a meals tax revenue source. Yes or No

    <

    p>5. I support Sal DiMasi for Speaker. Yes or No
    6. I support John Rogers for Speaker. Yes or No.
    7. I support Bob DeLeo for Speaker. Yes or No.

    <

    p>8. I support every woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices. Yes or No.

    <

    p>9. I support Hillary Clinton for President. Yes or No.
    10. I support Barack Obama for President. Yes or No.

    <

    p>11. I will accept campaign donations from lobbyists. Yes or No.

    <

    p>12.  I will accept money from PACs. Yes or No.

    <

    p>13. I support flagholders at construction sites rather than police details. Yes or No.

    <

    p>14.  I support the Wind Farm energy project on Cape Cod. Yes or No.

    <

    p>15. I support Universal Health Care coverage in MA.  yes or No.

    <

    p>16. I support the MCAS testing system in MA. Yes or No.

    <

    p>17. I support taking Special Ed. out of the local Education budgets and moving it to the responsibility of the Department of Public Health. Yes or No.

    <

    p>Okay, Steve…this is a start…other BMGer’s can add their own yes or no questions.

    <

    p>The real test is whether you are able to answer yes or no or feel the need to lull us with lofty rhetroical pivots!

      • It’s where Mr. Kerrigan is that counts!

        <

        p>He’s the one looking for support.

        <

        p>let’s see if he can take a yes or no stand.

        • I’ll vote against people all the time because they are friends of this asshole or that.

          <

          p>It’s called politics.

  3. What about the district. The people who you want to send you to the state house. What issues are local to the district.  Most repsectfully, you come off like a wind bag who has never had a real job. And now you still don’t want one, can’t get one, or can’t hold down one. So you run for rep without a clue as to what the job is about. It is about one thing my friend. The issues important to Clinton, Northboro, Boylston and Precinct 2 in both Lancaster and Sterling. And those are local. How are your damns doin?

    <

    p>But that is not talking about you. We need to hear more of you telling us how wonderful you are because you are.

    <

    p>It is about May I ask how old you are. You may too old for this. Y

    <

    p>You wereTom Reilley’s chief stooge. Non-lawyer stooge. Were you part of the $one hundred million last minute legal extortion Rilley did to the Red Sox sale?

    <

    p>His office was incompetent in my opinion.

    <

    p>Don;’t count on all these family and friends you are so proud of. Most will drop out.

    <

    p>So anyway, you seem to have no idea about your district. I am so glad you are not my rep.

    <

    p>

    • …and having met Steve at a joint Democratic Town Committee meeting (Sterling, Lancaster and Bolton) last month, I think he could be an effective representative for the district. That being said, he will need to make the case that he will be better than Harold Naughton, and I think that will be a very tough case to make. Naughton is very popular, and had a very good budget session, bringing back around $1 million in earmarks for the district.

      But Naughton has also been rumored to be in line for a district court magistrate position. Steve could just be positioning himself for an easy win if Naughton drops out before the primary since there is no R running in the general (I don't know what Steve's motivation is, just speculation on my part).

      What are some issues in the district?

      • The proposed Worcester to North Station rail line would be a huge boon for Sterling, Clinton and Lancaster if it ever became a reality.
      • The dams at the Wekepeke Reservoirs in Sterling are in disrepair and Clinton (which owns the reservoirs) doesn't have the money to fix them, so they have been looking at selling water rights commercially. The relationship between the two towns has become tenuous.
      • Clinton has sued Lancaster over the use of land it owns in that town (notice a trend?), straining the relationship with Lancaster.
      • Clinton and Sterling both get significant payment from the state because the Wachusett Dam and watershed are situated in those towns.
      • Clinton gets its water from the Wachusett essentially for free, and would like to keep it that way.
      • The Wachusett Dam and recreational area in Clinton are closed because PCBs have been found in the soil and the roads into the dam are crumbling.
      • Local aid. Luckily, Sterling is in good financial shape, but Lancaster and Clinton are both facing crunches.

      • But i’m sure he appreciates the spoon feeding. He obviously needs it.

          • I was just as much an a-hole to hs opponent. I think. it was his.

            <

            p>But he has to hear it from someone.
            It is nothing personal
            every first time candidate has to be taken down a few levels and told about reality.
            I will be more than happy to continue to do it for both them is they have any questions.

            <

            p>I just want to see them work and talk about the distyrict and understand that nobody cares who their rep is, what they stand for, what thier resume is, and alot more.
            They just don’t care.

            <

            p>so
            Talk baout the district issues and let them SEE YOU WORKING

            <

            p>First piece of free advice.
            Never never ever never mention Tom Reilly or any othe rpol you use to work for or volunteer for or car pool with.
            Capiche.

            <

            p>3 types of voters
            “Because I hate tom reilly so I hate you.”

            <

            p>”I Love tom Reilly i don’t care about you. You are not him.”

            <

            p>”Who’s Tom Reilly”

            <

            p>So it is a minus vote situation. Look at the odds like you look at Black jack.

  4. for his positions on issues relating to MA taxation.  He didn’t respond.  For consistency sake, here are some issues that I am concerned about.

    <

    p>Do you support reducing the personal income tax to 5%, maintaining it at 5.3%, or raising it to some other level?  Would you place an emphasis on lowering property taxes?  Do you support casinos in MA, with the revenues from the casinos dedicated to local aid and transportation infrastructure improvements?  Do you support the aspect of Gov. Patrick’s MPA that allows municipalities to increase meals and room occupancy tax?  If so, are you troubled by the fact that the property tax breaks from that aspect of Gov. Patrick’s MPA would only be targeted at people over 70?  Would you expand the people covered or the amount allowed to be deducted under the circuit breaker?  Would you support legislation that would allow seniors to vote on Prop 2.5 overrides without being subject to the property tax increase?  Do you support eliminating the local property tax exemption for utility poles?  Do you support the bill being debated now (or possibly recently passed) to eliminate the sales & use tax exemption for aircrafts and aircraft parts?  Would you support expanding the sales and use tax to include any services?  Would you follow the recommendation of the Corporate Tax Study Report and institute combined reporting along with a “meaningful” reduction in the tax rate?  If so, what would you consider to be “meaningful”?  Do you have any other tax policy positions?

Archives