Conversations with the Candidates for U.S. Senate: Alan Khazei

Brookline MA - Between now and December 8th the date of the special statewide primary Open Media Boston will present conversations with the candidates vying to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Edward Kennedy. All of the declared Democrats have expressed a desire to emulate if not replace Kennedy’s decades long resume of accomplishments as a voice for liberal causes. In the first of our series we speak with Alan Khazei founder and CEO of social justice organizations Be The Change Inc. (he has since stepped down from that position to run for the Senate seat) and co-founder of City Year. During his speech on the Boston Common last month announcing his entry into the Senate race Khazei emphasized a political approach that favors “big citizenship” over either “big government” or “big business.” At the opening of his campaign office on Temple Place in Boston’s Downtown Crossing a few days later Khazei who has not held elected office lauded Ted Kennedy as the “greatest Senator of all time.” He explained he is running because “being a Senator is not just about casting votes and giving speeches. It’s about working day in day out round the clock to empower people to make a difference in their own lives; to empower them to make a difference in their communities; to empower them to make a difference in our commonwealth and our country.” Hubie Jones Dean Emeritus of the Boston University School of Social Work and a long-time advocate for children and education serves as the Khazei campaign’s senior advisor. Speaking at the opening of the Boston office Jones said “he has had the privilege of sometimes being called [Khazei’s] mentor.” But what is more important said Jones “at the end of the day you want in the…United States Senate representing you a person who is a fabulous human being who has extraordinary integrity. That is what you have in Alan Khazei.” Earlier this week the campaign announced several endorsements: Senator Robert Kennedy’s son Max Kennedy a lawyer author and environmental activist and Debra Kozikowski Director of Rural Votes an organization “dedicated to building a solid informed and participatory base of rural citizens actively engaged in community civic and electoral processes ” according to the group’s website and Vice-Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. The Chair of the Party John Walsh has not publicly endorsed any of the Senate candidates. Earlier this month the Khazei campaign declared it had raised just over one million dollars by the first state-required financial reporting deadline. MA Attorney General Martha Coakley the first Democrat to announce a run for Kennedy’s seat said she had raised more than $2 Million in the first month of the campaign. In a wide ranging conversation including topics such as the economy and foreign policy Alan Khazei spoke with Open Media Boston on October first at the Kookoo Café in Brookline Village. Khazei who lives in Brookline said he chose this location because he likes to patronize local businesses and “it’s like my office away from home.” He said he was interested in doing whatever he could to help small businesses thrive. OMB Audio: This conversation with Alan Khazei was produced in cooperation with I.B.I.S. Radio the Independent Broadcast Information Service. Web Resources: http://www.alanforsenate.com/ Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati