Guest Op-Ed: Speaking Truth to Power

By Anthony D’Ambrosio

As this campaign draws toward Election Day, on December 14th, I recall the instructive words of the illustrious Tip O’Neal- “all politics is local.”  My efforts over the past several months have been designed to convince you, the local voter, not the insiders of state government, that I am the best person to represent the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex District in the Massachusetts State Senate.  

At the outset, let me plainly state again, I am unbeholden to any special interest group seeking to influence my future votes.  If elected, my priority is to do the people’s work.  To that end, during this campaign, I have refused and returned campaign donations from lobbyists and other groups and individuals that have donated with strings attached.  The money is simply not worth it to me.  I quit a high paying job in technology and finance to run for state senate, because I believe in public service, not self-service.

My love of this community and its people is anchored by decades of family presence.  My immigrant background, childhood friends, and family members still reside in this District and ensure that I will never lose touch with the regular person.  I have said it many times: I stand here before you today on the shoulders of my grandparents and parents, who came to this country from an impoverished Southern Italy with literally the clothes on their backs and wilt in their pockets.  Their courage and hard work are ingrained in my DNA.  I will speak truth to power. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted our community in virtually every way imaginable. It has laid bare all our society’s vulnerabilities and inequities, as well as the ways in which our leaders are failing in their obligations to Massachusetts residents. Like so many others, I watched loved ones be hospitalized with Covid-19. One of the most painful periods of my life was watching my father struggle to breathe while hospitalized despite supplemental oxygen and incredible medical care. Even with the progress Massachusetts has made in containing the virus, the fear and pain of losing loved ones or seeing them suffer has still not dissipated for my family and countless other families in our community.

Many of our local businesses struggle or have closed while the behemoths of industry like Amazon are allowed to get richer and our gas and produce prices skyrocket.  Many of our small businesses – the backbone of the American dream—are being pushed toward bankruptcy.  Our educational system is also a mess.  Many of our children have been left behind with some of the lowest testing scores in decades and little prospect of making up the deficiencies in the short term as Beacon Hill insiders squabble over the disbursement of federal relief dollars.  Our nursing and elder homes are still a catastrophe in waiting.  Their haphazard oversight is nothing short of shameful.  

These situations are unacceptable. We cannot turn our heads and simply ignore the obvious problems before us.  While the old ways of Beacon Hill and insider politics are still prevalent, we need new, modern ways of examining our problems and planning for the future. 

We are at a pivotal moment in our country and District’s history where we can not only recover to pre-pandemic norms, but also rebuild in a way that prepares our residents— especially our children—for the challenges and promises of the 21st century. I am running for State Senate to help ensure that our District continues to provide future generations the same opportunities that my family received nearly 50 years ago when they arrived in Boston. 

I ask for your vote.Anthony D’Ambrosio, BA Yale, MA University of Cambridge. Candidate for State Senate

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