Lesser announces run for lieutenant governorDate: 1/7/2022 WESTERN MASS. — With the announcement on Jan.4, there are now two Democratic state senators from Western Massachusetts vying for the same state-wide office.
State Sen. Eric Lesser settled weeks of political speculation by declaring himself a candidate for lieutenant governor.
State Sen. Adam Hinds, from Berkshire County, announced that he was running about three months ago.
Lesser told Reminder Publishing he has made this move for several reasons.
Lesser has a bachelors and a law degree from Harvard and has taught courses at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and UMass-Amherst. Before serving in the State Senate, Lesser was one of the first staffers on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and subsequently served in the Obama Administration working as the special assistant to Senior Adviser David Axelrod.
“I want to serve as lieutenant governor to keep making progress on what we’ve been doing in the Senate,” he said.
He added that for the past eight years as he has served in the Senate, he has been “squarely focusing on issues that keep people awake at night.”
He emphasized the rising cost of living on the commonwealth as a motivation to run. He said he looks at issues such as housing, transportation and childcare from “the perspective of a parent with three children … living far from Beacon Hill.”
In his announcement press release Lesser noted, “Massachusetts has so much going for it, but it’s harder and harder to live here. It’s just too expensive – good housing is becoming out of reach, public transportation is outdated or nonexistent, and the cost of childcare is crushing families. The status quo doesn’t work for anybody. It creates skyrocketing prices and gridlock in some places, and vacuums jobs and opportunity from others. It means that Massachusetts, despite its progressive history and incredible assets, is one of the most unequal places in the country.”
Lesser has become known for advocating for several issues, but many people know him best as the elected official who has been pushing for an east-west passenger rail system.
He recalled that people were laughing about the proposal when he first introduced it in 2014. His persistence has resulted in studies that have pushed the project forward.
“Now, it is quite literally on President Biden’s desk,” he said.
During his term he has also focused on legislation that has helped small businesses during the pandemic, addressed strengthening the state’s tourism industry and sought to build more housing.
Lesser said that with federal pandemic relief money as well as infrastructure funding, Massachusetts has a unique opportunity.
It will not just be the decisions made by outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration this year on how to best spend the funds, Lesser explained. The federal funds are stretched over a decade, and the administration that follows Baker will have much influence on the allocation of the funding.
Lesser said he knows the two Democratic candidates for governor at this point — Professor Danielle Allen of Harvard University, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz — and worked with each of them.
“I could work with any of them, I know them all and well,” he said.
Lesser has also worked with Attorney General Maura Healey, who has been reportedly considering a run at the nomination. Healey and he have worked on issues such as getting Narcan into the hands of first responders as well as Lessor’s Student Loan Bill of Rights legislation.
He noted the historic nature of the gubernatorial field as all being women.
In his travels around the state in his role as chair of the Gateway City Caucus, he has heard many of the same complaints voiced in Western Massachusetts of a lack of equity in funding and attention. He noted there are even neighborhoods in Boston that feel “left out and priced out.
“We have such assets. We have to do a better job connecting to those assets state-wide,” he said.
Hinds
State Sen. Adman Hinds told Reminder Publishing he is in a “strong position” after the first three months of his campaign, He has received so far, the endorsement of 30 elected officials, 19 of whom are from Hampden, Hampshire and Berkshire counties.
He has heard from voters from around the state that Massachusetts “is not getting the fundamentals right.”
Hinds became interested in government by working for former Congressman John Olver and was part of former Secretary of State John Kerry’s presidential run. He attended Wesleyan University and received a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
He served a decade working for the United Nations in conflict resolution and among his assignments was being involved in negotiating a cease-fire in Syria.
In 2016 he was elected to the senate where he said his “experience resonates.”
At Sheriff Nick Cocchi’s Picnic in 2021, Hinds told Reminder Publishing and Focus Springfield that he sees the opportunities for change in the state and believes this is the time to join the executive branch through the office of lieutenant governor. That interview can be seen in its entirety at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YMhmBbdOG8.
He serves as chair of the Senate Committee on “Reimagining MA: Post-Pandemic Resiliency.” He is also a member of legislative caucuses for Gateway Cities, Criminal Justice Reform and Regional School, among others.
He said his work on post-pandemic issues is “how to confront our greatest weaknesses.”
He said two of the four western counties are facing declining populations and he believes this is “no coincidence” and blamed a lack of investment in infrastructure as part of the problem.
He said Western Massachusetts shares a “responsive government problem” with other parts of the state.
Like Lesser, Hinds said he is impressed with the field of candidates for governor and that he could work with any of them.
He added that if elected he would spend one day a week in an office in Western Massachusetts.
He also noted the large responsibility of the next gubernatorial administration in allocating federal pandemic relief and infrastructure funds.
“I want to bring attention to Western Massachusetts,” he said.
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