Greg Schwartz: Why I should be the 12th Middlesex District State Representative

I’m running to bring a unique perspective to the State House to fight for you. Like the other two candidates, I have served on the Newton City Council and have experience with local City issues. Unlike the others, I bring my professional training as a doctor and a lawyer to the role.

I have worked for more than 20 years as a primary care physician. In that role, I’ve spent my life taking care of people, both when they are well and when they’re in their neediest moments. I’ve helped them address illness, and I’ve seen how inadequate housing, jobs, and nutrition directly impact their health. 

I have spent my life honing the skills of listening, relating, and understanding what individuals are dealing with. To diagnose and solve their problems, I have learned to take a fact-based scientific approach, collecting objective evidence, consulting experts, and collaborating with colleagues to get my patients the care they need. And when they’re well, I practice preventive care, thinking ahead to try to prevent future harms.

This approach is well suited to political representation, and served me well while on the City Council, where I was widely viewed as a good listener, consensus builder, and someone easy to work and collaborate with.

My commitment to social justice and political action is lifelong. It goes back to my time working on the Dukakis for President campaign in college and majoring in government. I worked in Washington for two congressmen and a senator, as well as a group fighting against the tobacco companies. I went to law school while at medical school at Yale. In 2004 I volunteered on the campaign to guarantee health insurance coverage for all Mass residents – which ultimately led to the passage of “Romneycare,” which was the model for Obamacare. I have the legal knowledge and skills to bring to the role of State Representative. Neither of my opponents bring any such legal expertise to the job. 

Ruth Balser has been State Rep for more than 2 1/2 decades. She knows the job and she knows all three of the candidates very well. She has endorsed me because she knows I will be the best and most capable candidate to continue her legacy and be a champion for all the residents of Newton and Brookline. I ask for your vote on September 3rd to support our campaign to “put a doctor in the House!” 

Greg Schwartz is a Democratic candidate for State Representative for the 12th Middlesex District. His campaign website is www.teamschwartz.org .