Boston RCC State Committee Event Tuesday 1/31

Tomorrow night (1/31), from 7-8:30 pm at the Park Street School (67 Brimmer Street, Boston, MA), the Boston RCC will be hosting a forum for all the GOP state committee candidates running to represent part of Boston. The forum will be moderated by none other than Rob Eno, probably best known as the head of RedMassGroup.

As the Middlesex and Suffolk District includes Charlestown, the West End, and parts of Allston and Brighton, I'll certainly be there, and I hope to see you too!

The first part of the forum permits each candidate to give a two-minute introductory speech, and I've copied the text of mine below. Please ask me for more specifics (it's only 2 minutes, remember!) or if you have any questions!

Boston RCC State Committee Candidate Forum

Opening Remarks

Good evening. I’m Michael Cowett from Cambridge, and I’m running in the Middlesex and Suffolk district, which in Boston includes Charlestown, the West End and some of Allston and Brighton. 

I’m running for state committee mindful of the highs and lows I’ve seen in the two years I’ve lived here. It was wonderful to cast my first vote in Massachusetts for Scott Brown. At the end of 2010, however, it was much less wonderful to watch the little success we did have here occur only in spite of the state committee. 

Electing Republican governors is certainly important, but we must also commit to broadening our efforts. We must focus more on contesting and winning down-ballot races for the executive offices, the General Court, city council and school board. After all, Scott Brown was a selectman, state rep, and state senator before becoming a US senator. 

State committee members must primarily work to strengthen the Republican Party within their districts. Part of that is being available as a resource, and if elected, I hope to emulate my friend Paul Ronukaitus, who’s running for re-election in the First Suffolk and Middlesex District but wasn’t able to be here tonight. Paul’s one of the good guys on the state committee: he shows up, unlike far too many others, and works hard on behalf of our party. Around here, party-building efforts must begin with forming local Republican committees and establishing an infrastructure for Republican success in every ward and precinct, and this would therefore be my first priority as a state committeeman.

Republicans have ignored this area for far too long. We must fight the Democrats for every vote in all 351 cities and towns of the Commonwealth. I’m running because I am ready, willing, and eager to help lead that fight and convince others to join me. I look forward to answering your questions, and I respectfully ask for your vote on March 6th.

Another opportunity to meet me!

This Wednesday night, January 18, I'll be joining the Boston Ward 3 Republican Committee at an event  from 6:30-8:30 at Joe's American Bar and Grill, 100 Atlantic Ave. in Boston.

Former state senator and lieutenant governor candidate Richard Tisei, who is now running against Congressman John Tierney in MA-6 (North Shore), will be there, as will several state committee candidates.

I hope to meet as many of you as possible there!

An upcoming event: come meet me!

In preparation for the Boston Republican City Committee's event for state committee candidates on January 31st, the organizers sent around a brief set of questions. I've posted my answers below.

If you're interested in attending the event on the 31st, it's going to take place at the Park Street School (67 Brimmer Street) in Boston, from 6:30 until (I assume) 8:30 or 9.

1. What would you like to accomplish in your district in the next 4 years? I hope to prove that the Republican Party can be alive and well in all parts of this district -- Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Everett. This serves two related goals. One, a healthy political culture depends on the real competition we as a party must provide for the Democrats; two, the state GOP must learn to compete in areas such as those included in this district if it is ever to be consistently viable statewide. Thus, I hope to establish city/town and ward committees throughout the district, and work to find candidates for every race from state senator to school committee. We will lose every single race we refuse to contest, so it is imperative that active Republican organizations exist and be able to support Republican candidates up and down the ballot.

2. What is your strongest asset to the Republican State Committee? I think the combination of my youth and energy is my greatest asset. I know a fair amount about Massachusetts' political history over the past decades, but I've lived through very little of it. It was a pleasant surprise that the first vote I cast in Massachusetts was for the first victorious Republican candidate for the U.S Senate in nearly four decades: I speak, of course, of Scott Brown. Because of that inexperience, then, I'm more optimistic than most about the possibilities for transforming the political landscape here in the Commonwealth, especially in places like the Middlesex and Suffolk District where Republicans have too long been a rumor rather than a reality. I think that optimism will be a great asset to me as a state committee member.

3. What is something new you would like to see your Republican Town Committees practice? I'd like to see them practice existing. The Cambridge Republican City Committee barely exists, if it exists at all, in much of the district; to the best of my knowledge, Chelsea and Everett don't even have Republican committees. Republicans in this state have succeeded in areas, like Attleboro, where the proper infrastructure has been set up. If elected, my first priority will be to work to establish such infrastructure throughout the Middlesex and Suffolk District.

4. What is your favorite "hot spot" in your district? One of my favorite spots is Tavern on the Square at Porter Square, which is at the very tip of the district. I'm not sure it qualifies as a "hot spot", but it's good enough for me because they show every NFL game on Sundays. I love football, so I very much enjoy spending fall Sundays eating their delicious food and watching the games.

cross-posted at RMG (http://redmassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=13742)

Official Campaign Announcement (Press Release)

Michael Cowett has announced that he will be a candidate for Republican State Committeeman in the Middlesex and Suffolk state senatorial district, which includes all of Chelsea and Everett as well as the following sections of Cambridge and Boston:

Cambridge: Ward 1 all, precinct 1 of ward 2, ward 3 all, precinct 2 of ward 4, and all of wards 6, 7, and 8
Boston: Ward 2 all (Charlestown), precinct 5 of ward 3 (the West End), precincts 4, 6, and 7 of ward 21 (Allston), and precincts 1, 2, and 5 of ward 22 (Allston and Brighton).

"I'm running for two major reasons: build Republican infrastructure and support Republican candidates at all levels," Cowett said. "Recent Republican success in Massachusetts, especially in the state House, has largely come in areas with strong city and town committees, and we must bring that success to the Middlesex and Suffolk District."

"We also need strong Republican candidates for every office at every level of government, from school committee to Congress. No matter how thoroughly the Democratic Party continues to fail Bay State residents, nothing will change until the Republican Party starts to offer viable alternatives even in historically deep-blue areas.; after all, we will lose every single race we refuse to contest. We must broaden our focus from a few friendly enclaves to each of the Commonwealth's 351 cities and towns, and I intend to begin that effort in Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Everett."

Michael Cowett is currently a junior at Harvard College. Politically, he has been an active member of the Cambridge Republican City Committee throughout college, most recently as a volunteer for Charlie Marquardt's campaign for Cambridge City Council. He has also interned for state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick).

cross-posted to RMG here: http://redmassgroup.com/diary/13740/cowett-announces-run-for-gop-state-committee