GREENFIELD — Speaking on a morning where the valley looked something like a winter wonderland, Congressman Jim McGovern explained how breathtaking his driving was into the county.
“Some of the most beautiful parts of the commonwealth, some of the most beautiful parts of the country, are here,” McGovern said.
The Worcester Democrat then began to talk about the landscape of the Pioneer Valley: the farms for which he is a staunch advocate and the breweries of which he is a big fan. Places like these, McGovern said, need to be recognized more and to have a better opportunity for more business.
McGovern, who represents the Second Congressional District, called for an increase in tourism to the region to help bolster its local businesses and economies, in an address to the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Friday morning.
The goal is to formalize means of tourism in the region, whether it be through AAA or Airbnb, or through beginning to recognize the quality of beer in the valley like the quality of wine in the Napa Valley. It’s time, the congressman said, to help show off what’s to offer.
“Growing up in Worcester, we never came out west,” McGovern said. “I don’t know why, but we never did.”
He also advocated for Small Business Administration regional meetings in Franklin County to help the area’s businesses develop.
“We need to help connect the dots, and we’re going to be working with you to do that better,” McGovern said.
He added he needs to help small businesses to be “more aggressive in trying to get those [federal] funds to come to this area.”
Speaking with a fellow passenger on a recent flight, McGovern heard about a woman’s morning routine: wake up, make coffee, read the paper, get the kids to school. Well, that’s how it used to be, she told him. Now she skips the whole news part, saying it leaves her cranky and nervous.
“I responded to her and said you need to stay involved; you need to pay attention,” McGovern explained. “It’s tough, and I know it’s exhausting.”
He said often today people come up to him asking how Washington is, replying, “I just tell them I’m living the dream, and nightmares are dreams, too.”
The congressman repeatedly decried the Trump administration and spoke about the divisive culture in the capital. But he said through all of that, despite potential cuts to programs across the board, voters need to stay vigilant, and that now is the time for “renewed activism.”
Today, he sees cuts to programs that help feed the poor and help farmers, programs that aid transportation and programs that aid cities like Greenfield to invest in themselves.
Speaking to one of his core issues, attempts to end poverty in the country, McGovern said, “We need to come together as a community, especially now when the government is falling short, to make sure our most vulnerable have enough to eat.”
The issue of guns in this country, McGovern said, is not just an issue of mental health and law enforcement, but, chiefly, about gun laws.
He urged for sensible gun legislation, to strengthen and broaden background checks, to ban bump stocks and to ban assault weapons altogether.
“We need some common sense on this,” McGovern said, in the week following the latest mass shooting at school in this country. “One of the frustrations I’ve had is we can’t even get these ideas to the floor for debate.”
McGovern acknowledged the strength of the National Rifle Association and its lobby on Congress.
While pushing against corporate money in campaigns and calling for an ending to gerrymandering as we know it, he said today, no lobby, even with the power of the NRA, should prevent this issue from at the very least coming to a vote for an elected officials fear of losing their position.
“I much rather lose an election than a child,” McGovern said.
Both McGovern and Greenfield Community College President Bob Pura took a moment to acknowledge the death of state Rep. Peter V. Kocot, the longtime Northampton Democratic legislator.
Kocot died Thursday at the age of 61.
Pura began the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce’s breakfast with a moment of silence for the man whom he called “one of the valley’s most significant community servants.”
McGovern also expressed his deep sympathy for Kocot, “a big man with an even bigger heart.”
“He was a great teacher to me and he did so much for this community,” McGovern said.