Hey everyone,
My name is Joseph Farrell and I was born and raised in Boston and I still reside there. I have been following this campaign for Governor since Martha Coakley decided to run and Deval Patrick decided not too. I am young and inexperienced in taking a role as a Governor. But throughout history and time and even the last couple of decades it goes to show it doesn’t matter if you are like most politicians and have a law degree or if you are new to the game, that experience doesn’t mean you will be a success or live to keep the promises you made on your campaign trail. A little about me, I am currently a student at Southern New Hampshire University majoring in political science. I am unemployed as no one is hiring, well me at least. I am registered as a Republican but would run as an independent. I believe in a transparent government. I am pro-choice. I believe in equal rights for all and I think gay marriage should be allowed as it is, the Government should have no power on who can marry who, if two people want to marry each other the Government shouldn’t be allowed to tell them that they can’t. I am also against casinos in Massachusetts, this is another crisis in the making taking away resources, money, and will only cost us more money in the short and long term.
I have always been into politics and was told since I was young young, that I should become a politician. I am a different kind of person, I have leadership ability, I know what I want to change and what needs to be changed for Massachusetts to succeed further. We have many issues throughout the state from the DCF crisis, to the MBTA, to Jobs and the Economy. I have plans for most of these issues and reforms for others.
I will reform the DCF to make it work like the Massachusetts State Police. They will have regional offices and regional commands. They will have a clear chain of command and a clear procedure. There won’t be any tips about abuse being left on a desk for nearly a week before any action is taken, all tips will be looked into immediately. We will hire more social workers and ensure they all have the experience and knowledge to do the job, effectively.
I will get a law passed to start the monitoring of ammunition for firearms. We will make it work like it works Sacramento California. You can buy a gun anywhere but that gun is useless without bullets. In order to know who purchased the bullets used in crimes we will require all ammo stores to have purchasers show their ID, the employees will copy it into their computer and then will require the buyer to leave their thumbprint like the bank requires you to do with a check. At the end of every day all these records will be sent to the State and Local Police and they will check to ensure the buyer is allowed to possess ammo, if not they can be arrested and charged with unlawful possession of ammunition. It works in Sacramento and I am sure it will be a success here.
I will raise the minimum wage to at least $10.50 then over a period of time it will automatically be raised or will be voted on to be raised as the cost of living and inflation increases. I believe and know we need more jobs and we need to work with businesses of all sizes to come and/or stay in Massachusetts. We need to work with these companies to bring them here and be competitive compared to the other states to drive more companies here. We need to work with small business owners to make sure they can thrive and succeed and support them when they need the support.
We need to work with the mentally ill and we need to work with alcoholics and drug addicts. We need mental institutions to work and we need to help those who need help. We need to help drug addicts and alcoholics quit their addiction and offer the support to help them do it. No drug addict or alcoholic grew up wanting to do it, but something happened along the lines and they turned to drugs or alcohol, and we need to help them change their lives and help them become sober and throw them back on track to do what they wanted to do when they were growing up.
My top priority is public safety. No one should be afraid of walking around their neighborhood or to have to own a gun to feel safe. We should feel safe in our homes, neighborhoods, cities/towns and not feel scared of being shot or robbed or worse. We shouldn’t have to own a gun or carry it on us legally or otherwise because of the fear of being robbed. We need to work with each other, the police and you the residents of Massachusetts. Sure not everyone likes the police and some people hate them. They have their reasons but we all are on common ground when it comes to sweeping drug dealers and murderers and violent individuals off the street. With technology we don’t need to like the police to call and report a tip, or to call 911 when you see something suspicious. We need to control illegal guns, we need to get murderers, drug dealers, and violent people off the street and we need to work with each other to feel safe in our neighborhoods, regardless of where you live in the state.
We need to work with the people of Massachusetts. We are an expensive state especially in Boston we need to change that. We live in a state where many people move out of state to live a life where your money is actually in your pocket and not the governments. I will lower the sales tax to the original 5% and I and the Legislature will work together to make Massachusetts more affordable and make the nickname “Taxachusetts” a forgotten term.
One thing beacon hill and the Governor and most Governments do is throw more money at departments and agencies and raise taxes and increase fares, you can do those every day but that doesn’t mean the problem will go away. The problem isn’t always money, its something else. You have to find the problem and solve the problem, whether its the department head or a program that isn’t successful. We need to root out these problems and change our habits of wasting money and raising taxes and fare hikes. Money isn’t the problem.
I have a lot more to say and I would refer you to my website: http://www.farrellforgov.org/ for more on that. I would love to hear any questions you have for me or any suggestions/comments, anything really. I am not sure if I will run or not as I stated but I want to know if you would even give me a chance as a real candidate.
Many say talk is cheap and all politicians do is lie to win then push their own agenda when they win. I agree with that statement. Politicians are supposed to be for the people and not for themselves or for the select few. I’m not going to be one of “those” politicians who will feed you what you want to hear then do as I please or turn my back on my promises and do the opposite like the Governor did with the sales tax. I want to be a new breed of politicians, the new generation. I ask that you help me, help you, help the people of Massachusetts, you don’t need to have a law degree or be a CEO in order to do this. You just need the ambition, leadership, drive, and passion. I have all of those qualities.
Thank you!
“Governor” seems like an unlikely next stop after “undergraduate poli sci major.”
It sounds like you’re still young. You should try working on a few campaigns to get a feel for what it really takes to run a successful campaign. If you’re really interested in running now, consider putting down some local roots and looking at alderman or state rep before you set your eyes on something like Governor.
Hey Bryan, I worked on 3 campaigns so far all were related to Boston. I volunteered for the Mayor Menino Campaign, Marty Walsh for Mayor campaign, and Michael Flaherty for City Councilor. I also worked on the Obama for America campaign. I volunteered for the campaigns I knew would win, and I learned a lot from them.
If you can’t see yourself working to help elect Charlie Baker or Mark Fisher (or alternatively one of the excellent Dem candidates), go ahead and throw your own name into the mix. Couldn’t hurt, although at this point I think you would need to run as an Independent.
If he’s currently a registered Republican, it’s too late for him to run as an independent. He would have had to change his registration by March 4.
Or maybe he’s hoping that MassGOP will give him a million bucks.
for signatures to be turned in?
It was last week.
Write-in campaign?
…for non-party candidates?
the deadline is not until July 29.
Your website reveals that you aren’t a serious person or candidate. And that you are either a poor writer and/or are quite lazy about editing even your most public pronouncements.
This opening paragraph, for example, is riddled with grammatical errors and poorly chosen words/phrases:
Uh, yeah. Good luck out there.
I think everyone deserves respect. Perhaps Joseph Farrell needs some more experience or better editing skills. Perhaps he won’t be taken seriously as a candidate. Perhaps he should start out differently. I don’t agree with everything he wrote.
But 21-year-old people who care enough about political issues to put all this together are a bit rare in this day and age . That alone makes him a “serious person” in my book.
This 25 year old hopes to move back to the Boston area and run at some point before I turn 30, but I also know I have a lot of leg work to do. All politics is local and you should start local. I’ve gotten to know candidates by volunteering on their campaigns, I’ve met fellow activists, I post here, and I’ve made connections in my hometown of Cambridge and my parents new town of Wakefield. I’ve interviewed for positions on Beacon Hill and in all seriousness if anyone has any leads I’m all ears-but you gotta work your way up.
Even serious guys like Mike Lake get hit with skepticism since they start at the statewide level. Better to run locally. Anthony Guardia, who I got to know during his State Senate campaign ran for and kept a school committee seat for his entire time as an undergrad and law school student, and nearly beat an incumbent state rep in a primary, and obviously just lost a primary to Jason Lewis. Glenn Koocher-President of the MA School Committees Association trained me in Roberts Rules as a student school committee member and told me he ran and won as a senior at Cambridge Latin and then served for 20 years! I think Ed Markey was 26 when he won his state rep seat (?)
Young people do well in politics all the time, and I like the enthusiasm and ideas Mr. Farrell is bringing to the table. It sounds like he is more of a Dem than a Republican-come on over to our side and run in your hometown-get involved in the process. We shouldn’t mock him but invite him to participate.
You’re right, fenway 49 (and jconway). Everyone human being deserves respect and I apologize for the unnecessarily harsh tone of my response.
That said, I stand by the essence of my comment. I, for one, find it simply impossible to take someone seriously as a candidate (for Governor!) who is unable to write/edit better than Mr. Farrell has shown in this diary and on his website.
He said he “want(s) to know if you would even give me a chance as a real candidate.” My answer to that is no.
I wonder if the diarist merely came up with a clever way to ensure his diary gets read.
The positions you have staked out don’t seem consistent with the Republican platform. Please explain.
indicates a strong aversion to taxes.
The DCF reforms, state police reforms, economic reforms, and expansion of job training and mental health programs would all require significant revenue.
I find it striking that MA continues to have a strong anti-tax reflex, particularly among segments of the population that should know better. It might be due to the regressive nature of our taxation. Perhaps if we had a progressive income tax, higher corporate tax with fewer loopholes, and more equitably determined property taxes we could end this reflex and get people committed to revenue.
Otherwise its the perverse cycle I’ve long talked about-cutting taxes leads to lousy government which poorly serves people who then want taxes cut further since ‘the government doesn’t do it’s job’. Got into a long argument with a more ‘reasonable’ (aka David Brooks esque) conservative friend yesterday on Facebook regarding Sanders VA bill. He insisted that cutting the VA would somehow reduce the backlog, since of course cuts always target wastes and inefficiency rather than core services in the closed conservative mind.
…we are still trying to shake the Taxachusetts moniker. Have we ever been a high tax state? I don’t think we have been in my lifetime.