Newton Republican City Committee welcomes state GOP

candidates
By Laura Paine/Staff Writer
Wicked Local Newton
Posted Sep 28, 2010 @ 01:32 PM

Newton —Although Sean Bielat said he has only about 25 percent name recognition in the
race to take the 4th Congressional District from incumbent Barney Frank, members of the
Newton Republican City Committee met him with applause.

The NRCC held an informal gathering on Sept. 22 at the Newton Community Service Center
to allow residents the chance to meet Bielat, as well as several other members of this year’s
GOP candidates, including Mary Z. Connaughton for State Auditor, Bill Campbell for
Secretary of State, and Jim Dixon, candidate for state Representative for the 10th Middlesex
District.

Bielat began by referencing a poll taken of 400 “likely voters” done by OnMessage, which
showed that Frank was ahead in the race by only 10 points, and 48 percent of those polled
would vote to re-elect him.

“That’s an astounding accomplishment at this point in the race,” Bielat said. “We think once
we get [name recognition] higher, we will see those numbers close even more. We’re getting
a lot of attention. A lot of press. A lot of money came in today. The momentum is really
building and that’s what this race is going to be about, because it is a national race and we
are going to need national support.”

He discussed Frank’s hand in the collapse of the housing bubble and “soft corruption” in
Congress, mentioning Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the part Frank allegedly
played in the bailout ethics violations of Maxine Waters, a U.S. House Representative from
California’s 35th District, for which she is currently under investigation. Bielat said Frank
offered to help so Waters would avoid conflict of interest and what he did was not illegal.

“Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right,” Bielat said. “I am not saying Barney Frank is
responsible for the economic collapse. What I’m saying is there are a lot of people
responsible, he is high on that list, and what we don’t see is accountability for these folks.
What we do see are people who are deciding what their interests are and then using taxpayer
dollars to achieve those interests.”

He spoke of his time in the Marines and his experience at iRobot to explain that
congressional leadership needs “someone who has spent time getting their hands dirty in the
economy” by doing the work that it takes to create real economic growth, and while there
may be a vision that if the current leadership had more money and power, more would be
achieved, Bielat believes there is another vision.

“There is an alternate vision I think many of you share with me,” Bielat said. “It’s a vision of
a country of opportunity, of individual freedoms and responsibility, an end of disincentives to
growth, investment and hard work, of secure borders and sound foreign policy, of the low
deficit and resulting low taxation and that’s a vision that I say starts on Nov. 2.”

Bielat gave his support for Connaughton, who said she was in a “statistical dead heat” with
Democratic opponent Suzanne Bump in a Suffolk University poll of registered voters, which
she said is a good sign. She said she decided to run for auditor after she turned down an
application for a “nonrevenue transponder,” which would allow her to pass through tolls free
of charge because she was on the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike Committee.
“There shouldn’t be two sets of rules for the people of Beacon Hill and for everyone else,”
Connaughton said.

She also said she would opt to have the state legislature audited because she believes people
should know how the money in the budget is being spent and she would file an application to
be personally audited by her peers in the National Association of State Auditors.

“I think transparency is healthy for government, just as [Louis] Brandeis once said that
sunshine is the best disinfectant,” she said. “I plan to bring a whole lot of sunshine to Beacon
Hill. You need to be an attorney to be the attorney general; doesn’t it make sense to require
an auditor be the state auditor?”

Connaughton went on to describe her experience as a senior manger at Ernst & Young in
addition to her credentials as a Certified Public Accountant, saying qualifications for this job
are what is needed.

“This job has to be independently performed regardless of who is in the corner office,” she
said. “It’s the key watchdog, the top public advocacy position in the state looking out not for
the governor’s interest or the legislature’s interest, but for the people’s interest. It truly is the
people’s eyes on Beacon Hill looking for waste, fraud and corruption.”

Connaughton said she is ready to role up her sleeves and make sure that the job is effectively
done, but she needs as much support from volunteers as possible. Campbell agreed with her
call for support, telling the NRCC their signatures are what made it possible for him to enter
the race for Secretary of State. He also said that he has been getting thumbs up from
constituents because he is a Republican and he is not an incumbent.

“We’re doing very well out there,” Campbell said. “It seemed by looking at the numbers we
were able to draw a lot of independents with a lot of enthusiasm for what we’re doing. It’s not
just the candidates who are waiting for the 41 days to expire, it’s all of us. Nov. 2 is going to
be a very good day, and Nov. 3 is going to be an even better day.”

He referenced his track record of standing strong in his opinions on the issues as reasons why
he should be elected, including getting ballots to military personnel, the need to show an ID
when voting on Election Day and his opposition to Election Day registration.

Dixon, a pilot for American Airlines, spoke briefly because he had a flight to catch, but he
said the word is getting out about him and there is a “resounding push even amongst
Democrats” who are all worried about the economy who told him to keep doing what he is
doing.

Laura Paine can be reached at lpaine@cnc.com.

Copyright 2010 Newton TAB. Some rights reserved