LETTER: Howes Thanks Voters of Third Middlesex, Encourages Balance

Dear Third Middlesex District:

Thank you to all the volunteers and donors during the campaign and for your kind words in defeat. I appreciate that you heard and supported my message of balance.

We need balance of political power to support freedom. It was my hope that the voters, tired of the same empty rhetoric and failed policies would embrace my mission to temper our politics and build an inclusive two-party political system that respects the political, social & economic diversity of the Commonwealth.

We cannot productively and effectively address our challenges until we improve and repair our decision making framework. Our right to choose and create alternatives for ourselves is limited and restricted when too much power is consolidated in the hands of too few people.

Our one-party system threatens freedom by breeding voter apathy. More than 80 percent of our elections are uncontested and more than 95 percent of incumbents are re-elected. Our one-party system threatens freedom by weakening government accountability and transparency. Our one-party system threatens freedom when government leaders shift their responsibility from the average citizen to the politically connected and their special interests.

The Republican Primary election result was disappointing because it appears a dangerous approach to governing and our public discourse continues to win approval over my alternative vision. In my view, we have "lost the forest for the trees." We are distracted by single partisan issues like abortion and gay marriage and we fail to repair the framework that binds us together as neighbors. The election was a choice between accepting things as they are or adopting an alternative path and working to co-create a new way forward. 

I proposed a balanced path that discards a public policy framework based on "yes/no" and "either/or" policy choices and replaced it with "both/and" solutions. My framework embraces the marriage of opposing ideas as the foundation for sustainable policies rather than the polarity, gridlock and animosity that characterize our current civic dialogue.

While it was only a small group of people that rejected my message, this relatively small group of voters drive the bus and control the political process. The problem is this bus is speeding away from the respect, tolerance, pragmatism and balance necessary for effective and sustainable solutions.

Please remain engaged and work for balance. Thanks again for your kind words of support and encouragement.

Sincerely,

Greg Howes