Don Howell's Blog

There isn't a night goes by that I don't worry about losing my home

Well, it has been a while. These past two years, I wanted to hang back and re-devote my time to the things that mattered to me. But a funny thing happened to me along the way; the more I talked to people, the more it seemed that they thought that no one cared anymore about “the little guy.” Perhaps the most heart-wrenching comment came from a fellow Lower Cape year round resident; “…there isn’t a night goes by that I don’t worry about losing my home.”

With 141 Democrat Reps out of 160, a hugely Democratic State Senate, and a Democratic governor, you’d think that solutions would be flying through the state legislature as fast as they could be laid down onto paper.

The signs are all around us; small business people complaining about how bad this summer was for them; kids taking off for destinations unknown in search of better opportunities (and a chance to hold on to more of what they make); crushing bills for gasoline; the kids’ college tuition bills arriving in the mail almost daily; the reality of just what “universal healthcare” meant when we went to file our state taxes this year.

With 141 Democrats in the State House of Representatives (out of 160), a hugely Democratic State Senate, and a Democratic governor, you’d think that solutions would be flying through the state legislature as fast as they could be laid down onto paper. But that’s not happening. So, I pondered what to do. I finally decided that somebody needed to take on the tough issues of the day; that your representative needed to do more than merely show up in the “right places.” I felt strongly that your State Representative needed to be representative of you.

I understand how hard it is to raise a family here (with a mortgage to pay, tuition loans building, insurance to pay and a heating tank looming ominously to fill), because I have a family.  I understand the totality of the health care problems we all face (personally, as a chronic Lyme Disease sufferer, but also as the husband of an RN and from the dollars and cents perspective of the business side). I empathize with the plight of the Cape Cod small business owner as I owned such a business for many years (it seemed sometimes that the only employee who didn’t get paid reliably was me). As a former dancer, musician and actor (dancing with the Kirov Ballet as a 14 year old in the Metropolitan Opera House and Madison Square Garden, having my own band for 25 years and acting at the Junior Theatre and Chatham Drama Guild for many years) and as a former and current executive of those local theaters, I know just how important the arts are to the Cape. Oh, and by the way, they’re not just wonderful to go see, but they are increasingly becoming a major engine driving tourism dollars. I know what kids are thinking and doing, because I work with kids. And I understand the problems involved with affordable housing because I have continued to work with other people who actually build and rent affordable housing.

I know this is already sounding long-winded, so I’ll end with a promise; to examine in future blogs what is going on here in the 4th Barnstable District and, just as important, what my opponent and I have been up to during the past two years. And, as always, I really do want to hear what’s on your mind!