Neal measures mood of his new districtDate: 1/11/2012 Jan. 11, 2012
By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
GREATER SPRINGFIELD — If you live in Holyoke or a community in the Berkshires there’s a good chance in the last two weeks you’ve seen a lot of your new congressman.
Congressman Richard Neal has been making the rounds of communities that are new to him thanks to the recent redistricting and he told Reminder Publications what he has seen are “similar interests” in the new communities to those he has represented since 1989.
“I’m very pleased,” he said of the new district. “It couldn’t have been better if I had drawn a district myself.”
Neal spent all of the last week in the Berkshires speaking with his new constituents. He also made several appearances in Holyoke.
Neal has now taken over much of the area represented by John Olver.
He said that his previous district, which stretched into Worcester County, meant that he had to reach his constituents through three media markets, but now most are in one media market.
“This means “easier communication,” Neal explained.
He said that with the Berkshires having firms such as General Dynamics and Berkshire Medical Center, “many issues are similar.” He added that “geographic equity,” or making sure areas outside of Boston receive their fair share of funding and attention, is also a concern.
Speaking on the recession and unemployment, Neal noted that gains in the private sector are affected by the loss nationally of 600,000 public employees.
“We still have the stubborn issue of housing,” he added. He noted foreclosures are still a serious problem.
As far as positive action in a Congress that has seen some gridlock, he predicted, “I think there might be some substantial opportunity going in 2012 [to see legislative progress].”
Issues that could affect the federal budget include the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans this year, the end of the war in Iraq and the winding down of the war in Afghanistan, he said.
He’s hoping the presidential election could focus on solutions for the nation’s problems and would like to see “a grown up conversation without demagogic rage.”
Noting the level of anger in the nation’s political discourse, he said, “Internet isolated conversation that help to drive conflict.”
Cutbacks to the resources of newsgathering organizations have created “a vacuum that has been filled with conflict.”
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