Rodrigues challenges Brady in battle for Brockton senate seat

State Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, is facing a Democratic Party primary challenge from former mayor and current Councilor-at-large Moises Rodrigues, who says that the senate district deserves better representation on Beacon Hill and needs more resources. Brady said he continues to receive "tremendous support" from constituents of the district, which includes Brockton, parts of East Bridgewater, parts of Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Plympton, and Whitman.

BROCKTON – The incumbent state senator said he's running for re-election to continue fighting for public education funding and other resources for the district. But a fellow Democrat from Brockton argues that he's not doing a good enough job to bring home the bacon.

State Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, who's been in office since 2015 after previously serving as a state representative, is facing a Democratic party primary challenge in the Sept. 1 election from former mayor and current Councilor-at-large Moises Rodrigues, who claims that the senate district deserves a more effective legislator.

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"I'm running this campaign out of necessity," said Rodrigues, a city councilor since 2014, who became Brockton's first-ever person of color to serve as mayor, when he was appointed to the position for the last half of 2019, following the death of former Mayor Bill Carpenter. "We can do a lot better. When you have served as city councilor, mayor, and return to city council, and you see the neglect that has taken place as far as the senate seat is concerned, it forced someone to speak up."

Brady said he continues to receive "tremendous support" from constituents of the district, which includes Brockton, parts of East Bridgewater, parts of Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Plympton, and Whitman. Brady said he wants to keep fighting on Beacon Hill for public education funding, after helping to pass the Student Opportunity Act that provides an additional $20 million Chapter 70 aid to Brockton (funding that was put on pause due to the coronavirus crisis), and Brady said he wants to keep helping people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We still have a lot of work to do," Brady said. "I want to make sure the Student Opportunity Act gets fully funded. There's a lot of people in need of help. That's what I've done all my life, help people out. I take my job seriously. People are counting on me."

Brady said it's not true that Brockton hasn't been getting support from the state during his time in office. Brady pointed to several projects in downtown Brockton that have been at least partly funded by the state, including the Mayor Bill Carpenter parking garage built last year and the new Department of Unemployment Office that's now under construction.

"This is the first time in 50 years you've seen cranes in downtown Brockton," Brady said.

Rodrigues also argues that Brady is an ineffective leader because of his drunken driving in Weymouth in March 2018, which led to the sitting state senator getting stripped of his chairmanship of the legislature's Joint Committee on Public Service.

"What any normal human being would have done is stepped down instead of continuing to punish this region," Rodrigues said. "When you are up there in this kind of situation, you're powerless in a sense. What I would have done is do the honorable thing and step down. That's not what he chose to do. So in order to change this particular scenario, one of us had to run."

Brady, 58, continues to feel remorseful over his 2018 arrest, which was the second time Brady was ever charged with OUI, after a crash in 1998 led to a drunken driving charge getting quashed in a closed door court hearing. Brady attended treatment for alcohol abuse after the 2018 arrest.

"I admit I made a very unwise decision," Brady said. "I've learned from that and have continued to do so. I've always been one to help out other people, including getting people into programs for drug and alcohol addiction. That's another thing. I want to continue to help those people."

Brady said despite his mistakes, he is a "24/7 elected official," constantly responding to calls and requests for assistance, including helping "thousands" of people with unemployment claims as a result of the pandemic, and supporting local businesses during the public health crisis. The same can't be said for Rodrigues, said Brady, faulting the former Brockton mayor for missing several city council meetings and community meetings this year.

"Every other month he's missed meetings," said Brady, pointing out several dates when Rodrigues was absent from city council this year. "I don't know how he's going to have time to serve as a state legislator."

Rodrigues said he may have missed a few meetings due to technological issues amid the coronavirus pandemic as they were held via the video conferencing app Zoom. Rodrigues also said if he's elected state senator, he would leave his full-time job, working as a child protection specialist for the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

"Mike should worry more about his own conduct than question whether I have time to attend the meetings," Rodrigues said.

Rodrigues, 59, who was a teenager when he immigrated to the U.S. with family from Cape Verde, later joining the Navy and getting a college degree, said constituents can count on him to hire a diverse senate office staff. That's something Brady has failed to do, Rodrigues said.

"Why does he feel it's perfectly okay for his entire office to be without any minorities?" Rodrigues said. "He doesn't have anyone multilingual...on staff, when he represents one of the most diverse areas of Massachusetts."

Brady said he previously had a Haitian man on his staff, former councilor-at-large Jean Bradley Derenoncourt, but he left that position when he ran for mayor of Brockton last year. Brady said he has "a lot of volunteers" from the Cape Verdean community helping him with his campaign.

"Right now, with COVID, we are not able to hire anyone new," Brady said. "Some of my staff do speak different languages. I've always done my best to represent all walks of life."

Asked about Gov. Charlie Baker's response to the coronavirus, Rodrigues said Massachusetts has failed Brockton, and he faulted Brady for not doing more to get a free drive-up testing site for the city earlier. A testing site was opened at Brockton High School in early May with the help of Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital and Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, after a local state of emergency was declared over the pandemic in mid-March. Rodrigues said the state should have invested more in educational outreach in Brockton, especially in multiple languages, given the city's large immigrant population.

"I honestly think the state dropped the ball, at least in dealing with Brockton," Rodrigues said. "The state didn't come to bail us out like they did for other communities. That's just one of the examples of the neglect that has existed for us because we don't have the representation we deserve."

Brady said the congressional delegation from Brockton has gone to great lengths to secure PPE and funding to deal with the coronavirus crisis, but that the nation needs to replace President Trump for a more effective response.

"I think a big help would be getting a new president who can work with our congressional delegation," Brady said.

Both candidates were asked where they stand on the Black Lives Matter movement. Brady said he supports both police and people of color calling for racial justice.

"I've supported the Black Lives Matter movement. I've supported the Blue Lives Matter movement," Brady said. "I think we have to bring people together. There's a lot of division in the country right now. This is the problem."

Rodrigues said as a rare minority state senator, he would strive to address systemic racism.

"As someone of color, I'm a strong believer that my life matters as a Black person," Rodrigues said. "It's no longer just Black people complaining about being treated less than. I'm glad with the protesters that came out, including tons of Caucasian individuals who are bringing attention to the Black plight."

Asked what kind of bill he'd like to get passed on Beacon Hill, Rodrigues said he wants to see more uniform training for police throughout the state.

"That way, they are all following the same page and procedures, so Brockton isn't doing one thing and New Bedford is doing something different," Rodrigues said.

Brady said he's working on a bill to enhance building code and safety during the construction process.

"Moving forward, we still have to get some work done on building codes," said Brady, adding that he'd also like to pass a bill supporting solar "net metering," as a way to support renewable energy, improve air quality and protect the environment."

Brady said he has a passion for public service and thinks he's the best person for the job.

"I put my heart and soul into my job," Brady said.

Rodrigues said he feels like his life exemplifies the American Dream, as a first generation immigrant, Navy veteran and elected official. But the councilor-at-large said he's not running for higher office for his own sake.

"I have a very good job, and I get paid decently," Rodrigues said. "This will be a sacrifice for me, actually. But it's a needed sacrifice because our community needs that as well."

Staff writer Marc Larocque can be reached at mlarocque@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter @Enterprise_Marc.