It’s November. The three things I like most about November are Election Day, Veteran’s Day, and Thanksgiving Day.
Election Day is finally here. After a presidential election campaign that has lasted nearly two years through caucuses and primaries and conventions and debates, pollsters tell us that the two candidates, incumbent Democrat President Barack Obama and Republican Governor Mitt Romney, are effectively tied across the country and the race could go either way next Tuesday.
I am excited that for the first time in my life I have the possibility not just of knowing the President personally, but in knowing him and his family and in having him know me. I worked with Mitt Romney for all four years that he was our Governor of Massachusetts.
I first met him years before when he was a candidate for United States Senate. So my relationship with Governor Romney is a long established one, as is my support for him.
I don’t know Congressman Paul Ryan. But it intrigues me that for the first time in my life the Vice President of the United States, if Romney and Ryan win, would be a person younger than me by a couple years.
I said the race was close, within the margin of error on many polls. Obviously with Massachusetts being such a blue state I expect President Obama to win our state and the Electoral College votes that go along with that victory. But I don’t expect the margin to be as large as some predict. We will see. I’ll give my prediction at the end of the column and we can compare it next column to the results on Tuesday and see how accurate I was.
There is another national race that has been attracting much attention in the Bay State and that is the race for United States Senate pitting Democrat Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren against incumbent Republican Senator Scott Brown.
I don’t know Professor Warren at all. I’ve never met her. But I know Senator Brown very well. When I was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives ten years ago and walked into the House chamber on January 1, 2003 to be sworn in, Scott Brown was sitting in the chair immediately to my right. We were seat-mates for several years in the House until he ran for State Senate and moved to the Upper Chamber. He is a friend, a colleague, a co-worker, a maverick. He and his wife Gail are my friends and have even gotten to know my son Quinn.
Scott has always had an independent streak. It is something that has frustrated me about Scott at times, but has also made me admire him for his willingness to break away from the pack and do what he thinks is best for his state and the country.
Friends and family members across the Commonwealth have told me how fatigued they are becoming with all the television, internet, and radio commercials, and with the mailings and newspaper ads and internet/social media ads they are being barraged with about this race. It is already the most expensive Senate race in the country. I have faith in the voters of Massachusetts. I predict Scott will pull this off and win by a very tight margin. We will know the winner in less than four days.
Of course there are other races on the ballot. Citizens of the new First Congressional District will elect a Congressman to replace the retiring John Olver. It doesn’t take a psychic to predict that Democrat Congressman Richie Neal will win that race.
As I have mentioned before in this column I have been fortunate, as has State Senator Mike Knapik, to run unopposed for re-election to our respective positions in the Massachusetts Legislature. I am grateful to the citizens of the Fourth Hampden District. I am proud to represent Westfield in Boston and love coming to work every day.
There are three questions that will appear on the ballot next Tuesday.
The first deals with the Right to Repair law that gives vehicle owners and their mechanics the right to obtain codes and information from the manufacturers to facilitate the repairs of that vehicle without having to bring it back to the dealer. Right before we adjourned from formal sessions this summer the Legislature passed a compromise worked out by the parties and the Governor signed that bill, making the ballot question moot. I voted yes, in support of the compromise. I predict voters will vote to pass it as well.
Question 2 is a ballot question dealing with legalizing physician assisted suicide in the Commonwealth; the so-called “Death with Dignity” question. Personally, I oppose it. There is much to fear when doctors become conflicted with preserving and extending life and helping to end it. I predict the voters of the Commonwealth will also reject this question. Although I also predict it will be back.
Question 3 deals with legalizing the use of marijuana in the Bay State for medicinal purposes. Several years ago voters passed a law to decriminalize the possession of an ounce of pot or less. This law would put the Commonwealth at odds with current federal law and, I think, send mixed signals. But I am not without sympathy for those who might be legitimately helped by using medical marijuana to ease the pain and discomfort of their maladies. I predict the voters may very well pass this question, but I think it will be by a narrow margin.
My friend Fran Aguda at the Westfield Council on Aging asked me to let seniors know that if they are looking for a ride to the polls on Tuesday they can call her at the Westfield Council on Aging to make arrangements. The COA number is 562-6435.
I must conclude by encouraging all of the eligible citizens of Westfield who are registered to vote to make sure you go to the polls next Tuesday. I believe it is our civic duty to vote; a solemn responsibility as well as a right. Your participation in your government by casting your vote means that you can help preserve the representative democracy our country is based on. And of course, as they say, “If you don’t vote you have no right to complain!”
Finally, my personal prediction for the presidential race: Mitt Romney over Barack Obama 52-48 percent. Governor Romney will win the popular vote and the Electoral College vote.
Have a great week.
Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Maura Cassin may be reached at their Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, (413) 568-1366.
Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803.
Email address: [email protected]
Website: www.DonHumason.org
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
