Special to the Record
District 1 Councilor Todd Taylor held a campaign kickoff reception for state representative in the newly formed 11th Suffolk District. The well-attended event was held at the Chelsea Station restaurant.
Taylor delivered the following remarks at the campaign kickoff:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you all for coming and helping me kick off my campaign for State Representative in the newly formed 11th Suffolk, which has finally united Chelsea in a single district along with Ward 2 in Everett in my own neighborhood. Most of you know me, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with me or my story, let me briefly tell you a little bit about myself. I originally came to Massachusetts in 1995 for a Ph.D. program in History at Brandeis University. I learned some valuable lessons there, primarily how to think about and analyze problems. I learned how key people in the past addressed the challenges before them, both successfully and unsuccessfully.
After completing my coursework and passing my exams, I finally faced a hard reality: that someone with my background and values would have an uphill battle in academia. I took some time off, got a job at a temporary staffing firm and worked as a bartender and a server for $13/hour while I tried to figure out my next move. Sometimes, in retrospect, you realize that God has a plan for your life. From taking that temporary job, my life was changed in two fundamental ways. First, I met my lovely wife Regina, with whom I will celebrate 20 years of marriage this July. Second, I worked my way up into the management of KSM staffing and within three years, I became its owner. Next March will mark my 20-year anniversary of becoming the owner of KSM. The lessons I learned from running my own business, one that has employed hundreds of people from Chelsea and Everett, are many, but I learned how to lead people, how to overcome adversity, how government policy affects business, and most of all, I learned about human nature.
My entrance into politics came some eight years ago, when I was recruited to run for state representative in a special election in April of 2014. The next year, I joined the Massachusetts Republican State Committee because I didn’t like what I was seeing in my own party. I liked it even less when I became a State Committeeman and saw how badly those people who were in charge were running our party. I became dedicated to reforming the Massachusetts Republican Party to make it more honest, more geared to everyday people, and to be run by those who had integrity and who worked hard to make a difference, not to merely make money for oneself or one’s friends. But most of all, I wanted to help make the Massachusetts Republican Party a party that actually solves problems!
My third time running for the Chelsea City Council was the charm: I was elected in 2019 and re-elected unopposed last year. The lessons that I have learned from politics are that we need to be true to our values of honesty, integrity, transparency, and hard work. We need to persevere and learn from our failures in order to be successful. I want Chelsea to be more successful.
How do we do that? What is this race really about? This race is about how we identify, analyze, and find solutions to the problems our communities have. The 2020 Census showed that about 60% of households in Chelsea make under $50,000 per year. We need to concentrate our efforts on lifting people up to the next level, not settling by giving handouts over and over again that merely trap people in poverty. We need to be proactive problem solvers, rather than throwing money at problems and expecting them to go away. We need to empower people, not patronize them. We need to be smart, work hard and be responsive to people.
I have proven to the people of Chelsea that I am responsive to their needs. I worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic delivering food to those in need with the Chelsea pandemic response team. I advocated for rental and business assistance for our residents as a member of the City Council. I always give out my cell phone, I always advocate for people having a problem with the city. Even people from other districts call me because their own councilors aren’t too responsive. Too many times, our elected politicians become complacent, fall asleep at the wheel, or become used to working on behalf of the people who fund their campaigns. This is one of the best reasons to vote for me. I am the only candidate in this race who is unconnected to other interests. I don’t work for a union, I don’t work for a local non-profit, nor do I have the endorsement of the local political establishment! I derive none of my income from any other outside organization. I am the only person who can be free to represent everyone in Chelsea equally.
Honesty, Integrity, Transparency.
If Chelsea and Everett elect a Democrat to this seat, no matter which one, they will be just another cog in the machine, unable to challenge the leadership. They will fall in line. I on the other hand will be free to pursue the right solutions and I have experience working with both Republicans and Democrats to find the right solutions to our problems. Being a member of the majority too often makes our politicians complacent. We saw this recently when Chelsea got screwed with the federal ARPA funds because Ayanna Pressley, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey were asleep at the wheel. Chelsea, a community that was devastated by the pandemic only received a pittance, while a community like Newton received 5 times more. Thank God we had a Republican Governor that made it right and took Chelsea’s ARPA dollars from $15 to $40 million.
Being a Republican, in a city that only has 5% Republicans, I will never be able to rest on my laurels, if elected. I will always know that I must work hard every day for the people of Chelsea and Everett if I want to be reelected. No other candidate will be as engaged as I nor will anyone work harder at solving people’s problems and trying to make their lives better in a very real way. I make this pledge to the voters of this district: I will always vote my conscience, and I will never vote for anything that would be unconstitutional. I will always try to empower everyday people, especially parents over the powerful. I will never support defunding our law enforcement. I will always support measures that create more economic opportunity for people to move up the ladder, and finally, I will listen to my constituents. This is a race that I can win. But I need your help. I don’t have a home base organization to give me money or people for my campaign. Please donate your money and your time to help me win this seat. Please fill out a volunteer card if you haven’t done so already and visit www.toddforrep.com. This is a hard battle, but with the help of all of you, I know this is a race that we can win, together! Thank you!