Letter to the Editor: Brett Rhyne on Why He's Running for Senate

[Editor's note: The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by U.S. Senate candidate Brett Rhyne.]

To the Editor,

My name is Brett Rhyne, and I’m running as a write-in candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in the April 30 primary.

Why? Because I need a job.

That’s only a little facetious. Since I stopped teaching at Salem State College in 2009, I’ve been unemployed or underemployed two-thirds of the time.

Put another way, I haven’t been able to provide for my five-year-old boys for half their lives.

Thankfully, family, friends, our community and the state have helped greatly, and for that, I’m extremely grateful.

As a teacher and a journalist, I’ve always worked to make the world a better place. Now I’d like to be your trusted servant in the U.S. Senate.

As I see it, at the heart of our problems is our grow-or-die economy. Mindless economic growth leads to an unbalanced, unhealthy and dangerous world.

This grow-or-die mentality of corporate America — and its enablers in government — has created a set of false choices, which in turn have paralyzed progressive social movement in favor of profit-seeking.

So, while government has neglected many gravely concerning issues for decades, I believe there are solutions we can enact. These include:

• ending the epidemic of violence in America;
• reversing environmental degradation – not just global warming, but air and water pollution, toxic waste, loss of biodiversity and more;
• treating public health crises, including autism, drug and alcohol addiction, food safety, GMOs, HIV/AIDS and potential viral pandemics;
• redistributing the wealth;
• ensuring universal access to health care and higher education;
• making government transparent and freeing elections of special interest money; and
• furthering the rights of underrepresented groups like children, women, animals, workers, the homeless and the incarcerated.

I could go on, and probably will, ad nauseam. Suffice to say, for more about my values and positions; on me and my qualifications for the job of U.S. senator; to enjoy campaign videos, memes and blog posts; or to contact me or schedule a time for me to meet with your group, whoever you are, please visit Rhyne4Senate.com.

Coming soon, a Rhyne4Senate iPhone app.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention contributing to my campaign. That’s because I don’t want your money. To learn how to help, visit Rhyne4Senate.com. And please write me in on the ballot in the Democratic primary April 30. Thank you.

Brett M. Rhyne,
Needham Heights