Longmeadow Democratic Breakfast provides a political mosh pit

May 9, 2022 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

There are two area political events that provide journalists ¬ and political wonks – access to a large group of elected officials and candidates.

One, of course, is the annual fundraiser presented by Sheriff Nick Cocchi, which enables reporters unique access to local pols. The other is the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee breakfast, which may not have the numbers of people as the other event, but certainly has a similar intensity.

The Longmeadow event returned to in-person status for the first time in two years on May 1.

Both events are places where people who wish to become involved in a political campaign can certainly learn about the candidates’ positions from the candidates themselves.

I readily admit that I enjoy the “hunt” at both events, although some candidates clearly want to avoid the press. I chased Sen. Elizabeth Warren across the sheriff’s event one year in pursuit of a comment, but her handlers kept me at bay despite the assurances of one local Democrat that I was “okay.”

This is politics at a very grassroots level. Both events afford voters and candidates the kind of face-to-face personal communication that is not easy to achieve. In the digital age, it’s been shown that old-fashioned campaigning remains potent.

At the entrance, a small army of people gathered asking the event’s participants to sign nomination papers for candidates. It’s my habit to sign any nomination papers, and so I did when asked.

Of the candidates present, two of the Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor were present: state Sen. Eric Lesser and state Rep. Tami Gouveia.

Gouveia told me she sees such events as “another opportunity to engage voters.” She has been running for lieutenant governor for the past 10 months. A public health social worker, Gouveia’s campaign has attracted more than 200 volunteers, she said. Events such as this one are “another opportunity to engage voters.”

She views childcare, housing and mental health issues as prominent ones on her campaign.

Lesser, who has been busy traveling around the commonwealth to garner support, took a moment to answer my question about the Senate’s version of a bill legalizing sports gaming. He believes the Senate’s bill would create “a really good product.” He expressed concerns about the possibility of increased problem gaming with sports betting as well as protecting the integrity of the state lottery.

Conference committee between the Senate and House will now have to reconcile their respective bills’ differences.

Two candidates for Lesser’s state senate seat were also in attendance, state Rep. Jake Oliveira and Sydney Levin-Epstein.

I wasn’t able to grab Oliveira, but I did speak Levin-Epstein about her campaign event that featured an appearance by legendary singer-songwriter Carole King. What was the connection?

She explained that she met King while she was working with Sen. Edward Markey and the two were drawn together by their mutual dedication to environmental issues.

“I’m so grateful for her friendship,” she said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was honored as the Longmeadow committee’s “Democrat of the Year.”

Wu has attracted a lot of attention so far in her term – she noted it was 160 days so far – and said this was her first event outside of Boston. She urged those listening to her to take actions on the many issues facing people in Massachusetts.

Wu spoke about the impact her efforts have had in Boston to eliminate fares on a number of bus routes. Her campaign is to help working people and to encourage the use of mass transit.

“We can’t lose any time in tackling the big issues,” she said and added the actions taken in “the next three to five years will affect the next three to five generations.”

I would certainly agree with that.

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