Yes, it’s true. I’m exploring a campaign for Lieutenant Governor. It’s been incredibly humbling to hear from folks around the state asking me to run, but the truth is that it’s not about me. It’s about our state and our party, and the things we have to do to keep them strong.
Throughout the past few years, my roles on the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Democratic Party and on the Board of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative have provided me with the opportunity to speak with MassDems near and far about what we value most as Democrats. One underlying theme that has been echoed in different conversations, communities, and contexts is the importance of ensuring that everyone throughout the Commonwealth has the opportunity to build a better future – not just a chosen few born in the right zip code, with the right last name, or to the right parents. The firmer the foundation of opportunity that people have to build on, the higher we are all collectively lifted.
Next January, Governor Patrick will leave Massachusetts much stronger than he found it, with a renewed commitment to economic opportunity for all. Under his leadership, we’ve established ourselves as a global leader in the life sciences industry, and continue to make strides in manufacturing, advanced computing, and clean energy. We owe him our thanks, but it’s important to remember how he did it. His achievement came from a refusal to be satisfied with the status quo and a determination to keep pushing the bounds of what the naysayers said was possible. It came from the decision to bring fresh ideas and new voices into our state government. And, most importantly, it came from his promise to forward our shared value of ensuring that everyone in Massachusetts has the opportunity to grow and thrive.
We won’t be able to keep this commitment, though, if Charlie Baker and the Republicans are elected this November instead of our Democratic ticket. And that’s something that I’m thinking about too: who can best help our gubernatorial nominee win in the fall? Who can convince the average voter- not the Democratic Party faithful (we already know better!) that our party has the best ideas to take our state forward? Who can speak to communities of color and young voters, who have often been marginalized from state government? When activists tell me their concerns on this issue, I think back to my own experience as a Cambridge City Councillor- first elected by the skin of my teeth in 2009, as the first ever Asian American to join the City Council, and then re-elected with the highest vote totals of any other Councilor in 2011 and 2013. In Massachusetts, just as in Cambridge, it won’t matter how good our ideas are if we lose the election. We’ll never get to put them into action.
These are the thoughts that come up most often in my conversations about this run with friends and activists from around the state. There are no easy answers, but it’s important that we have this discussion now to ensure that, come November, we have the best chance at pursuing our shared goals as Democrats. I hope you’ll share your thoughts with me as well by leaving a comment here or sending me an email at LelandCheung@gmail.com
Leland Cheung
And we look forward to continuing this discussion.
Since people are pretty vague about what the Lieutenant Governor’s duties really are, the successful candidate needs an attention-getting platform.
Here’s an idea: run on a promise to abolish the Governor’s Council, another political office (or, rather, 9 of them) the utility of which escapes nearly everybody. For one thing, it would distract attention from the perception that the Lt. Gov’s office itself is of rather dubious value.
It’s true that one of the few articulated duties of the Lt. Gov. is to preside over the meetings of the Governor’s Council, and so that would mean that successful campaign would leave you with even more time on your hands (you’d be free for lunch on Wednesdays, for example), I think it’s for sure one of the “best ideas to take our state forward.”
We wouldn’t want to end up like NJ prior to it’s adoption of an LG where they had a rotating Governorship and a Senate President elected by a single small district of the state assume the highest statewide office. I’d say give the LG more duties and expand the role rather than eliminating it. It’s a conversation IL will have to have to (seeing as it’s Corner Office is a revolving door between government and prison)
The constitution is itself pretty vague about the LG, so you can’t blame the people for being likewise. At least the Council has a defined role.