Tommy Vitolo Knows How to Play in the Sandbox

By Richard Nangle, Brookline Town Meeting member

In most parts of Massachusetts, Democrats are of the centrist variety. There are plenty of the FDR Democrat style – the kind that favor a decent wage paid for good work, a decent quality of life for all, respect for the environment, a permissive attitude on social issues, and deep concern about the effects of climate change. That’s the traditional liberal-to-moderate Democrat as it is in Massachusetts.

There are certainly progressive enclaves. Amherst-Northampton would be one. Provincetown would be another. Boston-Cambridge-Somerville-Newton-Brookline would be another.

That is nowhere near a majority of the state.

It is tempting here in Brookline to imagine that everyone thinks like us and that our view of the political landscape is mainstream. It isn’t. In the Legislature, the smarter Senators and Representatives figure that out. They may run to the left of their colleagues, but if they are the kind that can reach out and collaborate, they can actually get things done.

Collaboration and cooperation may be a thing of the past in Washington, but it is a way of doing things that is still very much the style of Beacon Hill.

Surely there are legislators on the left who talk a good game but can’t get to the finish line because they have not cultivated the necessary collegial relationships.

The power politics of Beacon Hill are not everyone’s cup of tea. It can be rightly said that too much power is tied up with the leadership. But that’s how it’s worked there for a long time and there isn’t anywhere near the support of the membership to change that.

Tommy Vitolo understands this. He is a progressive legislator who has earned the respect of the House speaker and leadership team and therefore has been able to function as the voters expected when first electing him in 2018.

Just most recently, Vitolo helped secure passage of a 10-community pilot for fossil-free new construction. It’s a popular idea in Brookline and some of the towns mentioned above. Statewide, it’s viewed somewhere between deep skepticism and outright contempt. But Tommy pulled it off. The legislature decided to go with the pilot program. A Republican governor gave the final approval. That’s as good an example of effective legislating as you will ever see. Ted Kennedy would have been proud.

Tommy Vitolo is not the first Massachusetts elected official to be challenged from the left. But the nagging question throughout this campaign has been, how do you go left of Tommy Vitolo? The answer is: You don’t. You can’t, unless you are admitting that if you get into the legislature, you will not be working with leadership. That’s not a viable option for Brookline.

On September 6, Tommy Vitolo is on the ballot and his four years of service (plus a long and effective run as a Town Meeting Member) is his argument for another term. That’s fine. There are scant few legislators who can point to as many accomplishments as Tommy in such a short period of time. His website https://tommyvitolo.com/ includes a long list. It has another long list – endorsements. He is endorsed by Maura Healey, the presumptive Democratic candidate for Governor; the local state senator – Cindy Creem; another very successful progressive state representative – Ruth Balser of Newton; practically every Select Board member in Brookline in recent memory, and to top it off a stunning 200-plus Town Meeting members. His opponent has one former Select Board member, one current Select Board member and 18 Town Meeting members.

That’s as stark as the battle lines get.

Tommy Vitolo has earned re-election and deserves your vote. Please be there for him on election day. He is always there for you.