UPDATE: Here’s the Globe’s story.
Former Newton Setti Warren sent this supporters early Thursday morning
Nearly a year ago, I stood in front of the house where I grew up–and the house where I live now with my wife and two young children–to ask you to stand with me and take back the Corner Office. I got into this race because I believe that economic inequality is the defining challenge of our time and we’ve got to take it on. Since then, I’ve visited over 160 communities across Massachusetts to talk to people about the need to raise new revenue to fix our broken transportation system, fully fund our public education system, and knock down the opioid epidemic.
We’ve done so much together. We’ve built up a dedicated and hardworking campaign staff and signed up thousands of volunteers. I’ve been honored by the endorsements of Gov. Mike Dukakis, Sheriff Steven Tompkins, Mayor David Narkewicz, Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose, VoteVets, the Collective PAC for Black Candidates, and many others. Our grassroots campaign has continued to grow–and Massachusetts Democrats have shown that they are ready to take on the status quo on Beacon Hill.
One thing has always stood in our way. Even though we raised a lot of money from small-dollar donations, raising the kind of money we need to build a grassroots campaign that can take on Charlie Baker has been our biggest challenge from Day 1. Today, I have come to the difficult realization that this challenge is insurmountable. The money just isn’t there to run the kind of campaign I want to run. After talking to my wife Tassy, I have decided to withdraw from this race.
I have always told myself that we could beat Charlie Baker by following Gov. Patrick’s advice: stand up for what we believe and organize our communities. I’m proud that we stayed true to our beliefs, but at the end of the day, grassroots campaigns cost money and it just wasn’t there for us.
I’ve been a public servant for my whole life. For me, running for governor was an extension of the career I started at the Clinton White House and continued through Sen. John Kerry’s office, a deployment to Iraq, and eight years as mayor of my hometown. Though this effort was unsuccessful, I still believe in my heart that I have the capacity to help people. I will continue to look for new ways to serve.
Until we meet again, thank you.
Sincerely,
Setti
Next stop “wall street lobbyist” and a million dollar paycheck…
I never felt terribly optimistic about his campaign, even though he really busted his butt campaigning over these past momths. I wonder what he plans to do next.
It would have been nice to see him get on the ballot. I do wonder if he would have survived the Primaries though.
I’m new to Massachusetts and its politics, but Charlie Baker is a pretty darn popular governor. So if you’re a Dem in this cycle, you’d probably be best advised to be running to either get your name out there or drive a few issues. Setti said he wanted to actually win, so if that’s possible at all, it’s probably not this time around.
I like Setti, and thought he was a fine mayor. But there’s a big difference between running for mayor against an unpopular incumbent (back in ’09) and running against the most popular governor in the country. He made a lot of valid critiques, but never quite found his footing.
Unfortunately Charlie Baker has the outside-495 demographic locked up, and most of the white folk along 128 love him too because he defends the segregated economic status quo that’s been so good to them, while simultaneously making them feel progressive by paying lip service to a handful of social issues that have been long ago decided.
Of course, Baker is simply talking the talk and in reality he’s a typical Republican puppet who’s just as bad if not worse than Weld and King. This would be the year to get that message across to the voters, but nobody can do it. Everyone from the Globe to Braude & Egan think Baker’s such a standup guy that they won’t even mention that there’s a Democratic primary going on.
I grew to like Setti Warren’s proactive, imaginative and fiscally wise leadership as Newton’s mayor. Like many younger Democratic politicians at every level, he is hobbled by the stagnation of the Democratic Party under the aging and rudderless leadership of octogenarian Nancy Pelozi nationally and septuagenarian Elizabeth Warren locally. I am hoping the national Democratic party starts assisting younger politician (especially minority candidates) in pivotal state-wide elections and with their careers so the next 20 years doesn’t look like the present.
And with the Mt.Ida sale…..isn’t he out of a job there as well?
There is nothing like good ‘ol reliable Newtonian conspiratorial paranoia to brighten a dreary day. Ain’t the Internet wonderful?
As expected. Wishing Setti the best moving forward with his professional career.
Setti and the two remaining Democratic gubernatorial candidates have been forced to buck three major obstacles that have been virtually impossible to work around.
The first has been the too quick tendency of the media, political pundits and conventional wisdom types to dismiss all three candidates as sacrificial lambs and, in other ways, as not electable. So, there’s been a tendency to downplay their candidacies, deny a lot of coverage to their campaigns and positions and even to snidely dismiss their efforts as a kind of fool’s errand. That’s unfortunate and more than a bit unfair because all three of them bring highly credible resumes to the campaign and have made favorable impressions on the groups and coalitions I work with. They are taken seriously, at least there. And I think that almost anyone who jumps into the political arena deserves to be heard and that dark horses deserve an extra boost unless they are complete wingnuts.
The second is Charlie Baker’s popularity and the trust he has build with most voters in the state. I know many Democrats who plan to vote for him, who feel very comfortable with the fact that he’s governor. The fact he’s a Republican may actually play to his advantage because a lot of independents like the fact that there is at least one national GOP stalwart that seems intent on making government work and not tearing it down. And, of course, there’s the clear advantage with fundraising.
The third is the unfortunate fact that Donald Trump and his merry band of con artists, grifters and incompetents have sucked almost all the oxygen out of state issues and candidates in Massachusetts and beyond. It’s been virtually impossible for any state issue or candidate to raise above the endless clamor, dislocation and dysfunction that takes place daily in DC.
So, these are three of the factors that make Setti’s decision understandable. It’s hardly his fault. The stars just weren’t aligned properly. I’m shifting to Bob Massie and somewhere down the line I’ll tell you why.
What Bob said, but undoubtedly, this statement stands out: “And, of course, there’s the clear advantage with fundraising.”
Just recently Charlie Baker accepted a large sum of money from a big pharma company: “Baker appeared at a forum this week and gave a full-throated defense of the Boston-based firm for charging up to $300,000 annually per patient for its newly developed drugs to fight cystic fibrosis.” But hey, call yourself a Dem and vote for this guy. Just hope you and your family remain healthy.
Jane,
How much did it cost to research and develop that drug? If it was 50M dollars then yeah that price is pretty offensive. If it was 50 billion dollars then that cost could be justified.
No one is going to develop a drug in order to loose money on it. Facts please…
Setti and Deval’s campaign manager were trying to recapture that special magic, but no one wanted to hear it, especially not even the Democratic king-makers and check-writers. A fine man. An American hero. But no one wants to hear progressive pablum (everyone knows “free” college tuition isn’t free) when governments at all levels are running up massive deficits.
John Kerry helped Setti Warren to become Mayor of Newton. After only 4 months in office Setti started running for US Senator despite multiple promises to stay in Newton. He promised affordable housing but killed the Station 3 project, he promised to support the Firefighters Triangle mixed-use development, but threw it under the bus after the rich NIMBYs yelled at him. While running this time for Governor Setti raised more money than his two Democratic rivals. They didn’t quit, BUT HE DID! Setti Warren is a liar, a traitor and a coward.
In my previous comment I misspelled my website address. It should be: http://www.azukerman.com
I thought it was odd that Setti’s campaign was built off income inequality yet here in Newton he didn’t do anything to address income inequality. In fact, some things worsened in Newton on his watch.
Bugek – Anyone with a health issue quickly becomes aware that big pharma is a huge and growing problem. These companies have increased costs and CEO salaries enormously over a short period of time. Most people know about the Epi-Pen debacle when a big pharma company tried to raise the price from $94 to over $600. Unfortunately, it’s just one example.
The CEO of Vertex (the company Charlie Baker said was justified in charging $300,000 annually for a drug necessary to maintain good health of people with cystic fibrosis) made $26 million in 2016. The median annual income of a big pharma CEO is $18m – the highest of any industry. At the same time, Charlie Baker wants to increase healthcare costs for 420,000 public employees. So he thinks it’s okay for this CEO to make $26m a year, but not necessary to contain costs for your average Joe/Jane. BTW, who do you think pays for the staggering increase in drug costs and the CEO incomes? We all do.
Baker lives in a different world than 99.9% of us, and this is just one example that illustrates his lack of understanding of how the other 99% live. Another example is his continued effort to drop 120,000 people from Medicaid.
I’d revise Bob’s statement about why Dems vote for Baker: rather than saying that Dems feel comfortable with him, I’d say Dems who are comfortable like him. He’s not doing well by those who aren’t comfortable. Go ahead and vote for him, just do it with eyes wide open.
As an aside, I’m sorry to see Setti Warren drop out of the race because of his long standing support of public education. In my mind, public education with wrap around services is the most effective means to address the issue of income inequality over time. Unless children have affordable access to a quality education, from preschool to post K-12, what is the pathway to moving into the middle class?
I think Dems also like Baker because he keeps a low profile. A lot of what he does gets no publicity and often he avoids conflict by not taking a stand.
Setti’s choice of economic inequality as a cornerstone issue was both wise *and* a perfect example of why Baker is winning. I’m not sure how how appealing it is to many voters, even a good number of Democrats and progressives. If anything, many progressive/Democratic voters tend to be concentrated in affluent areas (yes, including Newton) and rapidly gentrifying communities while working in professions that have largely benefited from (or have learned to coexist with) the unequal economic status quo, even if it’s not always obvious. Meanwhile, the areas and voters that don’t have the advantages of a Newton and the like either voted for Trump, will vote for Baker, or (worse) will stay home on Election Day. It’s not clear to me how much wiggle room there is, especially since Baker is acceptable to all but the most committed members of the opposition In other words, I can’t see the other Democrats doing much better than Setti did.
I am a lifelong dem. I don’t like Charlie Baker. It’s clearly rationalization and complacency among dems along with those who like the status quo or agree with his policies that create his popularity. It’s a smokescreen. I’ll vote against him but at this point don’t see him losing.
Bugek,
You are exactly right. Pharmaceutical companies are not charities. Their employees went to grad or med school and aren’t volunteering. They make products that cost a lot because of regulatory guidelines they must follow to get a drug approved. The FDA mandates specific and costly tests so that we don’t have Thalidomide again.
If Baker supports the industry – great! Setti made me very nervous on this issue. I’d rather have a drug available then never have been created if the time ever comes that a family member would need it.
What Michael said –
“Unfortunately Charlie Baker has the outside-495 demographic locked up, and most of the white folk along 128 love him too because he defends the segregated economic status quo that’s been so good to them, while simultaneously making them feel progressive by paying lip service to a handful of social issues that have been long ago decided.”
And it’s so infuriating that there is not more noise on the ground to vote him out of office.
Setti Warren was making more noise than the other candidates, which is why his quitting came as a surprise to me. He also has the most name recognition, the most social media followers, and the best social media campaigns. He must have outraised Massie and Gonzalez so far. He undoubtedly had a tough road ahead of him, but to drop out before the other two makes me think it was cowardice more than fundraising.