Kerry urges local officials to call for change

January 11, 2008

Sen. John Kerry urged local officials to support efforts on education and public works funding as well as global warming.
Sen. John Kerry, addressing the MMA Annual Business Meeting today in Boston, exhorted local officials to support Congressional efforts ranging from securing funding for education and public works projects to combating global warming.

“I ask all of you: Help us by making your voices heard,” Kerry told local leaders from across the state. “Help us to validate our concerns.”

Among the issues Kerry addressed was funding for the No Child Left Behind program, which was enacted with bipartisan support early in President Bush’s first term. The program, however, has been underfunded by at least $70 billion, making it difficult, if not impossible, for school districts to fulfill its goals, Kerry said.

Kerry, who served as the state’s lieutenant governor before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984, described the lack of funding for No Child Left Behind as symptomatic of a system that has gone awry.

Gone are the days, he said, when problems “were dealt with in a bipartisan, non-ideological, community-oriented, values-based manner,” a process that produced landmark legislation such as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

He said “the glue that holds America together” is being destroyed by a tax code that favors the very wealthy.

Fixing the political process, he said, will require us to maintain faith that change is possible.

“You can get depressed, if you want,” he said, “but I’m not, because all of it is curable.”

Kerry expressed enthusiasm for efforts to improve energy efficiency, which he said can save money while also preserving jobs. He cited the example of Texas Instruments, which was planning to move its operations to China. The workforce, Kerry said, was able to demonstrate to management that by redesigning the plant in a more energy-efficient manner, millions of dollars in operating costs could be saved – enough to make it economically viable to remain in Texas.

In his opening remarks, Kerry expressed admiration for the work of city and town officials.

“I respect what you do,” he said. “I really do want to salute you. You are in the front, front lines.”

Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich