Just as his campaign’s activities have come under scrutiny in a Federal Election Commission complaint, Fourth District Congressional candidate Joseph Kennedy III met locals during a campaign meet and greet on Thursday.
The Congressional hopeful greeted T riders in Coolidge Corner, shaking hands and chatting with Brookline residents.
Over the course of the race, Kennedy has stressed the importance of education and the rising cost of college.
“There are many ways that we can help students — the big one is to make sure we keep college affordable,” he said to The Daily Free Press.
Kennedy said there are a few ways the government can help students.
“We can increase transparency so that parents know how much they’ll end up paying when they’re making those decisions,” he said. “We can keep student rates low, and we can put pressure on the universities to keep tuition down.”
Kennedy said he is looking into the potential of an income-based repayment plan for future teachers, doctors and others.
Dozens of voters stopped to talk to Kennedy, including Brookline resident Alejandro Carvajal.
“He represents the best of Massachusetts, the best of politics,” he said of Kennedy.
Carvajal, who is an Independent voter, said he jumped at the opportunity to vote for Kennedy.
“As soon as they opened the early voting locations, I was there,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Kennedy’s youthful appeal was a continuing theme among residents at the meet and greet, as several people said he represented the next generation of the Kennedy family.
“I just have a sense that he’s a Kennedy, but he’s today’s Kennedy,” said David Rothauser, a representative from Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. “He’s got his own agenda, his own personality and his own independence.”
Voters such as Carvajal said the Kennedy name is a bonus, despite repeated attacks by Republican opponent Sean Bielat, who said Kennedy is relying on his family credentials to win him the election.
“The Kennedy family is dedicated to public service,” Carvajal said. “Look at what they’ve done for Massachusetts.”
Sasha Louati, a Simmons College graduate student, said Kennedy is young enough to understand “the concept of today.”
“For the young people to be able to relate to him and for him to understand our needs with the economy and jobs is why I would vote for him,” Louati said.
Kennedy’s campaign pit-stop came hours after the Bielat campaign released information about a complaint filed with the FEC.
The complaint alleged that the Kennedy campaign allowed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Massachusetts State Democratic Party to bypass individual contribution limits by moving money from the now-defunct Joe Kennedy Victory Fund, according to a press release.
“Given Joe Kennedy’s previous comments about campaign fundraising, we call on him and the Massachusetts Democratic Party to come clean,” said Bielat’s press secretary Adrienne Royer in a press release. “Since most of Kennedy’s contributions came from PACs, special interests or out-of-state donors, he should explain his campaign’s actions.”
Massachusetts Democratic Party spokesman Kevin Franck said in a statement the attack from Bielat was “completely unfounded.”
“The Massachusetts Democratic Party follows the letter and spirit of all state and federal campaign finance laws,” he said. “Sean Bielat is launching last-minute bogus attacks to deflect attention away from the fact that the FEC has already caught him gaming the system to avoid paying his campaign debts.”
As a state party committee, the Massachusetts Democratic Party can legally spend an unlimited amount on certain exempt party activities — such as mailings–as long as they include a “paid by” disclaimer, according to FEC law.
As the FEC requires by law, the Kennedy campaign set up a joint fundraising account when it held an event with the DCCC, according to the Kennedy campaign. The money from the event was split separately between the Kennedy campaign and the DCCC.
With a few days remaining until the election, Kennedy still has voters to win over, including undecided Brookline resident Emily George.
“Well, he’s very dashing. That was my first impression,” George said. “But I’ve been following the election, so generally it was great to meet the person I’ve been seeing on TV.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this article, published Nov. 1 online, stated that the Kennedy campaign did not wish to comment on the Federal Election Commission complaint. This is incorrect. The Kennedy campaign and other parties involved in the complaint were not properly contacted for comment.
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