The Patriot, April 11, 2012 5 Scott Brown meets and greets Webster constituents


by Patriot staff “If you want to hang out at Indian


Ranch and have some beer, vote for me.” - Senator Scott Brown. State Representative Ryan Fattman took Senator Scott Brown on a whirlwind tour of three towns which will be in the 18th Worcester District come next year. The senator spent an hour in Webster, then headed off to meet supporters in Douglas and Sutton. Dozens of people came out to Point Breeze Restaurant to meet and greet the senator, who is no stranger to Webster. He began his remarks noting that he’d participated in the Webster Lake triathlon and has been at Indian Ranch many times. (His daugh- ter Ayla, a country singer, has performed there.)


Brown told the audience that he was in


the White House twice this week to witness President Obama signing two of his bills. The first was the Stop Trading on Congres- sional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which bans insider trading for members and employees of Congress and executive branch employ- ees, and prevents government officials from receiving preferential treatment in any ini- tial public offerings that are not available to the general public. Brown told the story of how the bill had languished on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s desk until he mentioned it to the president after the State of the Union address in January. The moment was cap- tured on live TV and President Obama promised to get it done. The second bill was the CROWDFUND Act, which he sponsored with Senator Jeff


Merkley (D-OR), and was a bipartisan com- promise passed as an amendment to the JOBS Act. Crowdfunding will allow entre- preneurs to raise up to $1 million per year through an SEC-registered crowdfunding portal. The senator went on to say that although


“I’ve been disgusted with what’s gong on in Washington, there are good people on both sides of the aisle who helped pass these bills. There are great people working hard to do the right thing. “But we are in deep trouble,” he contin-


ued, “the deficit is rising. We’re going to be like Greece in a very short time.” We need to be Americans first, not Democrats or Re- publicans first, he said. “I’m looking to solve problems, and there are a lot of them.” He said that while his opponent Elizabeth Warren was “being a social crusader,” I’m saving the Post Office, and dealing with is- sues like Iraq, Pakistan, the energy crisis, and base closures.” The senator took questions from the audi-


ence on the ongoing housing crisis, inter- est on the federal debt, immigration, voter identification, and whether he thought English should be the official language. “I always thought it was,” he said in answer. Brown concluded his remarks by saying,


“If you want to hang out at Indian Ranch and have some beer, vote for me. If you want to hang out in Cambridge, vote for her.”


Sen. Scott Brown with AJ Alkire and the staff of Point Breeze.


Cassie and Chief Tim Bent with Sen. Brown.


Sen. Brown greets constituents.


Al Beland, AJ Alkire and Sen. Brown.


Gary Milliard, Sen. Brown and Bill Dupont.


Sen. Brown and constituent.


Bob Miller, Sen. Brown and Iwona Miller.


Congressman McGovern tours Main St., Webster Continued from front page


once-a-decade federal redistricting, in which Massachusetts lost one of its ten Con- gressional seats, necessitating a redrawing of the districts, and impacting all the cur- rent representatives. The three Western Massachusetts districts effectively became two, with Richard E. Neal running in the 1st District, which will include Dudley, and Mr. McGovern in the 2nd, which will include Webster and Oxford. Congressman Neal has represented Webster, Oxford and Dudley for the last 23 years. Rep. McGovern visited Webster on Tues-


day, April 3, in a plan to familiarize him- self with the communities in the newly- configured district before the election. He said that if is re-elected and knows about the issues and projects in advance, he “can hit the ground running.” He said he was born and grew up in Worcester, and knows the area, having often visited Webster Lake when he was younger. Tuesday’s visit began with a presentation


in the Irene Martel Conference Room at the Town Hall. Town Administrator John McAuliffe reviewed all the plans in prog- ress for downtown revitalization, including the new police station, the A.J. Sitkowski Senior Housing project, the public library,


Politicians with the Webster Emergency Medical staff members.


and the Park Avenue Elementary School. Selectmen Donald Bourque and Deborah


Keefe accompanied the congressman on a tour of Main Street, stopping in at busi- nesses along the route. The first was a visit with Joseph V. Waskiewics Jr., owner of JV Mechanical Contractors. The company is a distribu- tor for PAW, a German manufacturer of high tech products for solar and hydron- ics systems. Mr. Waskiewics has rehabbed a building at 25 Davis Street, behind the Post Office, and it’s a showcase for the so- lar and radiant heating products. The next stop, on Main Street, was with


Nancy Healy, of the Citadel Company, and owner of considerable real estate in town. Down the block, Dan Marcoux of the Party Planner wowed the congressman with his huge selection of party goods. Across the street, the touring group


stopped in at Jeanne’s Hair Loft, talked with Tina Puzo, branch manager at the Hometown Bank, and then visited with Steve and Chris Charniak of Charniak In- surance. The last stop was the Eastern Pearl res- taurant, where he met owner Sam Zhu, as well as a few of the citizens having lunch there.


Back at the town hall parking lot, Mr. McGovern said “I feel optimistic about Webster. You have some great things go- ing on. And I like to work with community leaders to get things done.”


Town Administrator John McAuliffe presents the congressman with Town of Webster mementos, including a mug and towel. “In all my years of visiting communities, none has ever given me a town towel,” he said.


First stop on the business tour was JV Mechanical at 45 Davis Street. From left, Selectman Donald Bourque, Congressman James McGovern, Joseph V. Waskiewicz Jr., general manager of JV Mechanical Contractors, Selectman Deborah Keefe, and Town Administrator John McAuliffe.


Town Administrator McAuliffe points out the new period lighting along Main Street during the downtown tour.


Congressman McGovern talks with business owner Nancy Healy of Cita- del Company LLC.


Ms. Keefe, Mr. McAuliffe, Mr. McGov- ern and Mr. Bourque leave the Web- ster Town Hall building for a tour of the downtown..


Mr. McGovern chats with Eastern Pearl restaurant owner Sam Zhu.


Mr. McGovern gets a brief on down- town revitalization projects from Town Administrator John McAuliffe.


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