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Last night, in spite of a chilling sleet that did not feel even remotely like spring, a good number of folks ventured out to attend the first public fund raiser for congressional candidate Niki Tsongas. Held at the Olympia restaurant in downtown Lowell, it was an emotional coming home of sorts for someone who has been on the Lowell scene in one way or another since 1969. The room was packed, and although I didn’t recognize a lot of people and will probably leave out names of familiar faces I did see, here’s a short list of attendees: George Duncan, Brian Martin, Mike Demaras, Patty Kerwin-Kielty, Maria Vejar, Brenda Costello, Carole Cowan, Maria Cunha, Lura Smith, Mehmed Ali, Elena Zohdi, Effie Dragon, Marina Schnell, and Karen Frederick.

As I listened to Niki speak about being embraced by the Lowell community nearly 40 years ago and learning lessons on campaign trails that spanned the gamut from city council to a presidential race, I couldn’t help but think about my own first experience as a candidate and how she had met with me and encouraged me. As I was leaving to attend another event (UTEC fund raiser, see separate post), I commented to Niki that hearing her speak reminded me of how scared I felt as a first-time candidate, and I was glad it was her in this race and not me. She responded by reminding me of what I said that day in her office nearly four years ago. I had confessed to her how scared I was and then I told her the story of how I made the decision to run: I had been waiting at a red light, staring at city hall, and thinking about the people who had been encouraging me to run. In that moment, I realized the only thing stopping me was fear. In the seconds it took for the light to change, I decided my life was not going to be based on fear. Niki told me she remembered my story and that she also does not let fear get in her way. Somehow I felt comforted and encouraged all over again.

Last night’s event was the first in what promises to be a quick and harried pace of events as the candidates race to raise funds, gain support, and get out their messages before the primary election on September 4. Good luck to them all. They have earned my respect for having the courage to run. 

It’s disappointing that the House ducked the chance to break the budget status quo.  It sounds good to say they don’t support any new taxes, but in reality they are supporting ingrained Corporate interests to the detriment of the Commonwealth.  Closing tax loopholes for huge, multi-state corporations is hardly what the average citizen would call ‘raising taxes’ and as for the optional hotel/meals tax, it would give municipalities a chance and a choice to ease their own budgetary woes with a revenue source that is not dependent on property taxes. Even ‘tax-free’ New Hampshire has a hotel/meals tax (8%) and it’s not optional.

One time, I was complaining to an acquaintance about the bruising nature of Lowell politics. He said something that has stayed with me, that in Lowell there are large numbers of people who have remained committed to the city and who really care about what happens here.  He pointed out that the positive side of our often-heated and confrontational politics is that it is proof of people’s passion for the city.

On a 5-hour drive to Long Island, I had a lot of time to think, mostly about traffic, but also about how being sealed off in your own steel and glass cubicle while barreling down the highway gives driving an impersonal quality that, to my mind, leads to aggressive driving and incidents of road rage.   Bear with me as I try to develop this thought to another level.  Modern life gives us the ability to be very picky about whom we interact with. We can watch movies and exercise at home, and live and work in very different communities, never getting to know our neighbors beyond a passing wave; and on a political level, we can read the newspapers and magazines and listen to only those pundits whose views reinforce our own, creating an ideological shell similar to our automobiles. Thus, we all end up quoting our favored sources to each other and sealing our ears to the positions that others hold - the equivalent of cutting someone off at the light?

My point is that keeping it local is the only way out of the polarized debates that seem to have taken over our national politics. On the local level, partisan and ideological barriers break down somewhat, politics really does become personal. The person whose political views you dislike might serve on the PTO board with you or be in front of you in line at a downtown coffeeshop (I frequent them all so I don’t want to choose a favorite). I’m thinking in particular of Eileen Donoghue who, in 2004, donated money to the campaign of John Thibault, a close, personal friend as well as a Republican from Chelmsford (I know this is old news, but I’m a bit slow that way).  Sometimes ties of friendship trump partisan politics; a Republican (gasp!) can be a good friend and a good citizen.  This kind of compromising, of granting validity to the other person and by extension his or her views, can lead to something that is lacking on our highways and in modern life. It starts with engagement, and can lead to community.