Over the last few weeks, the Lt. Governor’s race has gained considerable coverage, despite being overshadowed by a highly contentious Governor’s race. Andrea Silbert, one of the former candidates for Lt. Governor, ran perhaps one of the most impressive campaigns, as a political newcomer. She garnered many endorsements from public leaders, such as former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, and local newspapers, and she out-raised her competitors in total fundraising
Andrea co-founded the Center for Women & Enterprise, a non-profit organization that helps female entrepreneurs create businesses. As the CEO of the Center, Andrea helped create 14,000 jobs throughout Massachusetts, as well as $400 million in new wages every year. In addition, she spent time in Latin America working with grassroots development organizations to help jump start the economy. She gained national recognition for her accomplishments, and in 2001 was selected, alongside Senator Barbara Mikulski and Linda Chavez-Thompson of the AFL-CIO, as one of 25 leaders who "have given women in the workforce a better shot". In fact, Andrea has dedicated her life to helping people, giving both women and minorities a better shot throughout the world.
As a candidate for Lt. Governor, Andrea offered sensible solutions to many of the problems we must deal with in Massachusetts, such as job loss and the quality of our education. She believes we need to tackle important issues such as preventing job loss, increasing affordable housing, and improving regional rail, to stimulate economic development in the Bay state. Her ideas and policies address the many angles of economic development needed to combat the numerous fiscal problems we now face. As Andrea sees it, job creation is an important piece to the puzzle. The money that the state makes from income taxes pays for everything that we need, such as education and healthcare. Andrea is not only a leader in the field of job creation, but as she puts it “[she] wakes up everyday to create jobs†and this is her passion and forté.
Education is yet another important issue for Andrea, as she is the mother of three young children. Her children will go through the public school system just like the majority of children in Massachusetts. As a native of Massachusetts, Andrea grew up in Brookline, attending one of the state’s best public schools. She realizes that the resources available for education are not nearly as good as they once were. Then, she looks at the number of women she has worked with, who have to wonder if their children will be safe at school. Andrea understands the value and importance of a good education and is firmly committed to investing our states money in education at all levels from pre-Kindergarten to adult training programs.
As a second generation Indian-American, I wonder whether or not I will have to struggle as much as my parents did to succeed in this country. Indian-Americans have emerged as leaders in every field within the state, and throughout the United States. The first generation of Indians that came to the United States set a high standard of achievement. They helped pave the way for the second generation, which in turn has admirably stepped up, and met the standards that were established by the first generation. However, it is becoming harder to succeed in Massachusetts, especially when there are fewer jobs, and the quality of our education is going down. These are basic things that we need as a community to improve our position in this country. Job creation and education are important to the success of our future generations, and therefore, we must look to leaders like Andrea, who will stop at nothing to make sure these resources are available for years to come. Andrea’s impressive work does not stop here, though. She has also dedicated a considerable amount of her time protecting the environment, and currently serves as a Trustee on the Harwich Conservation Trust. She has much to offer this great state, and we can be sure to hear more about her in the future.
|
