kennedyseat.com meets the candidates: Exclusive email interview with Mike Capuano.

The health care vote and Olver endorsements over the weekend seemed to give Mike Capuano a little momentum, so the campaign's timing on getting these answers back to me was probably timed pretty well.  I hope to have a response from the Pagliuca campaign later this week, concluding kennedyseat.com's pre-primary candidate interviews.

As a reminder/disclaimer: my goal in reaching out to the campaigns is to try and capture a slightly different picture of the candidates as people and politicians.  I am not asking them about their positions on specific issues because a) I don't have the opportunity for follow up questions, and b) if I want a stock answer I can just look at the website.  Instead I'm trying to gauge their personalities, passions, and sense of humor.

For the time being I will let their answers speak for themselves, and hope readers will weigh in with their thoughts in the comments.

Without further ado, I give you my exclusive email interview with Democratic Senate candidate Congressman Mike Capuano, uncut, unedited, unspun:

KS: You have said (and I am paraphrasing from the blogger roundtable that I participated in) that the work in the House is more or less the same as the Senate, but with different rules.  How has your experience in the House prepared you for service in the Senate, and why are you trying to make the jump?

Capuano: I have a long record in the House and my success can be measured. I’ve brought back record transportation funding when Massachusetts was being criticized for cost overruns associated with the Big Dig.  I’ve secured funds for our hospitals, research facilities and community health centers.  These dollars helped create jobs. I chaired the Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement, which established the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Private citizens now have a role in ethics matters relative to Members of Congress and their staffs. Common Cause described the OCE as one of the most important reforms of our generation.

I know how to build coalitions. I co-founded the Congressional Sudan Caucus with one other Democrat and two Republicans with whom I agree on very little else. We’ve put our differences aside to work together to bring relief to the people of Darfur. I also co-founded the House Caucus on Community Health Centers, with another urban Democrat and two rural Republicans, one from Texas, the other from Florida. Here too, we disagree on much, but community health centers are as essential to the health of rural residents as they are in urban areas.

My successes show I know how to work with my colleagues to advance important issues. The unique nature of the Senate rules also mean I can be more effective in that body, where one Senator has more influence than one member of the House.  In the Senate, members can filibuster and place holds on legislation, which gives them more leverage to fight for and win their legislative battles.

The Senate requires political savvy, the ability to build relationships with other members and mastery of parliamentary rules that comes from experience in a legislative body.  It is essential that our next Senator be able to continue the work of Senator Kennedy as an effective legislator and passionate progressive.  I am the only candidate in this race with the experience to hit the ground running on day one.

KS: Other than Ted Kennedy, who would you consider your political role model? Any old time politicians from Somerville?

Capuano: My father, who was the first Italian-American elected official in Somerville, has always been my political role model. I still meet people in Somerville who talk to me about his years of service and the fondness they had for him. My grandfather also had a major influence on my life. He was an orphan in Italy and came to America without speaking the language or knowing anyone to make a better life for himself. I grew up living in the house next door to him in Somerville and spent a lot of time with him, learning about his experiences. My grandfather challenged me to work hard and always reach for my goals, no matter how far away they seemed. I have taken that advice to heart and it has impacted everything I do in life.
 
KS: Recession, war, health care: What is the greatest challenge facing the United States and how can you help to address it?

Capuano: The issues listed above are tightly interconnected.  The billions of dollars spent on an unnecessary war in Iraq increased our national debt.  Our health care system also impacts the economy in many ways and we must bring costs under control. True health care reform will help lower these costs for individuals, businesses, and governments.

In the House, I have worked on all of these issues.  I am pushing for a robust public option and strongly support a single payer system but we don’t have the votes right now to pass that bill.  The public option is the next best alternative. I think it is the only way to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health insurance. (Note: the campaign responded to my request on Friday, November 6, one day before the House vote on health care reform.)

I voted against the Iraq war and voted for the mission in Afghanistan.  I believe that the original mission in Afghanistan has been accomplished; al Qaeda no longer has a significant presence in that country.  The question now is what will the President’s new plan be?  If it is simply to send more troops, without any change in strategy or direction, I will not support that effort.

As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, I have worked on a number of bills crucial to meaningful financial regulatory reform. Recognizing the need for transparency when it comes to unregulated financial entities, I have filed legislation requiring hedge fund managers to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to improve federal oversight and provide more information to investors.  I have also worked with my colleagues to ensure that credit rating agencies, which were a major contributor to the financial crisis, reasonably reflect the credit risk of financial products so that investors can make informed decisions.  I voted in favor of establishing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to help stabilize our economy and prevent a deepening financial crisis.  I also helped pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to create and save millions of American jobs. While I believed the bill should have focused more on creating jobs, I am pleased that so far Massachusetts has received over $4.5 billion from this legislation—which has helped save many local jobs and prevent painful cuts to the health and education budgets.  

KS: At a point in politics when many candidates (especially Democrats it seems) tend to shade towards the middle and keep a low profile, you have been pretty open and passionate about your stance on issues. How has this helped and/or hurt you in Congress?

Capuano: It’s important for people to know where I stand on the issues.  Not everyone is going to agree with me, I know that.  I think that the best you can do as a politician is to be honest.  If the voters agree with you on most issues and believe that you are being honest, they’ll vote for you. I think my directness and candidness has helped me to form good relationships with my constituents, local community leaders, and my colleagues. My votes against the Iraq War, against the PATRIOT Act, and my unequivocal support for equal marriage and equal rights, show that I am willing to do what is right.  This was how Senator Kennedy earned his respect from colleagues on both sides of the aisle—with a consistent and dedicated approach to his core beliefs—and this is how I will continue in the Senate: firm in the positions I take, and the beliefs I hold.

KS: You are a city guy, and would be one of just a handful of Senators with Mayoral experience.  What has that experience taught you about the problems in urban America and potential solutions?

Capuano: Many of the issues found in urban areas are no different than those found in rural and suburban communities. People everywhere are concerned about having access to good paying jobs, quality health care, and a strong public education system.  The problems caused by these difficult economic times have impacted small towns and big cities.

There are issues unique to urban centers such as increased crime rates, traffic congestion and finding affordable housing.  As mayor, I worked to make Somerville a more modern and progressive city while maintaining its traditional neighborliness. I significantly reduced class size to 19 students per room and instituted free full-day kindergarten. I fought for environmental justice and achieved success as an urban environmentalist. I hired the City's first full-time Environmental Protection Officers.  I planted more than 6000 trees and the city that some called "Slummerville" was later acclaimed as "Tree City USA."  I created acres of new green space from abandoned buildings, vacant lots, and brownfields. Somerville had always been a city of immigrants; during my time as Mayor we welcomed, for the first time, many immigrants from this hemisphere.  I hired bi-lingual police and firefighters and created a Human Rights Commission. I am proud, too, of the difference my administration made in the lives of the city's employees:  I instituted paid parental leave, flex-time, and job-sharing, and corrected, through collective bargaining, very significant wage disparities between male and female workers.

KS: What is the best and worst thing about serving in Congress?

Capuano: As a member of Congress, I have the opportunity to delve into the larger issues of our time—  human rights, war and peace, healthcare reform, civil liberties, the economy.  My work on all of these issues can make a real difference in the lives of my constituents and I am grateful for the opportunity to represent them – it’s the best part of my job.

The worst part of my job is when politics gets in the way of progress.  After 11 years in Congress, I still believe in our democratic process, but from time to time it can get very frustrating when you see a chance to make real change and partisan bickering gets in the way.