The View From Prospect Hill for December 2

The Somerville News endorses former Mayor of Somerville and current Congressman Michael Capuano for Senate. There are so many great reasons why he is the best choice to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, that it is near impossible to find fault in his candidacy - that is how convinced we are that if given the opportunity, Mike will do the Kennedy legacy proud. Sure, you could claim that we are biased for the hometown guy, and quite frankly you would be right - but not for the obvious reasons you might think. The reason we and most people outside Somerville should like Mike hearken back to his days as an Alderman and later Mayor of Somerville, where he "cut his teeth" so to speak. Back then, Capuano became an expert at constituent services and overcame his ability to rub people the wrong way with his brash, in your face style of passion he brought to bear as an elected official. That passion made you either love him or hate him - but either way - you came to respect him. When the fabled 8th Congressional seat opened up - after Joe Kennedy decided to leave the political arena - Capuano ran and won with a promise to stand true to his political style. He arguably delivered on that promise and caught the eye of the Democratic leadership, specifically Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Standing out in a body of 441 members is no simple task, but in the 8th District, voters have come to expect greatness from those they have elected - including former President John F. Kennedy, former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil and Joe Kennedy. Proof positive that Mike has never lost his fiery temper and willingness to call a spade and spade - his February 11th explosion on several bankers testifying before the House Financial Services Committee. He went ballistic on them - and asked what everyone else has been wanting to ask - why they weren't up against criminal charges. That's Mike for you - and now he can add "YouTube legend" to his list of accomplishments. His only problem is Martha Coakley has been preparing to run for this seat a whole year in advance. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out something is up when the Attorney General's office, which normally issues a press release once every other week, opens the flood gates and unleashes several per day for no apparent reason - wink, wink. At the end of the day, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other candidates in this race, it is clear that they all have good intentions, but none of them can match up with Mike Capuano when it comes to proven experience in dealing with national and international issues - experience you can only get by serving in Congress. That is an inarguable fact and possibly the most advantageous attribute of anyone seeking to be elected to the Senate, period. Don't let low voter turnout keep the right candidate from winning on Tuesday, December 8th - make sure you, your family and every person you know - votes for Mike Capuano for Senate.