Candidate for U.S. Senate Speaks to Sudbury Democrats

Newton Mayor Setti Warren visited Grange Hall Thursday night as he continues on his campaign trail for U.S. Senate.

Warren announced his candidacy on May 9 and will challenge Scott Brown for his seat.

On Thursday night, Warren spoke to the Sudbury Democratic Town Committee about his candidacy, offered a short Q & A session to the Committee, and then spoke with Sudbury Patch before leaving for Newton.

Warren, a former naval intelligence officer, discussed his plans for continuing the recent growth in jobs in Massachusetts, how current Sen. Scott Brown's values do not mirror those of the state, and how the state should spend money wisely.

For the Q & A session, see the videos above.

Below is what Warren had to say to Sudbury Patch:

Sudbury Patch: Are you worried that by running for Senate so soon may turn off some of your voters in Newton?

Setti Warren: I've got a lot of support in the City of Newton and I'm proud of it. We are at a crossroads, right now, in our country. There are decisions that will need to be made in the next several years that will affect generations, and I feel very strongly that we need new leadership. We need to have a United States Senator that represents the values of our state. That's why I'm in the race.

SP: How would you work with Sen. (John) Kerry in making sure that the job growth (Massachusetts) has recently enjoyed continues?

SW: I would do three things. First, I would ensure that we invest in renewable energy, bio tech and life sciences through tax credits and small business loans. We can really make investments in those areas. These are strengths of Massachusetts and they will continue to be. We have to make sure we invest in things like transportation, infrastructure and high-speed rail, connect people, the market and universities and really drive the economy like it should be driven. Finally, every free trade deal we have in place needs to be a fair trade deal so we can compete with China and India, and bring good-paying jobs back here to Massachusetts and the United States.

SP: Do you support President Obama's plan on withdrawing the troops?

SW: I'm pleased that the president has started a phase withdrawal that he committed to. I believe we should reduce our military presence as quickly as possible. We need to really look at investing in areas of intelligence, also working with Pakistan and that region to ensure the terrorist threat does not develop and stabilize the region. Finally, we to ensure that will build up security in and around Afghanistan. These are difficult tasks, but we need to ensure that we do it. It doesn't mean that we should continue to the number of troops we have on the ground. We can do that while reducing our military footprint and we need to do it as quickly as we can.