Ben Downing in 2022 MA Governor's race
On Principles & Values:
Grief and loss teach empathy, perspective, fierce urgency
This is a dark time for our country. We need leadership that knows darkness and knows that it is possible to get back to the light. It will require empathy, perspective and a fierce urgency. Grief and loss gave those lessons to me.
I believe they have given them to Biden and we should all hope he puts them to work to restore the soul of our country.
Source: Downing WAMC column on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Dec 10, 2020
On Budget & Economy:
We have widening economic and racial gaps in Massachusetts
[On racial gaps]: "The major issues are going to be the lessons we've learned from COVID," said Downing. "What did it expose? What did it show? We have these widening economic and racial gaps in Massachusetts around income and wages,
around wealth and gaps between communities in parts of the state that have grown and have benefited from economic growth in recent decades. So the focus will be how do we close those gaps, how do we address economic and racial justice."
Source: Charlestown Bridge on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Feb 11, 2021
On Budget & Economy:
We're left weaker by tax cuts for wealthy & budget cuts
Our economy has been increasingly defined by unequal growth. Decades of tax cuts slanted to the wealthy and underfunding public services have hollowed out the middle class, left the poor living on the edge and weakened our resilience.
Governor Baker has failed to learn these lessons, as he supports significant service cuts to public transit which will impact those hardest hit by the pandemic and least well off before it.
Source: Downing WAMC column on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Dec 28, 2020
On Budget & Economy:
Encourage savings with prize linked savings accounts
The House and Senate gave final approval S. 2374. The bill, authored by Senator Downing, authorizes banks and credit unions in Massachusetts to offer prize linked savings accounts (PLSA). Unlike traditional savings accounts which accrue a small
percentage of interest over time, the interest in PLSAs is pooled across all such accounts and distributed through a lottery as a cash prize to account holders. Each qualified deposit an accountholder makes is another entry in the raffle.
Source: 2022 Massachusetts Governor campaign site SenatorDowning.com
Oct 6, 2016
On Civil Rights:
Support anti-discrimination laws for transgender people
[On Transgender Rights]: "The Senate did the right thing today," said Senator Downing. "The work we did to guarantee transgender individuals protection from discrimination in terms of employment and housing two sessions ago was finally able to cross
the finish line by safeguarding the most basic rights of every person to exist as his or herself peacefully and inclusively within their own communities." This bill builds on the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, filed by Downing in 2011.
Source: 2022 Massachusetts Governor campaign site SenatorDowning.com
Oct 6, 2016
On Energy & Oil:
As state senator, focused on clean energy & climate change
As a Pittsfield native, Downing said he lived through the "legacy of industry that created jobs, but sacrificed our environment and public health, then left us to clean up." He forged an environmentalist reputation in the state
Senate with a focus on clean energy and climate change. Downing chose not to seek a sixth term in 2016 and joined the solar energy company Nexamp, continuing to advocate for increased investment in renewable energy.
Source: The Boston Globe on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Feb 8, 2021
On Energy & Oil:
Transition to clean energy economy means jobs
[On climate change]: "We need more of a sense of urgency," said Downing. "We know communities like East Boston, Chelsea and even Pittsfield were targeted for the development of fossil fuel infrastructure and have the asthma rates and other public
health indicators to reflect that. We know a transition to a clean energy economy and the spillovers from that are positive. We have more jobs to create by putting solar on roofs, building energy storage, doing energy retrofits of homes, building
offshore wind.""A big part of addressing climate change issues is making transit more reliable and you look at governor Baker's record of cutting the budget at the MBTA," said Downing. "We need to increase ridership and make it more reliable but we
need to do the same with the Bus Rapid Transit. We need people to see that as a viable option that gets them out of their cars. It is a significant undertaking but it's that much tougher to do without leadership from the corner office."
Source: Charlestown Bridge on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Feb 11, 2021
On Energy & Oil:
There is no time or excuse for incrementalism
Our state has an opportunity to set an ambitious and aggressive climate agenda that can right the environmental injustices that many of our communities have suffered while investing in the clean energy economy that benefits all residents.
There is no time or excuse for incrementalism, especially when Massachusetts' once thriving clean energy sector is slowing, and the consequences of underinvesting in energy-burdened communities has been laid bare.
Source: Commonwealth Magazine on 2022 Massachusetts Governor race
Dec 10, 2020
On Energy & Oil:
Clean energy push left out communities of color & low-income
By failing to guarantee inclusion for low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, the Bay State's much-touted clean energy revolution effectively left these communities out. Moreover, the revolution itself has stalled. Recent years have seen
the state's solar workforce shrink by a third--nearly 4,400 jobs, as new solar installations have dropped by half. Last year, the least amount of solar energy was installed in Massachusetts since 2013--a 40 percent decline since 2017.
Source: Commonwealth Magazine on 2022 Massachusetts Governor race
Dec 10, 2020
On Energy & Oil:
Increase solar net metering cap, ensure future growth
Downing announces that his amendment to increase the state's solar net metering cap and promote future solar development was adopted. Net metering allows residential and commercial customers who generate their own electricity from solar power to
receive a credit for the unused electricity they feed back to the grid. Notably, Downing's amendment seeks to ensure the future growth of virtual metering and community shared solar.
Source: 2022 Massachusetts Governor campaign site SenatorDowning.com
Jul 23, 2015
On Gun Control:
Supports AG on enforcing state assault weapons law
The goal of the 1998 Assault Weapons Ban was to restrict access to a certain type of firearm because of the particular lethality of these guns. The legislation recognized that simple changes to peripheral features could skirt the law.
Given that, I believe the actions of the Attorney General are in line with the original legislation's intent. Copycat assault weapons marketed as "state compliant" are designed specifically to circumvent the laws of the Commonwealth.
Source: 2022 Massachusetts Governor campaign site SenatorDowning.com
Oct 6, 2016
On Jobs:
Need emergency paid sick time, for minorities & women
A better, equitable response to the COVID crisis, would have started with legislation to provide emergency paid sick time to the millions of workers not covered by federal benefits. While others have taken these steps,
Massachusetts has not, leaving workers to determine if their cough or runny nose is serious enough to merit missing a paycheck. A disproportionate share of these workers are Black and Brown, women and immigrants, and low income.
Source: Downing WAMC column on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Dec 28, 2020
On Principles & Values:
Lived in communities that had to fight to get resources
As a Pittsfield native turned East Boston resident, Downing said in a statement that he has "spent my life in communities that have had to fight harder than they should to get fair representation, equitable access to resources, and
attention from Beacon Hill.""So I know what a difference state leadership makes," he said. "And I know we need better than what we are getting right now."
Source: The Boston Globe on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Feb 8, 2021
On Principles & Values:
We need a sense of urgency from leadership to address issues
[On his candidacy announcement]: "What we don't have is a sense of urgency from our leadership that will drive the solutions to tap into that potential, to help us take on and address economic and racial justice, to solve climate change, to build a
fairer, stronger Massachusetts," Downing said. "What we have been lacking is that sense of urgency from our leadership. That's what I want to bring to this race. That's what I would bring to the governor's office."
Source: NBC Boston on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Feb 8, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Beacon Hill postpones & relies on Mass. exceptionalism
That lack of urgency predates the pandemic, he said, calling it a "cultural problem" that's plagued Beacon Hill for decades. "We've continued to put off tough decisions . and just hope Massachusetts's exceptionalism will get us through,"
Downing said. "What we haven't been honest enough about are the gaps in our society, the economic inequality, the wage and wealth gap and the racial components of that, as well as environmental injustice issues."
Source: The Boston Herald on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Feb 8, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Voters expect more: you have to earn their trust
[On the 2022 race]: "In the past, when Democrats have campaigned against Governor Baker, they pointed to the letter after his name as if that's disqualifying and said, 'Well, Charlie Baker is a Republican, the national Republicans are all crazy, so you
should vote for us,' " Downing said. "Voters expect more from candidates and campaigns. You have to go out there and earn their trust, especially for the governor's office, and they expect you to have a clear vision for what you're going to do."
Source: The Boston Globe on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Feb 8, 2021
Page last updated: Jun 08, 2024