Wicked Local - Brown Makes His Case For The U.S. Senate

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Scott Brown knows he faces an uphill battle as a Republican seeking to fill Ted Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat.

Until last week, when Jack E. Robinson filed nomination papers, Brown was the only member of the GOP seeking the seat, which is also the goal of four Democrats.

Although the seat has been in Democratic hands since the 1950s, and more than a decade has passed since Massachusetts voters sent a Republican to Congress, Brown, one of just five Republicans in the state Senate, said there is no inevitability to a Democrat victory.

"This isn't a Democratic seat; it's a seat of the people of Massachusetts," said Brown, 50, whose victory in a 2004 special election to fill a state Senate seat vacated by a Democrat was one of the last Republican legislative victories.

Brown has easily held the seat since, winning by a 59-41 percent margin in 2008 that gathered more votes in his district than Barack Obama. Brown attributes his strength as a candidate to his bipartisanship.

"I would not have been overwhelmingly re-elected if I didn't know how to work across party lines," said Brown, a Wrentham resident whose district includes Sherborn. "If the Democrats have a good idea, I'd be happy to vote with them."

Massachusetts has three times as many registered Democrats as Republicans, but more than half the state remains independent or unenrolled. Brown believes there are many who don't feel represented by the 12 Massachusetts Democratic congressmen in Washington.

Republican strategist Charley Manning agreed. "All four of the Democratic candidates are running far-left campaigns," he said. Manning worked on Mitt Romney's Senate campaign against Kennedy in 1994. "I know what a good campaigner Scott is -- he's a good guy and holds a good, moderate position for voters."

State Rep. Elizabeth Poirier, R-North Attleborough, said Brown will represent people who aren't being heard.

"Frankly, we need balance," said Poirier. "Scott will provide the other point of view."

She said voters should be confident in Brown's ability to represent them in Washington. "We've worked together, we've campaigned together," said Poirier. "He's very diligent and compassionate."

A fiscal conservative who has never voted for a tax increase, Brown said he's running, in part, to offer an alternative to the spending policies of Washington.

"I'm for free enterprise, low taxes and less government involvement," he said. "Government has a place -- it absolutely has a place, but we need to know when to get out of the way."

He's particularly worried about the government's role in the growing national deficit.

"I have some very great concerns about how our children, and at this point our grandchildren, will pay this back," he said.

Brown has two daughters with his wife of 23 years, WCVB-TV reporter Gail Huff. Arianna attends Syracuse University; Ayla is a basketball standout at Boston College. In 2006, Ayla made it to the top 16 on "American Idol."

Her fame led to a moment of controversy for Brown in 2007 when he was invited to speak at King Phillip Regional High School in Wrentham. Brown opened his speech by reading Facebook comments, obscenities and all, directed at his stance against gay marriage. He also named King Phillip students who had directed similar comments to his daughter, Ayla.

He has since told reporters that he does not regret sticking up for his family, and points out that he does support civil unions for same-sex couples.

Brown grew up in Massachusetts, a graduate of Wakefield High School, Tufts University and Boston College Law School. While in law school, Brown posed for a centerfold in Cosmopolitan as the winner of the magazine's "America's Sexiest Man" competition. He put the $1,000 toward his law school tuition.

The magazine joked this September about Brown's appearance in the June 1982 issue, suggesting a range of new campaign slogans for the candidate, asking "Who needs Joe Plumber when you can have Scott six-pack?"

In 1982 Brown told the magazine he was "a bit of a patriot," a fitting description for someone who went on to spend 30 years as a member of the Massachusetts National Guard where he is now a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He said his service gives him experience his competitors lack.

"I have a good feel for what role we have in the world," said Brown. "I take that seriously."

Brown's military experience has informed his stance on the wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he appreciates President Obama's thoughtfulness about American involvement in both countries. "I know the president thinks long and hard before sending our men and women into harm's way," said Brown.

But Brown believes, when it comes to strategy, generals, not politicians, are best equipped to make those decisions. "If they say we need to adjust, adapt or add more troops, we should do that," Brown said.

In between his responsibilities to his family, his constituents and his country, Brown still manages to find time for a more personal pursuit. He is a keen triathlete, competing in races across the country.

"I don't sleep a lot," he laughed.

Brown will get even less sleep over the next few months as he campaigns and raises funds, but he promises constituents it won't interfere with his state Senate duties. "I haven't missed a vote yet since I started running, and I don't plan to," said Brown. "I have an obligation."

Brittany Abery and Justin Meisinger are part of the Boston University State House reporting program.

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