BROWN LAUNCHES U.S. SENATE BID
By Gintautas Dumcius
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BOSTON, SEPT. 12, 2009……Wrentham Republican Scott Brown is hoping for a U.S.
Senate-level repeat of a special election in 2004, when he took a state Senate seat previously
held by a Democrat.
After a Saturday afternoon press conference announcing his run for the late U.S. Sen.
Edward Kennedy's seat, Brown and fellow Republicans repeatedly pointed to the 2004
election, in which Brown defeated an aide to departing state Sen. Cheryl Jacques.
"We just worked very, very hard and it was a grassroots, populist type of election," said
Brown, who turned 50 today. "And that's what's going to happen here."
The second Republican to officially jump into the race, Brown's entry caps a week filled
with entrances and bow outs. Citing family interests, both former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and
Andrew Card, former President George W. Bush's chief of staff, have opted not to run.
Canton selectman Robert Burr is the other GOP candidate, while a frequent, unsuccessful
Republican candidate, Jack E. Robinson, said he's interested in running on Friday but is
expected to make a formal decision next week.
Helping Brown out are several advisers to former Gov. Mitt Romney. Beth Lindstrom, who
served as head of the state Lottery under former Treasurer Joseph Malone and Romney's
consumer affairs director, has signed on as campaign manager. Eric Fehrnstrom, who
worked as top aide to Romney on Beacon Hill and on the 2008 presidential campaign trail,
will advise Brown, as will Peter Flaherty, another former Romney aide who works with
Fehrnstrom at the Shawmut Group, a political consulting firm.
In his speech at the Omni Parker House, Brown laid out a "core set of beliefs," slamming
Democrats on Beacon Hill and in Washington for "out-of-control spending" while casting
himself as an outsider who has "always worked across party lines."
In Massachusetts, the unemployment rate is "approaching double-digits," and"[t]he response
of the governor and the majority party has been to raise taxes of every type and make it
tougher for businesses to survive," Brown said.
"I believe that power concentrated in the hands of one political party, as it is here in
Massachusetts, leads to bad government and poor decisions," he said.
Brown also took aim at the Bay State's all-Democrat Congressional delegation, which
includes two congressmen who have pulled nomination papers for the open Senate seat:
Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) and Michael Capuano (D-Somerville). Only Attorney
General Martha Coakley (D-Medford) has formally announced her candidacy.
"They usually vote the same way," Brown said. "They are also very much influenced by the
same special interest groups and political leaders. And does Massachusetts need another
elected official from the same party, that will merely rubber stamp the policies of one
particular party and the administration? To that I say absolutely not."
Brown said he opposes creating a public option within the federal health care reform effort,
an issue currently roiling Capitol Hill. "I believe all Americans deserve health care, but we
shouldn't have to create a new government option to provide it," Brown said.
"I think there's a lot of frustration, not only in this state but also in Washington," Brown
added to reporters afterwards. "The way the governor's been handling things here locally,
and I think recently what's happening with trying to ram the health care plan down -- the
government option down people's throats. It's a real problem. And people are a little fed up,
and they're scared. And they want some change and they want somebody that's one of
them, that grew up from nothing."
Brown said his mother was on welfare when he was growing up and his parents were
divorced. "I was the young man of the family growing up. It made me hungry and I'm still
hungry and I'm going to do the very, very best I can," he said.
If elected to the U.S. Senate, Brown, who pulled nomination papers late yesterday afternoon,
said he would limit himself to serving two full terms.
Brown's formal entrance into the race comes after Card pulled himself out of consideration
Friday. Earlier in the week, Brown said he was "about 90 percent" sure he would run, but
then quickly said he would defer to Card after the former Bush aide signaled his interest.
"Scott always wanted to go forward with this candidacy, but he was being properly
respectful of his elders," former Lt. Gov. Healey told reporters Saturday.
She added: "He has the capacity to run a tough race in a special election. He won his current
state Senate seat in a special election that was very hotly contested . . . So I think Scott has
a great record of fighting tough races and being an independent voice and working across
party lines. Those are things that are very appealing."
Brown is a practicing attorney and a 29-year member of the Massachusetts National Guard.
He is married to Boston news reporter Gail Huff and the father of former "American Idol"
contestant Ayla Brown.
The two of them and Brown's mother Judy joined Brown at the press conference. Along
with Republican activists, state Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), state Rep. Richard Ross (R-
Wrentham), Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board member Mary Connaughton, and
Taunton City Council President David Pottier attended Saturday.
Candidates have an Oct. 20 deadline to submit nomination papers bearing 10,000 signatures.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Charlie Baker and Christy Mihos are already out on the
campaign trails, meeting voters and raising cash for next year's election.
While pundits give Democrats the edge over Republicans in the race to fill the seat long held
by Kennedy, Republicans nationally are aware that the vacant seat, which leaves Democrats
with 59 members in the branch, could make it difficult to block Democrat-sponsored policy
and spending bills if filled again by a Democrat.
Asked about a fund raising strategy for Brown, Lindstrom told the News Service the
collection of signatures is the "first order of business."
Asked whether the National Republican Senatorial Committee will be aiding Brown's bid,
Lindstrom said, "I'm sure we'll have those conversations."
After Brown's speech, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to him.
More articles are available at the News Service's website.
By Gintautas Dumcius
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BOSTON, SEPT. 12, 2009……Wrentham Republican Scott Brown is hoping for a U.S.
Senate-level repeat of a special election in 2004, when he took a state Senate seat previously
held by a Democrat.
After a Saturday afternoon press conference announcing his run for the late U.S. Sen.
Edward Kennedy's seat, Brown and fellow Republicans repeatedly pointed to the 2004
election, in which Brown defeated an aide to departing state Sen. Cheryl Jacques.
"We just worked very, very hard and it was a grassroots, populist type of election," said
Brown, who turned 50 today. "And that's what's going to happen here."
The second Republican to officially jump into the race, Brown's entry caps a week filled
with entrances and bow outs. Citing family interests, both former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and
Andrew Card, former President George W. Bush's chief of staff, have opted not to run.
Canton selectman Robert Burr is the other GOP candidate, while a frequent, unsuccessful
Republican candidate, Jack E. Robinson, said he's interested in running on Friday but is
expected to make a formal decision next week.
Helping Brown out are several advisers to former Gov. Mitt Romney. Beth Lindstrom, who
served as head of the state Lottery under former Treasurer Joseph Malone and Romney's
consumer affairs director, has signed on as campaign manager. Eric Fehrnstrom, who
worked as top aide to Romney on Beacon Hill and on the 2008 presidential campaign trail,
will advise Brown, as will Peter Flaherty, another former Romney aide who works with
Fehrnstrom at the Shawmut Group, a political consulting firm.
In his speech at the Omni Parker House, Brown laid out a "core set of beliefs," slamming
Democrats on Beacon Hill and in Washington for "out-of-control spending" while casting
himself as an outsider who has "always worked across party lines."
In Massachusetts, the unemployment rate is "approaching double-digits," and"[t]he response
of the governor and the majority party has been to raise taxes of every type and make it
tougher for businesses to survive," Brown said.
"I believe that power concentrated in the hands of one political party, as it is here in
Massachusetts, leads to bad government and poor decisions," he said.
Brown also took aim at the Bay State's all-Democrat Congressional delegation, which
includes two congressmen who have pulled nomination papers for the open Senate seat:
Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) and Michael Capuano (D-Somerville). Only Attorney
General Martha Coakley (D-Medford) has formally announced her candidacy.
"They usually vote the same way," Brown said. "They are also very much influenced by the
same special interest groups and political leaders. And does Massachusetts need another
elected official from the same party, that will merely rubber stamp the policies of one
particular party and the administration? To that I say absolutely not."
Brown said he opposes creating a public option within the federal health care reform effort,
an issue currently roiling Capitol Hill. "I believe all Americans deserve health care, but we
shouldn't have to create a new government option to provide it," Brown said.
"I think there's a lot of frustration, not only in this state but also in Washington," Brown
added to reporters afterwards. "The way the governor's been handling things here locally,
and I think recently what's happening with trying to ram the health care plan down -- the
government option down people's throats. It's a real problem. And people are a little fed up,
and they're scared. And they want some change and they want somebody that's one of
them, that grew up from nothing."
Brown said his mother was on welfare when he was growing up and his parents were
divorced. "I was the young man of the family growing up. It made me hungry and I'm still
hungry and I'm going to do the very, very best I can," he said.
If elected to the U.S. Senate, Brown, who pulled nomination papers late yesterday afternoon,
said he would limit himself to serving two full terms.
Brown's formal entrance into the race comes after Card pulled himself out of consideration
Friday. Earlier in the week, Brown said he was "about 90 percent" sure he would run, but
then quickly said he would defer to Card after the former Bush aide signaled his interest.
"Scott always wanted to go forward with this candidacy, but he was being properly
respectful of his elders," former Lt. Gov. Healey told reporters Saturday.
She added: "He has the capacity to run a tough race in a special election. He won his current
state Senate seat in a special election that was very hotly contested . . . So I think Scott has
a great record of fighting tough races and being an independent voice and working across
party lines. Those are things that are very appealing."
Brown is a practicing attorney and a 29-year member of the Massachusetts National Guard.
He is married to Boston news reporter Gail Huff and the father of former "American Idol"
contestant Ayla Brown.
The two of them and Brown's mother Judy joined Brown at the press conference. Along
with Republican activists, state Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), state Rep. Richard Ross (R-
Wrentham), Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board member Mary Connaughton, and
Taunton City Council President David Pottier attended Saturday.
Candidates have an Oct. 20 deadline to submit nomination papers bearing 10,000 signatures.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Charlie Baker and Christy Mihos are already out on the
campaign trails, meeting voters and raising cash for next year's election.
While pundits give Democrats the edge over Republicans in the race to fill the seat long held
by Kennedy, Republicans nationally are aware that the vacant seat, which leaves Democrats
with 59 members in the branch, could make it difficult to block Democrat-sponsored policy
and spending bills if filled again by a Democrat.
Asked about a fund raising strategy for Brown, Lindstrom told the News Service the
collection of signatures is the "first order of business."
Asked whether the National Republican Senatorial Committee will be aiding Brown's bid,
Lindstrom said, "I'm sure we'll have those conversations."
After Brown's speech, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to him.
More articles are available at the News Service's website.
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