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Liana Steir is a Westborough native who moved to Washington D.C. in May 2011. She currently works for a national nonprofit called First Book.
This is not an op-ed to try to convince you that Sen. Scott Brown is great. It is also not an op-ed to convince you that Sen. Scott Brown is terrible.
This is one Westborough native's experience meeting the senator in Washington D.C. I grew up in Westborough from the time I took the bus to Hastings Elementary School to the time I walked across the stage at Westborough High School graduation in 2006.
I met with the senator at his office for an event called “Coffee With Scott.” I thought, “this is going to be great - I’m going to have a chance to talk with Scott.” The Scott I remembered, who drove the pickup truck, and who had a personality that was refreshing in the scene of politics. The Scott I was expecting to see had morphed into Sen. Scott Brown - who seemed tired. And I bet he is. He said that he works from 4 a.m. to midnight on behalf of the people of Massachusetts.
With an estimated 20 Massachusetts constituents present, Brown answered questions about healthcare, the environment, and the question I asked about education.
One couple said they pay $2,000 a month for healthcare for a family of four, and they have two kids in college. A mother asked what he is doing to clean up the environment so kids won’t suffer so much with all the pollution that is in the air.
Brown often passed the ball to staff members, who were very well versed in said issues. Brown talked about how our nation is facing tough financial times and acknowledged the disconnect amongst his colleagues in Washington. I mentioned how I would see my friends during the fall semester at school, but then they weren’t there in the spring because they couldn’t afford the costs of college. He mentioned his support for Pell Grants and... well that was pretty much it.
The atmosphere was not the one I was expecting. It was very “Washington D.C.” in that the other constituents and I stood out like sore thumbs in a sea of suits and staff. It wasn’t really “Coffee with Scott,” it felt and was more like “Talking Points for 30-Minutes of the Senator’s Time,” as well as a photo opportunity (hence the smiley photo attached to this article).
It’s so easy to move to Washington D.C. and live in a bubble. My suggestion to Sen. Brown for the 2012 election is to reach out more to the constituents; be that guy we remember who talked about driving his truck down to Washington, D.C. Otherwise, you’re just another one of them (them being a Washington politician) and you lose the ability to be one of us.
