BU law professor declares bid for congressional seat

Levine, who has taught at BU for 33 years, said he will run as a Democrat and aim to continue the work of his predecessor Frank, who announced in November that he would retire after three decades in office.

“I would like to have the honor to try to carry on with the enlightened policies that [Frank has] promoted over the years,” Levine said in a phone interview with The Daily Free Press.  “He happened to be a friend of mine.”

Ward Farnsworth, School of Law dean, said he had no comment on Levine’s candidacy. Frank, however, said in a press release cited by Mansfield Patch he would support the professor.

“Jules Levine is a good friend whose thoughtful advice and strong support have meant a great deal to me,” Frank said.

This will be Levine’s sixth run for public office, according to an article in the Brookline Tab. Levine ran for state office in 1994 and 1996, a Brookline School Committee in 2003 and a member of the Board of Selectmen in 2006 and 2007. Each time he proved unsuccessful.

Levine has not scheduled a formal kickoff for his candidacy, but said he began building a platform and base of supporters in December.

Levine’s platform focuses on his aims to improve healthcare, protect unions, support energy independence, work toward public funding in elections and protect Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. His economic goals include addressing economic inequality, protecting those left jobless and instead increasing taxes for the wealthy “one percent.”

The professor said he would also support government spending on nuclear proliferation to prevent nuclear materials from being used in warfare.

“[Nuclear proliferation] is one that I feel strongly about because there might not be any BU, America,or our whole civilization could be gone,” Levine said. “It’s a great danger . . . I think we’ve got to continue to be very vigilant about it.”

If he were to win the seat, Levine said he would aim to break some of the gridlock in Congress.

“I’m a person who’s not stubborn [or] inflexible, I know how to compromise and I hope I can contribute to breaking the gridlock,” he said.

While he has not held office, the professor said he has found ways to influence policy by participating in public interest groups, from the Massachusetts Victims of Crime to Occupy Boston. He was also the district attorney in Norfolk  county.

Levine has emerged as an activist of the Occupy movement, joining two of the working groups that deal with government financing.

“It’s trying to let the 99 percent have a fair shake with the elected representatives and not just the one percent, who are able to have large assets and contributions [and] pull the strings on the puppets they have in effect in the legislature,” he said.

In a press release endorsing Levine’s candidacy, Occupy Boston protester Laura Bloise said she felt confident that Levine would facilitate needed reforms in Congress.

“I am excited about his candidacy because people like Jules, who have demonstrated their ability and willingness to listen to us, are the kind of representatives we need to elect to effect change from within,” the release said.

Levine is the first candidate to officially announce his bid for Frank’s seat, though several Brookline and Newton residents said they intend to run, according to the Brookline Tab.

Joseph Kennedy III, son of former Rep. Joseph Kennedy, announced his bid for the seat in a statement published on Jan. 5. Kennedy said he submitted a resignation to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office, where he served as a prosecutor, to pursue his candidacy.

Levine said his skills as a lawyer and a law professor give him an edge against the competition.

“I think the policies that I would work for are what most of the people in the district want, and I have a record of working with public interest causes,” he said. “I have the skills that I’ve found to be effective in the past, and I hope I could continue to be for the fourth district.”