Downing seeks to bring Western Mass. to governor’s officeDate: 7/26/2021 Former state Sen. Ben Downing hopes to buck political conventional wisdom as a Western Massachusetts native trying to achieve not just a state-wide office, but the most prominent one of governor.
Downing spoke with Reminder Publishing recently about why he is seeking the job and why he believes a different approach to the challenges in the state is needed.
A native of Pittsfield, Downing was on the staff of former Congressman John Olver for two years before he ran for state Senate. He represented the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin District from 2007 to 2013 and then the redistricted Berkshire Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden District until 2017.
He noted he “term-limited” himself so he could move on to another part of his life. He joined the renewable energy company Nexamp and lives in East Boston with his family.
He describes himself on his website as “a climate leader, a progressive Democrat, and a lifelong public servant dedicated to serving my community.”
He has been motivated to run at this time by what he believes is a lack of urgency about tackling issues.
“What is missing is leadership with a sense of urgency,” he said.
He started his campaign in February for the election that will be in November of next year. There are two other candidates for the Democratic nomination and one for the Republican nomination at this time.
Downing covered a variety of hot-button topics during the interview. He noted a proposed Albany, NY, to Boston passenger rail service is “critically important.” He said currently the Amtrak services – the Lake Shore Limited from Boston to Chicago, IL – is unreliable.
“There is no advantage being on rail [at this time],” he noted.
An investment from the state for rail would established regional equity for the western part of the commonwealth, he said..
He was critical of the current philosophy behind economic development. He explained state officials currently believe the location of a job opportunity is not important “A job anywhere is equal,” he said of the current thinking.
What he believes is state incentives should drive “a bigger good.”
He questioned what was the benefit from having the General Electric corporate offices move to Boston, “the hottest real estate market in the country.”
He asked, “How can you look at that and think ‘good public policy?’”
He asserted the Commonwealth must “look at multiple goals” with such a project.
Downing readily admitted, “I’m a sports guy, not a gambling guy” and he voted against casino gaming in the commonwealth. He was concerned about the effect casino gaming would have.
“Do we want to support school departments on our neighbor’s losing money from their paychecks?” he asked.
Downing liked the proposal from state Sen. Adam Gomez and state Rep. Orlando Ramos that would have sport betting available to more independent businesses.
He said he doesn’t want to “lock in a monopoly” of simply the three casinos in the state as well as on-line betting services. He said he is not yet finished with his own strategy for sports betting and noted that he notices in the Newark, NUJ, airport advertising screens urging people to gamble on sports.
“It creates every opportunity for people to lose money,” he asserted.
He sees economic development as more than just job creation. He believes investments in transportation, housing and universal childcare all add up to a wholistic economic development effort.
He also believes the Baker Administration has not done what it could have done in some economic sectors and cited the 10,000 jobs lost in the solar field. He charged Gov. Charlie Baker has not taken on the utilities to create more opportunity for solar power generation .
He supported the legislation that made cannabis legal, but the issue of equity of opportunity for businesses is “critically important” that has affected “black and brown communities.”
Downing thinks the host community agreement for cannabis retailers has hindered equity and that cannabis licenses should be handled more like liquor licenses.
The long campaign road ahead doesn’t seem to affect Downing, who said, “I’m in regardless.”
He noted he is out on the road five days a week “listening to people.”
He said a candidate “doesn’t win by waiting” and he isn’t waiting for Baker to announce whether or not he is running for another term.
To learn more go to www.benforMass.com.
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