An Open Letter to Mitt Romney

An open letter to Mitt Romney

Dear Mr. Romney,

As a politically active college student living in Boston, I must say that I was a little confused by something you said at the gubernatorial debates last Tuesday night, and was hoping you could clear it up for me. You started a question to Shannon O’Brien by saying, “I’d be happy to talk about issues related to the campaign. I hope Shannon, that we can talk about our vision for Massachusetts, rather than devolving into this ‘what happened at this company and that company;’ because frankly, it pains me to have you pick out one or two circumstances of difficult investments when my record over 200 companies was to create thousands of jobs.” I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear these words come out of your mouth. Personally I’ve heard all about what you and Shannon have done in the past via your respective negative ads, and I wanted this debate to be about the issues important to the voters of Massachusetts. Yet somehow you followed this by bringing up a past vote by Shannon for a tax increase. Shannon and I seemed equally confused about this sudden switch. This is why I’m writing to you today. Shannon O’Brien started off as a state senator in 1986, and has been working hard for this state ever since. Maybe you don’t realize this because of all the time you spent in the private sector Mr. Romney, but when you’re running a government you have to make hard choices. While your overall record as a businessman might be very good, Shannon O’Brien’s overall record as a public servant has been nothing short of exceptional. She understands that there are times that you need to make hard choices, but she has made a career of making the choices she thought best for the people of Massachusetts. I think it is unfair to attack her for questioning your past, when you then immediately attack her past. Please make up your mind, because the dual standard isn’t working for me. The reason she is forced to question your business practices is because that is all you have to look at. You’re not a politician; you don’t have a record of public service. If it’s once again okay to question past records, could you answer a few questions for me. What happens if you get into a period of “difficult investments” as governor? Are you going to fire us all and force us to move to either New Hampshire or Connecticut? If so, how much money will you make by doing this? In closing, I think that a candidate with no political experience would be better served by taking a clear stand on his issues. If you don’t want to talk about the past, debate issues. But don’t think that you can have your cake and eat it to. The people of Massachusetts deserve better.

Sincerely, Nicholas Kassotis CAS 2004 206 Bay State Rd. 617-513-3297