Melrose Man Declares Candidacy For State Rep. Seat

The following was submitted by Brandon Reid:

Good day, my fellow local residents.

I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself, Brandon Reid, and declare my candidacy in seeking the 32nd Middlesex District State Representative seat. Although you will not see my name printed on the February 4th primary ballot as the Republican candidate, you can write me in. I really want to take this opportunity to tell you why I am running, what I represent, and how I will best represent you; the people of Melrose, Wakefield, and Malden. As a Melrose resident, I’ve seen this community grow and thrive over many years. But with all great successes, there still remain areas for improvement. Many of these areas are a direct result of state government not moving quickly or efficiently enough to address the issues that impact our communities.

One of these issues is a failure to address the serious flaws in our education system. The vibrant 32nd Middlesex district is home to many schools, of all grade levels. Many of these school do a tremendous job teaching our students, but because of existing statewide mandates, some of these schools find themselves having to put way too much emphasis on teaching students to take tests. Testing can be beneficial, but standardized testing doesn’t always accurately indicate student or school performance. The MCAS are prime example of this. Let’s get rid of the MCAS. These high stakes tests simply distract from teaching and learning.

And let’s better prepare our students for life after school. I want to work with my constituents to pass legislation that will mandate that all high schools must offer courses on finances. Credit card companies target 18-19-year-olds fresh out of high school, and many of these young adults don’t understand credit. We expect them to borrow all this money to go to college, and they don’t understand the terms and conditions of these loans, by no fault of their own. Let’s give our youth the tools they need to succeed. Not just in school, but long after they graduate.

In addition to curriculum, the issue of school safety must be revisited. We can do a better job of keeping our kids safe. We need more comprehensive safety plans in place. I’ve spent 7 years as the security manager at a public charter school, and I’m going to bring that knowledge with me to the state house. We need to pass smart legislation that will ensure that all schools undergo thorough and frequent emergency procedures assessments.

Let’s move on to another topic. Everyone’s favorite –taxes! We all pay quite a bit of taxes, and it's a burden on many of us. Sales tax is over 6%, property tax is through the roof, and income tax is higher than all but one state that levy’s a flat income tax rate at over 5%. Many of the Democrats in the house would like to raise these taxes without delivering on their promises of putting your money to good work. I don’t believe that raising taxes is the answer, but I do believe that making sure that every dollar of taxpayer money is accounting for and going towards the causes that are most important to us a community, is imperative.

I think many of us would agree that, at present, this is not the case. Massachusetts does not have a great track record of fiscal responsibility and this needs to change. This state is consistently among the worst rated in terms of fiscal health of any state in the country. Democratic leadership would rather ignore this fact and continue wasteful spending on programs that are not producing desirable results, all the while telling you that you’ll reap the reward if you contribute just a little more. We need accountability. In order to achieve this, in part, the effectiveness of state-run programs must be measured and evaluated, otherwise there is no justifying the costs. And this all must be done with complete transparency.

In addition to financial health, we need to do better in terms of healthcare. We need to do better in terms of infrastructure and transportation –including improving public transit, making our streets safer, and increasing handicap parking. We need to support small business growth, instead of discouraging them with high fees. And we can absolutely do better for our veterans and our senior citizens, who far too often cannot access the services they need because of inefficient bureaucratic processes. There are many, many other items that must be addressed, and I will do so if given the opportunity. And I want to be 100% clear, regardless of your political affiliation, I’ll be going to the State House representing each and every one of you and I will not be pushed around on Beacon Hill.

I’ve been told by countless local Democrats that a Republican will not win this seat and I’m wasting my time. They say a write-in has no chance whatsoever. Let’s prove them wrong and show them that in America, the underdog always has a chance. As a former boxer myself, I know this to be true. I’m calling Republican and on Unenrolled voters to please get out and vote on Feb. 4th, and join me in this fight to elevate this community to a responsible state of which we can all be proud.

Let me end by saying this: Our great commonwealth has the opportunity to be leaders for the rest of the country, as we have been in the past -but only if we elect Representatives who have your best interests in mind and a clear vision for the future, based on our shared goals and values. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please go out and vote for me, Brandon Reid, on Feb. 4th. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments at Reidforstaterep@gmail.com.

Note: For vote to meet requirements, it must be written in the designated space below the candidates printed on the ballot, and it must read:

"BRANDON REID 71 Grove St., Melrose"