Steve Grossman, one of the Democratic candidates for Massachusetts treasurer, on Tuesday night paid a visit to the Tufts Democrats. Before a sizeable audience, the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman talked about his candidacy, the importance of young people in political movements and the relevance of the treasurer's position during times of economic hardship.
The Daily sat down with Grossman after the event to hear his thoughts on his candidacy in advance of the Sept. 14 Democratic primary.
Matt Repka: What did you think of the event tonight?
Steve Grossman: Well, I was really excited by how many people came. I mean, I didn't count the number of people, but it could have been close to 100 people here tonight — and so many people coming to the first meeting of the Tufts Democrats this year, when classes just started today, speaks to a real aspiration or yearning on the part of Tufts students to be involved in political action.
It's a time of some crisis economically and politically in this country; a lot of things are uncertain in people's lives. Yet I think the group of people who I spent the evening with tonight understands that organizing and getting involved in political campaigns is a chance to make positive societal change through the candidates they support and the campaigns they get involved with. So I was pretty excited about the number of people that came tonight.
MR: In a race like this campaign for treasurer, what is the role of college students and young people in general?
SG: The role of any activist or college student — no different from any other activist — is that, even though we believe in using social media and high-tech technology and tools to organize, I've always been a believer that "high-touch" is better than high-tech. If you're on the phones calling voters, if you're doing visibility, creating a presence for your campaign … college students can play a meaningful role in every one of those activities. So we've invited college students in from different parts of the state to be active in the campaign…
Students are energetic, they're passionate, they care, they're willing to spend whatever amount of time it takes — if they feel they're getting some personal fulfillment out of it. And over and over again, I've seen Tufts Democrats get involved in campaigns, and play particularly significant roles again and again over the last ten or fifteen years that I've had the privilege of coming over here.
MR: You served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the Massachusetts Democratic Party. What compels you to get into the treasurer's race now?
SG: Because I think the treasurer's job, in a time of economic crisis, is all about doing three things: protecting the public's money, helping to create jobs and helping to revitalize the small business sector of this economy … This state will succeed based on certain key investments — one of them is in technology and innovation, and one is in streamlining processes to help businesses grow. And if we hope that this state grows and we hope to attract and retain college students who graduate and go to work in the Massachusetts economy, we've got to provide jobs for them. We've got to provide opportunity ... Is Massachusetts a place where I can find the opportunities that I hope to have, with a great college education like the one you get at Tufts?
MR: Would you say that job creation is your top priority as state treasurer?
SG: I do. I think it's the top priority of anybody who serves in public life …If you want to play a leadership role at the highest levels of state government, or at the federal level, you've got to be thinking always about creating jobs and about providing people in Massachusetts the tools to compete and win. And making sure that small businesses get the capital … they need to have the confidence to grow.
So it's all a process by which you use your skills, and I've spent 35 years of my life going to work every day, creating jobs, meeting payrolls, managing money, solving problems, dealing with crises. [Former President] Bill Clinton and I were talking one day when I was chairman of the DNC. He said, "Steve, if you ever run for office, just remember: You're in the solutions business." Common sense, practical solutions that empower people, that lift them up and give them the opportunity to make tomorrow better than today — that's the job of an elected official
MR: ...What do you think is the most important thing that Massachusetts voters should know about you?
SG: I think what they're learning about me very quickly over the past week … is that I'm a small businessman who has the right values, who takes care of his colleagues, who provides them with high wages, good benefits, paid family leave — that I'll bring those kinds of values to the job, that I will help create jobs, that I will protect the public's money and that I will do the job in a way that will help this state get back on its feet and small businesses get back on their feet. That's what I hope they'll learn. I think some of them know it now, which is why the campaign has momentum, and evenings like this give me an opportunity to talk to students … It's an opportunity to build relationships, and ultimately that's what life is all about, and what politics is all about.
