After ending his campaign to replace state Sen. Patricia Jehlen in the 2nd Middlesex district, Tom Hopcroft said he thought it was the best way to continue to advance his ideas.
“Some people have asked, ‘Why get out now? Why not just run through?’ If I just go straight through, since it looks like my path to winning and bringing these ideas into the Senate is incredibly narrow, by stepping out now I can have these conversations with the other candidates.”
Speaking with Cambridge Day on Thursday, Hopcroft said each of his former rivals have agreed to sit down with him to discuss their plans if elected. He intends to have conversations with each of them about the future of the innovation economy, how to approach climate legislation, and healthcare.
He said he is concerned the state legislature is not taking up bills meant to reinstate funding for research and community programs, areas he said are causing Massachusetts to fall behind in categories like healthcare, research and technology, where it was once considered a leader.
He said he ran for office to broaden perspectives at the statehouse. Legislators “are all great people … but the complaint I have is, for the most part, they’ve all been either a city councilor or a legislative aide, and then a state rep, and then a senator, and they’ve been a senator for one, two, three decades, a state rep for a decade or so, they serve their whole career in that building,” he said. “When everyone comes through that same set of experiences, it just narrows the range of ideas that are considered.”
Hopcroft said being on the campaign trail taught him about his community and brought him new ideas.
“I love learning and this is one of the steepest learning curves I’ve been on in a very long time,” Hopcroft said. “I enjoyed meeting and getting to know all the other candidates. They all have very different plans and they all bring great strengths.”
Hopcroft also added that he enjoyed learning about each aspect of the political process, but said he found elements of it frustrating, such as candidate forums, which he felt were formulaic and didn’t leave room for productive dialogue.
Hopcroft said he was not sure if he would endorse someone in the race. He plans to post the main points from his conversations with his former opponents on his website to help inform voters ahead of the primary election on Sept. 1.
Brianna Earle is reporting this summer for Cambridge Day as part of a partnership with the Brandeis University journalism program.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.