As a very enthusiastic supporter of Mike Lake it was great to hear that Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz has decided to back Mr. Lake for Lt. Governor via masslive:
In endorsing Lake, Chang-Diaz cited his work in the private sector, including his current role at the helm of an international organization focused on growing collaborative efforts and job creation.
“I’m endorsing Mike Lake for Lieutenant Governor because of the immense talent and energy I know he will bring to the office, and because he has a specific and value added vision for the job,” Chang-Diaz said in a statement. “Mike has thought about the role of Lt. Governor and he has a plan. He will bring value to our Commonwealth in two ways: by serving as the chief marketing officer for the state to the rest of the world, and by serving as the chief liaison to Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns.”
Along with holding progressive values Mike Lake has been able to build support in some of the more moderate areas of our state. He is going to make a great Lt. Governor.
jconway says
Unsurprising as they’ve known one another awhile, but one great pragmatic progressive fighter backing another. The leadership qualities I saw in Lake I’ve long seen in Chang-Diaz, glad to see her take this step on top of her Berwick endorsement.
shirleykressel says
I met Mike at a ward committee candidates’ night. I asked him about charter schools, and he said they were unfair in that they don’t compete against the public schools on a level playing field — they take public money but don’t teach the same student populations. That was good enough, but after the meeting I asked more, and he said, he actually said, that the charters were part of a bigger privatization of the public realm! Who nowadays even knows to talk like that! I was amazed and vowed to support him henceforth. Then I wrote to him and asked his position on corporate tax breaks, figuring he’d go back to the normal politician spiel about having to give “incentives” to “create jobs” and “lure businesses” — and he wrote back — hang on to your hats! — that he had taken a course at NEU where a business survey showed that corporations don’t make their decisions based on such incentives, but when governments are foolish enough to offer them, these businesses are more than happy to take the breaks. And by taking that money, they weaken the public sector’s ability to deliver on the real reasons they chose to locate there… an educated workforce, solid infrastructure, etc. And then he said that while he didn’t support such tax breaks he does support efforts such as the Mass Life Sciences Center, which strengthen our assets and provide benefit to corporations at the same time. At which point I said that we have to get him into that state house, as the beginning of a long career high in the ranks of officialdom! Mike understands the role of government, and there are very few public officials — especially young ones — that have this kind of wisdom, and the courage to say so, contrary to current political trends.
I’m also a big Don Berwick fan. The only candidate with the brains and courage to advocate for single-payer health care — and he knows how to administer big programs. And he knows how much money single-payer would save, and all the important things we could do with it. A real public servant; someone we could trust to uphold our values. This would be a such a great team!
fenway49 says
and those are great answers. I’ve seen Lake speak a few times and his stump speech is quite boilerplate, except for a certain intensity that he projects. I’d love to see him getting these strong positions out front and center more.
jconway says
I’ve only corresponded with Mike Lake here and on facebook and email, I had a lengthly conversation with Chang-Diaz, and I came away impressed by the breadth of knowledge they both had and their willingness to tackle any question and take the right position regardless of the consequences.
You get that with Lake. And to those that have critiqued him for running for Auditor before, I would argue that LG is the better fit. I came away from that run thinking, I like and admire his ideas and attitude, but I don’t think he is as qualified as Bump, but I was open to supporting him for a better fit. His focus on cities, on the smart way to create business and bring new jobs to the state, smart development, and using the office as a liaison to the non-profit world are all the right priorities.
I just don’t see his opponents bringing the same qualities or issues to the campaign.