Brownsberger: I do what’s right

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, voters face an important choice -- who will represent them in the U.S. Congress. The winner of that special Democratic primary is likely to be the next representative from the Fifth Congressional District, and I ask for your vote.

While the major Democratic candidates share similar positions on many important issues, I am the candidate with a record of doing what is right even when it is difficult.

As a state legislator, I stood up to House leadership and called for change when I learned that we were doing secret, no-bid technology contracts. Leadership punished me by moving me to a tiny windowless office, but I got results. We opened up the books of the whole state to online inspection and changed the rules so all vendors have a fair shot at major State House contracts. More recently, I got unanimous support to open up the long-secret books of the MBTA pension fund.

I take no PAC or lobbyist contributions. As the only candidate in this race who declines all money from special interests, I am willing to do things that make insiders uncomfortable, like thorough-going pension reform. I also don’t make secret promises to special interest groups.

Standing up to leadership and insiders is difficult, but it really takes courage to vote against the tide. I’ve been willing to do that, too. I voted with the black and Latino caucus against the three-strikes-and-you-are-out crime bill in 2011. It was popular -- one of those feel-good bills that legislators pass so they appear to be tough on crime. But it went too far, and especially as first written, it would have done real damage in communities plagued by poverty. Sometimes, a legislator needs to do something that is unpopular and trust that constituents will respect his explanation of his vote.

We need more of that kind of courage in Washington. Red state congressmen make popular promises never to raise taxes. Blue state congressmen make popular promises never to cut a program that anyone cares about. That’s a recipe for gridlock and an ever-increasing deficit.

During this campaign, I have refused to make blanket promises never to compromise. When I get to Congress, I won’t arrive with my hands tied, so I can contribute to moving forward on the hard economic issues our country faces -- climate change, jobs and poverty.

For more information, please visit my web site, WB4Congress.com, or feel free to call me directly at 617-771-8274

And don’t forget to vote tomorrow (today if you’re reading this on Tuesday)!