Editor’s Note: This post is part of Village14’s ongoing series allowing 1 column from each candidate for Congress in the 4th District. – Bryan
Dear Newton voters,
I am running for Congress to be your voice in the U.S. Congress, and to bring power back to working people, immigrant communities, communities of color, and others in this district who have been shut out of the political process.
First I want to tell you something about my background, as I think it’s a bit unusual for Congressional candidates and because it has so deeply informed my worldview and passion for justice. I was born in Morocco and immigrated to the US at the age of 20. My father was a public school teacher who died when I was 13, due to poor medical care. As a teenager I suffered sexual assault, and at the age of 17 I had an illegal abortion which nearly took my life. When I say I will fight for health care coverage for all, and for reproductive rights, it is because I know what it’s like to lack them.
I arrived in the U.S. with no money, and worked sub-minimum wage jobs. In these positions I experienced wage theft, sexual harassment, and was looked down upon for my poor English. When I say I will fight for worker rights, it is because I know what it’s like to lack them.
I mopped restaurant floors while attending Borough of Manhattan Community College, then earned a Women in Math scholarship from Boston University, where I graduated with a BA in Economics and Math.
From 2014 to 2018 I served as a Wall Street Regulator at the Federal Reserve. I sat across the table from executives at the most powerful financial institutions, people whose greed wrecked our economy, causing unnecessary suffering of millions of Americans including myself. As a Wall Street Regulator at the Federal Reserve, my job was to hold the largest financial institutions accountable and protect our economy, and the working families of our country, from another economic crisis. I launched and led federal inter-agency task forces to protect jobs and consumers from national and global threats to our economy, and take a proactive approach to assess, measure and hedge the risks we’re facing, in order to build a resilient economy.
Holding these people accountable is an incredibly hard job. It takes courage and perseverance to take on the most powerful people in this country. It requires outsmarting bank executives who have more money and resources than the federal government. And most of all it requires trust, dedication and hard work.
So when Donald Trump came in and appointed the very same executives who had destroyed our economy to positions of power in his administration I was devastated. Quickly they started to undo the work we had done to prevent another financial meltdown.
And then I saw Democrats and Republicans in Congress, who were bought by Wall Street, vote to weaken the laws that had been put in place to safeguard our economy.
I couldn’t sit by and watch Donald Trump pave the way for another economic crisis.
The crisis we face today is massive. But if we work for the most vulnerable in our communities, we can create a country where the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, where we pass a Green New Deal and create millions of good-paying jobs combating climate change, where we have Medicare for All, universal child care, free pre-K and guarantee a high-quality education for all. We can end the systemic racism that has created mass incarceration and trauma in our communities, and create a society built on restorative justice and compassion.
Others will tell you what positions they support – but I also have the track record of going after the most powerful special interests in our country. I am not afraid of the fossil fuel companies who are warming our planet, or the pharmaceutical companies blocking us from health care coverage, or the prison industrial complex locking up our brown and black brothers and sisters. If you give me your vote, I promise to fight for your interests with every fiber of my being, every day.
I am proud to have the endorsement of many progressive groups, unions like UFCW Local 14445 and national progressive like Rep. Ilhan Omar, as well as former Newton Councilor Barbara Brousal-Glaser, and two sitting Councilors: Bill Humphrey and Emily Norton. I am told Bill and Emily don’t agree on much, but they agree that I am the best person to serve as your next Congresswoman!
Our polling shows that our message is resonating with the voters. We have surged in the polls and are now in the best chance to beat the former Republican in this race. We can win this and send a bold progressive, woman of color to Congress, but we need your help. I humbly ask for your support, so that we can work together to build the world our children deserve, based on justice, compassion, and love. Please join our movement at Ihssane.org.
Not my candidate, but aren’t we fortunate to have people of Ihssane’s character and experience in this race! It’s not an easy time to put oneself forward in the body politic, and we owe her and all the others debts of gratitude.
Dear Ms. Leckey,
What do you mean when you say “pharmaceutical companies blocking us from health care coverage”? With respect, you are confusing at least two separate industries. Health care coverage is provided by insurers/payers.
That is not what pharmaceutical companies do. Most pharmaceutical companies carry out research to discover new medicines and vaccines. Two examples are the anti-Covid-19 drug remdesivir (Gilead) and the Covid-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 (Moderna). Some other modern examples include miracle drugs like:
Lipitor (Pfizer)–a cholesterol-reducing drug that has prolonged and saved millions of lives
Gleevec (Novartis)–a brilliantly designed anti-leukemia drug that ushered in a new era of cancer treatment
Lucentis (Genentech)–a drug that can restore vision for patients blinded by wet macular degeneration
On average, it costs over $1 billion and takes about 10 years to develop a new drug from start to finish. For every successful drug, pharmaceutical companies make dozens of other attempts that fail. This is all very expensive.
Drug prices are high, but that does not mean that pharmaceutical companies are overcharging people. Here are some most-recent-quarter profit margins: Pfizer 29%; Merck 22%; Moderna 0%; Gilead -1% (yes, they are losing money). Is there something wrong with making a 29% profit for inventing life-saving drugs like Lipitor? Absolutely not. Workers at today’s pharmaceutical companies are some of the most brilliant, hard-working, and social conscious citizens we have. They deserve to do well. I could point you to a lot of others industries that are socially useless, even destructive, that make profit margins above 29%.
And before anybody points it out, yes I know that drug prices are cheaper abroad, especially in less developed countries. The United States is subsidizing the rest of the world, mostly countries that cannot afford to pay the true cost of the drugs they need, but sometimes countries that refuse to pay the true cost of the drugs they consume. This is partly the cost of being the world’s richest nation and partly a trade problem. Overall, it is not a problem of corporate greed.
Many of us in the MA-4 district have devoted our careers to discovering new drugs. It is a real “cheap shot” when politicians like Bernie Sanders and AOC criticize an industry they know nothing about. MA-4 is not Vermont or Bronx/Queens. The district that you’re asking to represent is at the forefront of developing life-saving and life-changing medicines. Please get to know this aspect of MA-4 and support us, don’t dis us!
@Mike Singer,
I was in the healthcare industry for years. You overgeneralize so much, it comes across as demeaning. A company that’s CEO package is 5M might have no profit, but it doesn’t mean it’s a great company. Unfortunately corporate greed is alive and well in the pharmaceutical industry, just look at Martin Shkreli (Convicted Felon). How about insulin prices being raised 2000x? Don’t even get me started on how diabetics are treated in this country. The list goes on. There are so many fallacies in your comment that I won’t address them one by one, but bottom line, she’s not wrong.
@James, if you don’t know or won’t admit the difference between health care coverage and a pharmaceutical company, then we can’t have an intelligent discussion about this.
And for you to say that Martin Shkreli represents the pharmaceutical industry is like saying that Aaron Hernandez represents the New England Patriots.
@Mike Singer Ha, Aaron Hernandez! Haven’t heard that for a while. I will respond by saying… if you don’t know or won’t admit there is a lot of overlap between health insurance industry & pharmaceutical companies, then we can’t have an intelligent discussion about this.
And there is a big difference between the above two and health care, because imo we shouldn’t need insurance for a human right.
Ms. Leckey, thank you for participating in Village 14! I’ve heard a lot about your life story, but not enough on your positions. On one issue that is of great importance to me, as a Jew and a democrat, is our nation’s involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Notably, you did not participate in the AJC survey or Jewish Dems debate. I searched and the best I could find was this tweet on an endorsement you received from one Jewish organization:
https://twitter.com/ihssaneleckey/status/1257687030319980544
I was taken aback by the words you chose — I trust you didn’t mean to imply that you had the support of the entire Jewish community! At least you need to earn mine. I appreciate your support for dignity for Palestinians, but of course the issue is far more nuanced than this. Could you elaborate and give specifics on what you would like to see as an outcome or what sort of US foreign policy you would like to see towards Israel?
What do you mean when you say “pharmaceutical companies blocking us from health care coverage”?
From https://pharmaphorum.com/views-analysis-market-access/how-would-single-payer-healthcare-in-the-us-impact-pharma-a-pricing-perspective/:
Pharmaceutical lobbies such as PhRMA (The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) have been campaigning to block sweeping changes to the health care system in order to protect the industry’s position and have successfully been doing so for many years.
Politics are a wonderful illustration of the human plight. I hope one-day people will care more about being a good, honest, integrity oriented, humble, equitable, kind, fair, gentle, selfless, generous, and unassuming human beings. Money, greed, dominance, self-interest, power, influence, ego, self-righteousness, self-preservation, tribalism, lying, manipulation, deception, hatred, anger, and malice far outweigh the former characteristics. We have a tiny percent of the global population calling the shots. For those that will contest my hypothesis, take a deep look at how historical trends remain robustly linear. Herein lies the one fact of life, Newtonians: Mother Nature always wins. Humans are self-defined superior. We will exterminate ourselves with our reckless abandon and abuse of this planet. Species that don’t make the proper adjustments to self-inducing existential threats disappear. Everything has a breaking point, and no one escapes this law. In the interim, I posit that we collectively accept the edict of Social Darwinism. And yes, I am a Marxist–I meant socialist.
This is a field with many outstanding candidates, but I’m solidly with Ihssane Leckey. This past winter, I first heard Ihssane speak at a large gathering of progressive activists on the South Shore. I was immediately taken by her unabashed willingness to take on powerful interests and her courage to buck conventional wisdom about what should be highlighted and not highlighted by a candidate for Congress in this very diverse district. To coin Harry Truman, she’s running as the candidate of “the little guy”. In this day and age, it’s indeed appropriate that another woman of color should be carrying the banner for this value in the 4th district race.
Some have suggested that Ihssane should have gone into more detail about her policy prescriptions. Perhaps, but I think it’s pretty clear in broad and compelling terms, where she hopes to take this nation in the years ahead and I, for one, will be cheering her on should she make that journey. Emily Norton recently told me that she’s absolutely convinced that Ihssane has the fire in the belly to actually fight for those that everyone else forgets about.
I’ll add one final accolade to the string of accolades I could cite for Ihssane Leckey. Now, more than ever, is the time for more candidates like Ihssane. who won’t accept half measures for correcting at least five earth shattering events that have overtaken us during the past six months, i.e. Covid 19, huge resultant economic dislocations, ever increasing levels of economic inequality, a rapidly deteriorating environment, and the recent awakening of most Americans to the pressing need to reengage in the fight for racial justice. When the dust finally clears on Covid 19, it’s also going to become abundantly clear that we let too many of our once vibrant governmental institutions fall into demoralized disarray, too much of our infrastructure and public transit to crumble into disrepair, too much of our vaunted health system to be out of reach for too many of our people, and too little consensus for addressing climate change. Ihssane might call her prescriptive remedies Democratic Socialism and others I know would call it Social Democracy. I think of it more as a vibrant 21st century update of FDR’s New Deal, coupled with the local activism of the early 20th Century Progressive movement and Adlai Stevenson’s 1956 New America program that set the stage for the New Frontier and Great Society programs. It doesn’t really matter what people call it. We’re pretty much on the same frequency about what is needed to bring our governmental and related public institutions back to the health. Again, half measures won’t get us there.
A good friend and political confidant recently told me she was concerned that Ihssane might join AOC and the rest of the Squad once she got to Congress. A year or so back, I might have agreed with her, because I thought their perceived divisiveness would rip the Party apart and give our opponents ammunition to win everything in 2020. I was totally wrong. After a rough start which is the lot of virtually every progressive newcomer from down and out constituencies, these women of color found their bearings and have emerged as shrewd and practical political figures. Three of the original four crushed heavily funded opponents in recent primaries and several more newcomers will be joining the Squad in the next session of Congress. They all caught a spark in their districts and beyond. What the Squad is doing is no different than the stories my politically active father and two of my uncles regaled me with about the Irish in Boston politics during the early part of the last century. I hope others can at least see the connection this 84 year old white guy gets between my heritage and Ihssane’s journey from Morocco to the 4th District. .
Courageous letter, Bob. But, we have come to expect it of you.
Also in my 9th decade.
Great comment, Bob! May I copy & post?
I’m voting for Ihssane Leckey & endorsing her candidacy . . . from Fall River, MA!
Steven Camara
Henry. Thanks for the kind words. Those of us in our 9th decade have to stick together.
So, how is this woman the candidate of the little guy when her campaign is based on over 800k of self funding ? And apparently she and her husband have a million dollar condo in Brookline with no mortgage. Her husband is an energy trader. Nothing wrong with any if that, but it is at odds with the poor immigrant story she tells
Her work experience is quite sparse according to her linked in profile. She worked at the Fed in Philly as a reports analyst from Sep 14 to June 2016. . Not a mgmt job. Then July 16 to feb 17 in the Supervision and Regulation area. No job title given. Sources say this is an admin job without managerial responsibility. Then Feb 2017 to Oct 2018 , also in Supervision and Regulation but in Boston. So four years in total with a bachelors degree , not a law degree . I’m sure it was a good job, but to describe herself as a Wall Street regulator is a bit rich. She is the weakest candidate in the field. We can do better
Dear Dale, I am happy to clarify some things about Ihssane’s background for you. Her husband Sean works for Boston Energy Trading and Marketing, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi, where he manages congestion risk associated with limited transmission capacity on our electricity grid. He identifies bottlenecks in the electrical transmission grid through economic and electrical engineering analysis and directs investment leading to the bottlenecks resolution. Independent System Operators (ISOs) determine the mix of the sources of electricity based on cost, reliability and policy objectives. Interestingly, the most common bottleneck over the last ten years has been new wind and solar generation. The industry, and Sean, have enabled these renewable resources to reach our homes.
In a perfect world, there would be public financing of campaigns so that people wouldn’t have to self fund or rely on donations from wealthy friends & family members, corporate interests, or dark money PACs. At this time we do not live in that world. Until then I am happy to support someone who shares my values and is in a position to be able to fund a competitive campaign with both her own funds and small dollar donations and not super PACs or corporate PACs.
From 2014 to 2018 Ihssane served as a special examiner at the Federal Reserve. She worked there in the aftermath of the economic collapse of 2008, and after the Dodd-Frank law had been passed in 2010. Many people are familiar with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was created by Dodd-Frank, but another aspect of the law is that large multinational banks suddenly were forced to cover their own financial risks. Her job entailed stress testing of banks involved in consumer lending, credit card lending, mortgages, and student loans, as well as their vulnerability to their debtors defaulting. These are the kinds of vulnerabilities which previously had been dumped onto the taxpayer, rather than the banks and their shareholders. So she was enforcing accountability on some of the largest banks in the world such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Ihssane has had a front row seat into how some of our most powerful institutions use their money and influence behind closed doors to rig the system on their own behalf. We would be lucky to have her background, skills and voice in Congress looking out for us.
Emily: Thanks for countering with hard facts a recent charge against Ihssane on this blog post. I’m almost certain that Ihssane and Senator Warren are on the same frequency. They would click nicely in Congress.
Bob, Emily, does it bother you that Leckey is not being transparent on foreign policy? I can’t get a straight answer to basic questions like whether Leckey supports BDS (this piece suggests that she does). I didn’t really expect a personal response, but I thought it was worth a try. But I’m not the only one asking. Wouldn’t it be the honorable thing for a candidate to reveal her positions? I’m left to assume the worst.
I am troubled that you sought and accepted an endorsement from Rep. Ihan Omar.
Rep. Omar is known for her Anti-semitic comments and such comments were denounced by most Members of Congress.
Surprised that others in the race have not denounced this endorsement.
Candidate Leckey has certainly benefited from the American Dream, and our country has served her well. Personally, having grown up in the working class part of the 4th District it seems to me she has to 1st learn the needs of the residents, and then determine where she fits in. Explaining a background that clearly points to why she focussed on living in America, does little to know what a dual income family in Fall River goes through? Also, her experiences growing up in her home country are hers and not ones encountered, in MA, which most likely leads the nation in safety nets for the disadvantaged.
Politicians have to get over the “rich people” and “big banks” rhetoric because it is what it is and, and offers politicians a great excuse as to why they can’t solve inner city problems. It seems quite apparent by the sizable family loan that Ms Leckey has joined the big money club.
@Emily, you somewhat describe what could be a job description of her career, but as it’s not your field, you may not realize how light her level was at the Fed. On the embellishment of her career to this point, it’s pretty obvious to everyone that she participated in the analysis of banks, but in no way did banks fear her, or even know her at the entry level of the audit process.
A member of Congress should be elected to represent the people of the district, not some alternate national agenda. It’s great to volunteer and get involved in society, but the candidate will be stronger by starting at a neighborhood, or municipal level role, and moving up!!
Let me add my voice to the list of MA 4 residents who are extremely alarmed by the radical foreign policy views of Ms. Lecky. While BDS and Ilhan Omar may not be troublesome allies on colleges campuses, in the real world they are major red flags.
@Craig – I agree that her foreign policy views don’t align with the District. Particularly troubling for me is the endorsement from Rep. Omar who has made Anti-semitic comments directed at the Jewish community and Israel.
Hard pass on her. She seems disingenuous about her background as a “Wall Street Regulator” and not knowledgable enough about other topics. The money is a turnoff and so is the endorsement from Rep. Omar. Emily Norton’s endorsement makes me wonder if she’s a NIMBY but I’d need to dig a little deeper.
Progressives can do better than her – give me Linos or Merrel any day.
I mean Mermell!
I’m voting for Linos. She holds progressive views without pandering to the extremes. And a PhD in epidemiology to boot.
Pass on her. Ms. Leckey has no relevant experience and is the only candidate that refused to respond to the AJC survey and engage with Jewish Democrats forum, for the simple reason that she supports the BDS; no surprise that Omar endorsed her…it tells you everything. A candidate that refuses to engage with one of the consitutent groups should not be elected; she will be ineffective in representing our district. There are plenty of qualified progressive candidates such as Mermell who has been endorsed by Rep Ayanna Pressley…we don’t need more hate and self promoting members of congress; we need someone that can actually represents ALL in the district.
This is a video of Ms. Leckey talking to Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine:
https://www.facebook.com/TuftsSJP/videos/302220944534853