Opinion by Richie Canastra and Roy Enosken: Gov. Patrick Should Make Barney Frank a Senator
Richard Canastra, owner Whaling City Seafood Auction in New Bedford. © Photo by Sam Murfitt
January 6, 2012 – In his 32 years in the House of Representatives, former Congressman Barney Frank has been independent, outspoken and willing to cross the ideological divide to work with Republicans on constituent interests in a way that many who do not know him found surprising.
In yet another surprise, on Friday, the former lawmaker announced that he’s asked Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to be appointed to the interim Senate seat that will open if Sen. John F. Kerry resigns to serve as secretary of state. The 113th Congress is deeply divided along party lines. The Republican party itself is torn between those willing to support their leadership and those unwilling to compromise. From his 1993 opposition to North American Free Trade Agreement provisions that hurt Massachusetts textile interests, to his decades-long advocacy for the fishing industry, Rep. Frank has consistently been willing to work with Republicans when their constituent interests were aligned. Today, we face a crucial period for our nation, our state and our fisheries. Our newest senator, while accomplished in her own right, has never previously held public office. Massachusetts needs a senator who can hit the ground running on day one.
In this appointment, experience is paramount. Rep. Frank has 40 years of experience in public office, including eight years in the Massachusetts Legislature before his election to the House. He has mastered the art of drafting legislative initiatives that resolve real-life problems. Rep. Frank is a tireless worker for the people’s interest and he never lost sight of his local responsibilities.
He supported an extensive list of projects, including: forcing the EPA to clean up Shpack dump in Norton; working to block liquefied natural gas tankers from the Taunton River; and providing $15 million to New Bedford for the nearly complete reconstruction of Route 18, which reconnects the Whaling National Park with the working waterfront.
Rep. Frank has been a career-long ally of commercial fishermen, and became closely involved with the industry after redistricting gave him representation of the ports of New Bedford and Fairhaven in 1993. He worked with the late Sen. Edward Kennedy to provide funding that created the School for Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Today, SMAST is a leading marine science institution whose work has been instrumental in rejuvenating the New Bedford scallop industry and providing scientific analyses of groundfish and other species.
He opposed onerous regulations such as the 10-year overfishing rebuilding schedule in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. He introduced the International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. The bill, which passed with strong support from Sen. Kerry, created a level playing field, allowing American negotiators on internationally managed stocks to be exempt from U.S. domestic fishing regulations as long as there is still progress toward stock rebuilding.
Working closely with Republican Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, he organized a bipartisan coalition of coastal congressmen who work together regularly on issues of concern to fishermen. And when it became clear, as a result of an inspector general’s report, that our East Coast fishermen were having their rights trampled by NOAA, he arranged a face-to-face meeting between aggrieved fishermen and the secretary of commerce that resulted in a Cabinet-level apology and a return of fine money.
This appointment needs to be about what is best for the citizens of Massachusetts, not about giving someone - no matter how deserving - an honorary title. We urge Gov. Patrick to nominate Barney Frank to this office, which would be a fitting encore to his exemplary career. And it is worth remembering that an encore is performed not for the benefit of the musicians, but for the audience.