To my Watertown friends and neighbors:
Senator Will Brownsberger is running for re-election and I enthusiastically support his continued service as our State Senator. Over many years of public service, Senator Brownsberger has earned the trust of our communities through thoughtful leadership, accessibility, and an unwavering dedication to serving his constituents.
I have been especially impressed with Senator Brownsberger’s commitment to improving education in Massachusetts, and in Watertown. The Senator is aware of particular funding challenges that arise in our community. Through his investigation into the highly-complicated funding formula for schools (Chapter 70), he discovered that Watertown was not receiving the money to which we are entitled. Over his 12 years in the State Senate, this has led to nearly $22 million dollars of additional funding coming from the state to Watertown. He also has successfully advocated for more money for Watertown schools due to the disproportionate percentage of students requiring special education. His awareness of the details of both our local schools and how funding decisions are made have created many more opportunities for our students than we might have had without him.
This dedication to education also includes our new school buildings. Senator Brownsberger has been an enthusiastic supporter of our net-zero buildings including the upcoming high school. When the COVID-19 pandemic led to greatly increased construction prices, he helped lead the way for Watertown to receive more money than had been allocated originally.
His effectiveness extends well beyond the education realm. As President Pro Tempore of the Massachusetts Senate, Senator Brownsberger has played key leadership roles on major legislation, including criminal justice reform in 2018, police reform in 2020, and the negotiation of significant housing legislation in 2024. He has also been a strong advocate for transportation improvements, climate initiatives, and policies that strengthen our communities for the future.
What sets Will Brownsberger apart is not only his experience but his active participation in the communities he serves. He listens carefully, studies issues thoroughly, communicates honestly, and works to find practical solutions. I particularly appreciate how accessible Senator Brownsberger is. He regularly publishes detailed explanations of legislation, hosts discussions on important issues, and encourages residents to share their views before he takes positions. I have personally had the opportunity to speak out to him about legislation and concerns affecting Watertown, education across the state, or my family specifically. He always listens with an open mind and is willing to add a new viewpoint to his own ideas.
For all of these reasons, I enthusiastically support Will Brownsberger for reelection. Watertown and the Commonwealth are well served by his thoughtful, responsive, and effective leadership, and I hope voters will join me in supporting him with their votes on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Rachel Kay
Watertown Resident
Totally agree Rachel. Will is an outstanding public servant!!
I see lots of establishment Democrats rushing to express support for Brownsberger, but establishment Democrats are on the way out (they just don’t realize it yet). The MA state legislature is the least transparent in the country and no change will come if the current members are re-elected. Also, much of the Democratic electorate is white hot with rage at the inaction of our state legislature to pass new laws to protect us from the abuses of the federal government under the current lawless administration.
I attended the candidate forum between Brownsberger and Daniel Lander in Watertown a couple of weeks ago. I saw a smug, evasive, insular Brownsberger talking mostly about what he did 10-20 years ago. When asked about the legislature’s resistance to the voter-approved audit of the legislature, Brownsberger deflected the question to money and talked about how we can see online what the state spends in detail. That’s not what we want. We want a QUALITY AUDIT, just like many corporations have on a regular basis (including many I’ve worked for). On the other hand, Daniel Lander had some really interesting ideas which, if enacted, would benefit real people in their daily lives. Lander is a breath of fresh air and a fighter.
Here’s what establishment Democrats don’t understand: if you’re not a STREET FIGHTER then it’s not your year. Get off the stage. Get off the stage. Get off the stage.
I am a Watertown resident, homeowner and taxpayer. I patronize Watertown businesses and I worked for a Watertown-based company for 2 years.
Will doesn’t have a smug bone in his body. He is an effective, respected, progressive leader and should absolutely be re-elected. This obsession with the “audit” is disturbing; it is being misrepresented on a number of levels. It would only cover the Legislative budget, which is .0015% of the state budget (which is already audited extensively). There are also constitutional issues at play here, a fact which so many “audit” supporters ignore. We need leaders like Will to continue to oppose MAGA and to make Massachusetts better.
Quit distorting the definition of “audit.” People don’t care about auditing the amount the legislature spends on salaries and paper clips. They want a QUALITY AUDIT of processes and procedures; and they want to uncover reasons why the MA legislature does its business outside the public eye and what the levers of influence might be to change that. If you care about this issue, there’s now another indicator that Daniel Lander is the better candidate: the *elected* MA state auditor has just endorsed Lander in this race.
No distortion at all. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled on this — one branch of government (Auditor/Executive Branch) doesn’t have the authority to intrude in, as you say, the “processes and procedures” of another branch (the legislature). Dizoglio’s audit is limited to the finances of the legislature. Basic civics.
If the State Auditor has a good idea, if she’s trying to fight for something the majority of voters want, then she *should* be celebrated and her political career *should* be brighter. When a woman has ambition, this is seen as “wrong” and she is criticized. When a man says and does the exact same things, it is seen as admirable and he is lauded. Gross.
We’ve circled back around to… replace “establishment” Democrats with fresh legislators who will fight for change and open up process and procedures.
The elected Auditor is using this “Audit the Legislature” campaign for her own political career. She has axes to grind from her time in the House and Senate herself. I know precisely what an audit is. This is wildly misunderstood and quite likely unconstitutional. Given the state of our country, that is a huge concern.
All true and he has done a lot of good work.
My only gripe is he seems beholding to insurance companies and is not supporter of single pay healthcare system.
I’ll vote for Brownsburger if he commits to supporting the Audit of the legislature I also like his newsletter and how honest and pragmatic he is about complicated issues, and Lander has several policies I don’t like.
Will Brownsberger is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met. I have never found him smug, although I would like to see more support for transparency in the Senate. He has always been there when people in my neighborhood need it. I would like to see Daniel Lander run for something else first before he tries to topple Sen Brownsberger. Sometimes new is good, but sometimes, old is better.