Brookline Attorney Ben Sigel To Run For Congress

BROOKLINE, MA — Another Brookline resident has thrown his hat in the ring to run for the Fourth Congressional District seat, the seat the Joe Kennedy will leave behind next year.

Brookline Attorney Ben Sigel is the seventh person to declare he's running - nearly a year after the first person - Ihssane Leckey - announced she was in the race. The primary will be in September. As of yet, no Republicans have announced their intent to run, so whoever wins the primary will effectively win the seat.

“This campaign is about bringing people together,” said Sigel in his announcement email, “I have a long history of working to bridge divides among diverse communities, and the people of this district are ready to unite around our common values of opportunity, inclusion, and fairness.”

If elected, Sigel, who is the Jewish son of a Puerto Rican mother, would be the first Latino elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress, the only other Latino to be elected in New England was John Sununu of New Hampshire. Others running, could make history, too. In addition to Leckey, Newton City Councilor is running, if either of those two women are elected, they would be the first women to represent the district.

Siegel's father was born in Worcester, and the candidate cited his ability to bridge divides in order to create opportunities to help everyone thrive as the reason why he is running for Congress.

“I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive,” said Sigel. “The foundation of any strong community is the access it gives to opportunities for all its residents. And people thrive when their communities come together around shared values. That’s what our campaign slogan, ‘We The 4th,’ is about. We are a diverse district, but at the end of the day we have much more in common than not.”

Sigel works as the director of client and community relations, special counsel at Mintz Levin. After college, he worked as deputy regional finance director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, helping Democrats try to retake the House of Representatives. He was also the Task Force Coordinator for the Demcocratic Caucus, where he directed and coordinated Members of Congress in creating and promoting a national Democratic agenda and helping organize national policy retreats and weekly policy meetings.

Sigel has served on local, national and global non-profit boards, including President of the Hispanic National Bar Association for New England, board member of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, American Jewish Committee, Northeastern School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, JDC, American Society of Haifa University, Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston, New England Israel Business Council, Gann Academy, and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

He has also been a committee member on the Boston Bar Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Jewish Family & Children's Service Bet Tzedek Program, ADL’s Jewish-Latino Roundtable, Jewish Community Center’s JCC@333 Event, AIPAC’s Young Leaders Council, and TEDCO’s Task Force for Women Entrepreneurs.

“Representative Kennedy leaves a legacy of community-building and advocacy for the citizens of the 4th District” said Sigel. “I am determined to continue his fight for social and economic justice and to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Sigel is planning a district-wide listening tour to between Jan. 22 and end Feb. 9 at the Windsor Club in Newton.

Ihssane Leckey of Brookline declared she was running in May, expecting to challenge Kennedy himself. Since then the field has only grown to seven. Alan Khazei announced his decision to run in September, then, in October former Brookline Selectwoman Jesse Mermell became the third Brookline resident to announce she was running, followed by Brookline's Dave Cavell. Newton City Councilors Becky Walker Grossman and Jake Auchincloss are also running in the race.

The Fourth Congressional District includes parts of Bristol, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Worcester counties. Before Kennedy was elected in 2012, Barney Frank held the seat from 1981 until Kennedy took over.

Sigel’s platform includes fighting for universal healthcare, combating climate change; immigration reform; and combating the rise of hatred.

Read more:

• Joe Kennedy Announces Run For Senate
• Leckey Of Brookline Runs For Congress
• Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss Announces Run
• Newton's Grossman Declares Run For Kennedy House Seat (Sept.24)
• Candidate For Congress Jesse Mermell: Civic Engagement Runs Deep (October)
• Dave Cavell, Another Brookline Resident Runs For Congress (Oct.19)
• Money Race: Kazai then Auchincloss Lead the Way In Donations (Jan. 2020)

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).