This letter to the editor was published in August 23, 2007 edition of The
Beacon
Five years ago, I was asked if I wanted to participate in a “lit drop,” a volunteer activity that I would later learn is campaign lexicon for dropping off political pamphlets at voters’ homes. Little did I know that hanging out a car window dropping pamphlets on a lazy summer day would lead to four summers of State House internships and now a fifth summer as a staff member for a congressional campaign.
It is an honor and privilege to work for someone like Jamie Eldridge, a three-term state representative, now running for Congress. I have witnessed first-hand what makes him a true leader: his ability to see the big picture. When local elected officials told Jamie that the funds allocated by the state to suburban school districts were insufficient, he brought together a coalition of activists and fellow legislators to point out that the education funds were not distributed equitably. His leadership led to a real change in state law that dramatically increased funding for towns like Acton and Boxborough.
In tackling poverty issues, his ability to see the big picture is clearly evident. With experience as an economic development lawyer from Lowell and Lawrence, Jamie established the first state anti-poverty program in over a decade. Low-income communities become trapped in a cycle of poverty because residents do not have the means to save. Jamie successfully advocated for an anti-poverty program that established savings accounts that are matched dollar-for-dollar by state and federal government so that poor people can buy a home, go to college, or open a business. The program tackles the cause of poverty (a lack of assets) rather than the symptom (a lack of cash).
In discussing national issues in his run for Congress, Jamie also sees the big picture. He recognizes that the only real way to establish universal healthcare in America is to eliminate the HMOs and replace them with a universal single-payer system similar to Medicare. Adding more money to a broken HMO-system that rewards medical professionals for denying coverage will not solve the problem.
Immigration is another issue where Jamie sees the big picture. Jamie has connected immigration reform with foreign aid. Instead of spending millions building a fence to seal off our borders, the money should be used to invest in the national infrastructure of developing nations like Mexico where the conditions are dire enough for Mexicans to risk everything to flee to the U.S. We need someone in Washington D.C. to make these connections.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, the reason I was needed five years ago to hang out of windows stuffing mailboxes was directly related to the type of person that Jamie Eldridge is. Jamie ran for state representative in 2002 as a Clean Elections candidate that relied on grassroots volunteer support rather than special interest money to make him the only winning Clean Elections candidate in Massachusetts history. I am confident that Jamie’s strong grassroots network will make him our next congressman. Help make it happen on September 4.