(Dover) – Pledging to change the tone set by professional politicians in Washington D.C., political outsider Kevin O’Connor today announced his candidacy for United States Senate.
O’Connor, a Republican, said that Congress is broken because politicians are more interested in engaging in self-serving partisan conflict and cozying up to special interests than in making progress for their constituents.
“Massachusetts voters deserve a real choice,” said O’Connor, 58. “They deserve a senator who isn’t in this just to ascend the next rung on the political ladder, someone who won’t tolerate the gamesmanship, grandstanding and self-serving conflict. It’s time for a change.”
Coinciding with the announcement, the campaign released a video titled “Clean House” in which O’Connor reflects on the nightly debates his family had at their dinner table, which were a bonding experience for the family. He and his five siblings were taught to listen and learn from other perspectives, and to disagree without being disagreeable. O’Connor laments that the same spirit has gone missing in Washington, as politicians seek out partisan conflict and rancor at the expense of national unity.
“In every relationship you have, there’s a point where you can tell is the person committed to making it work or is the person not committed to making it work,” O’Connor states in the video. “What I see now is a lack of commitment to the relationship on a national basis.”
O’Connor says there should be term limits for lawmakers and he pledges to serve no more than two terms. He also disavows special interest PAC money, which he believes has corrupted Washington.
O’Connor promises to focus on achievable solutions for the issues that matter most to Massachusetts, not pie in the sky ideas that are designed to wedge voters into irreconcilable camps.
He will be a champion for education and our free enterprise system. He will stand up to the deficit spenders in both parties, promote affordable health care and a sustainable environment, and support a “peace through strength” foreign policy. And he will always insist on the fair and impartial application of our Constitution and laws for all, regardless of station in life.
A father of four sons, O’Connor lives in Dover with his wife Janet and their two school-aged boys. He is a practicing attorney.
SCRIPT FOR “CLEAN HOUSE”
KEVIN O’CONNOR: We had a very close family. My parents were great about promoting discussion at the dinner table. Every night we talked about politics from as early as I can remember; public affairs, we talked about everything.
JANET O’CONNOR: He grew up one of six kids and they moved a lot, and one thing his mom always said to me was, “I always look to Kevin to keep the family going because he had a way of keeping everyone’s spirit up.” I think he’s just a born optimist.
KEVIN O’CONNOR: Our family debates were a source of bonding. It made us closer. And I think what is going on in Washington is not promoting bonding at all. It’s very divisive, and it leaves everyone feeling more alienated.
In every relationship you have, there’s a point where you can tell is the person committed to making it work, or is the person not committed to making it work. What I see now is a lack of commitment to the relationship on a national basis.
The people in Washington right now are not looking out for us. They’re looking out for themselves.
It’s a Washington culture, and it’s very different from what we see in Massachusetts.
I’m so frustrated, but I’m also mindful of the fact that they work for us, and those Senate seats belong to the people of Massachusetts.
It’s time to clean house in Washington. We’ve been sending the same people to Washington for generations, and they keep delivering the same results. And they’re not good enough.
I am not a career politician. I’m going to Washington not to advance my career, not to run for another office. I’m going to get things done.
I believe that we should limit every senator to two terms.
We need to be focused on what the people of Massachusetts need, how we can help them. How we can help them with their roads and bridges; how we can help them with their schools, how we can help them prepare the next generation.
A strong education system, a free market economy and absolute intolerance of government corruption.
I’ll go to Washington with a fresh spirit. I’ll go to Washington to work with people and to try and get things done.