The state’s Gateway Cities were the key to Elizabeth Warren’s election victory last fall, and Warren thinks she knows why.
In an interview with editors and reporters from the Gateway Cities at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Warren said voters in communities such as Fitchburg, Springfield, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, and Lawrence voted their interests.
“For me, the question in this race was about how to build a future,” she said. “The Republican vision of how to build a future focused on leaving more with those who already had it – that is, lower taxes, more tax loopholes, and reducing other investments. I see this – and Democrats see this— very differently. It’s about everyone paying a fair share, but having the resources to make investments in the future – investments in education, infrastructure, and research and innovation.”
The senator said these types of investments are more critical in Gateway Cities than anywhere else in the state and, perhaps, the country. “These are the places where making these investments, or failing to make these investments, will be the difference between success and failure,” she said.
Scott Brown defeated Attorney General Martha Coakley in the special Senate election in 2010 because he took the Gateway Cities of Lowell, Haverhill, and Fitchburg and also ran competitively in normally Democratic strongholds such as Worcester, Brockton, and Holyoke. Warren turned the tables on Brown in 2012 by recapturing Lowell and Fitchburg and running close in Haverhill. She won by more than 30 points in Brockton, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, New Bedford, Pittsfield, and Springfield.
With Congress in gridlock, Warren admitted it won’t be easy to secure funding for federal investments in Gateway Cities, which is why she supports efforts by President Obama and others to launch what amount to national campaigns for their economic policies. “This is entirely a rational response to nonresponsive government,” she said, adding that much of the gridlock in Washington can be traced to the influence of lobbyists. “I worry the government has become too heavily lobbied,” she said.
Similarly, Warren said she supports Gov. Deval Patrick’s campaign on Beacon Hill and outside the State House to build support for a $1.9 billion tax initiative to fund state investments in transportation and education. “I commend Gov. Patrick. He’s done exactly the right thing,” Warren said.
While Warren said she supports the governor’s initiative, she said she has not personally lobbied House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who has indicated he supports a much smaller tax package.
