Answers to Boston RCC Forum Questions

Let me begin by thanking the Boston RCC for putting on a great forum for state committee candidates whose districts, like mine, are partly or wholly comprised of Boston.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who turned out. I was very impressed by the turnout. Thank you for your concern for the Massachusetts Republican Party!

I posted my opening statement on Monday night, and it's still available on this blog. I was also asked four questions, and I have put the basics of my responses to them below.

1. What would you do to find General Court candidates for Boston-area districts?
-We must try to find candidates for every race, starting immediately. The first step to Republican resurgence is to put the Democrats on Beacon Hill on notice that the days of them coasting to re-election are over.

-We must make more efficient use of technology to target Republican voters and encourage them to run for office.

-We have to "get people to talk to people." Rather than one or two people trying to make several hundred (or more) phone calls, those one or two should concentrate on finding a few other people, who'll each find a few other people, and so on. By building these sorts of multi-level networks, and thereby tapping into more connections than any one person has, we will reach far more people. The more people we reach out to, the more likely it is that we will find candidates for office.

2. Do you use Facebook and/or Twitter?
Certainly! You can visit my FB page here (http://www.facebook.com/CowettForStateCommittee), and follow my twitter feed (@Cowett4MassGOP). All three are well-integrated with each other.

3. How are you a leader in your community?
As a college student, most of my non-political involvement is on campus; that said, Harvard is a fairly significant part of my district. I'm a classics major, and I serve as my class's representative to the Classics Department faculty; I also serve on the faculty-student committee that oversees Harvard's Program in General Education. I have also been very active in a variety of classics-related organizations. These include the Harvard Classical Club, where I serve as co-president and mainly help to organize a trivia tournament each spring for hundreds of New England high schoolers.

4. How would you improve the fundraising of the RCCs/RTCs in your district?
-You have to ask! People are far more likely to give you money -- in fact, to do anything -- if you ask, rather than expecting them to volunteer unprompted.

-I'd like to see more events like the one run by the Watertown RTC, in which people could donate money in exchange for an autographed copy of Scott Brown's book. We certainly shouldn't limit ourselves to such efforts, but I think fundraising appeals in which people get something more tangible of value in exchange for their donation are likely to be quite successful.

Again, these are the basics. As always, I'm happy to talk about them -- or anything else -- further. Lastly, thanks again to all who organized and attended the event! I'll have more information quite soon about a similar upcoming event for all state committee candidates in Cambridge.