In an election where Massachusetts Democrats are fighting for their political lives, with close congressional, state office, and gubernatorial races, Democratic Congressman Michael E. Capuano is a sure thing. Why? Because he is the only one running.
Capuano is the only uncontested House of Representatives incumbent in Massachusetts and has run uncontested for the previous four elections.
Capuano has held Massachusetts’ District 8 congressional seat since 1999.
The eighth district covers about 70 percent of Boston (wards 1-5, 7-19, and 21-22) as well as Cambridge, Somerville and Chelsea, and was the same seat John F. Kennedy held from 1947-1952.
“Congressman Capuano has been an effective advocate for his constituents over the past twelve years,” said Capuano’s spokesperson Alison Mills about why he is running unopposed, “His Senate run last fall also gave people many opportunities to learn more about his record and his priorities.”
Capuano ran for Edward Kennedy’s vacated seat in 2009, but finished second in the Democratic primaries to Martha Coakley, who lost to now-Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown in the general election.
“Being unopposed has allowed Congressman Capuano the opportunity to help Democratic colleagues in their campaign efforts,” explained Mills.
“At the same time,” said Mills about the congressman’s lack of need to aggressively campaign, “Congressman Capuano has spent a great deal of time in his district talking with constituents.”
In his next term Capuano plans to work “with Congress and the President to continue stabilizing the economy and creating jobs; continue working to bring our men and women in uniform home from Iraq and Afghanistan; and continue assisting constituents in the eighth congressional district,” said Mills.
Capuano voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act, HR 3962, the 2009 federal stimulus package, Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) , and the renewable energy bill.
Capuano asks students to “Vote!” Mills said, “There are many federal issues that impact college students directly, such as student loans and the economy. Every vote matters.”
Capuano was born in 1952, in Somerville, Mass., where he graduated high school in 1969. He then graduated from Dartmouth College, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1973 and graduated from Boston College Law School and passed the Massachusetts Bar in 1977.
From 1977 to 1979 Capuano was an alderman in Somerville just as his father, Andrew Capuano, was. In 1985 he became alderman-at-large for two terms, before being elected as Somerville’s 34th mayor in 1989.
He was elected mayor five times, and left halfway through his fifth term to become the congressional representative for Massachusetts’ eighth district according to Capuano’s website.
Capuano is member of the House Financial Services Committee, the Committee on House Administration, and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The congressman is the chair of the Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement.
“In November of 2006, Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi asked Rep. Capuano to head the transition, as Democrats prepared for a majority role in Congress,” according to Capuano’s website.
Capuano has raised $516,870 and spent $1,894,450. His top contributors include Triumvirate Environmental, Telecommunications Insight Group, Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union, Feeley and Driscoll Accounting Firm, and Genzyme Corporation, a pharmaceutical company.
“Massachusetts is receiving more than $5 billion over six years,” states Capuano’s website biography about federal transportation money for which he lobbied. And he “significantly expanded the number of Massachusetts citizens eligible for home loans issued by the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”
Capuano is also involved in foreign affairs. He co-chairs and co-founded the Congressional Caucus on Sudan and “has emerged as a leading Congressional voice, fighting the ongoing atrocities and genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan,” according to his website. He also was involved with giving $50 million more to the African Union Mission in Sudan.
Sam Hayes can be reached at [email protected].
