Tom Conroy for State Representative

“City Management: We Need Resources”

Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash met us at Bella Isla and we discussed several topics, all related to funding needs. Crime is a problem, and providing apprenticeship programs for youth, particularly young men, can help. Youth need to have a vision of the future that includes a steady job, money, opportunity, instead of a life of crime or drugs with a gang. But there’s not enough funding for these programs.

“How to Pay for Infrastructure Improvement”

State Rep. Steve Walsh, Co-chair of the Health Care Finance Committee at the State House, corralled some supporters from Lynn and met me at the Capitol Diner in Lynn, one of those warm, friendly, local diners with great food and coffee.

Steve and others in Lynn, such as State Senator Tom McGee, have a vision for Lynn that could be spectacular.

“Why Don’t You Vote?”

At Red’s Sandwich Shop in Salem, which was packed, I met several folks, going table to table. I enjoy these friendly conversations, and this time, one discussion stood out. At a table of twenty-somethings, we talked about Twitter and Facebook, of course, but also voting. Three of the six had not registered. When asked why not, I saw and heard a familiar refrain: a shrug and “it doesn’t matter.” Young people don’t sense that what happens in Washington or Beacon Hill has any effect on them. One said that if he registered to vote, the only “right” he would get is jury duty, a burden. I mentioned how serving on a jury can be a very illuminating experience, a first hand look at our justice system. More shrugs.

When I turned 18, when I went to register to vote, I had to also register for the draft. Those were Dad’s orders, anyway. My father had served in the Army in Vietnam, and he was big on duty, responsibility, and patriotism. He went to Vietnam believing we needed to roll back the tide of communism, but he returned an ardent opponent of the war. “I saw too many 19 year olds leaving in body bags” he told my brothers and me when we were old enough to understand. And he didn’t believe in taking over other people’s countries, militarily, as imperialists. Not the American way.