NORTHAMPTON — As November draws closer, eyes are on Democratic primaries across the country as the party looks to define its opposition to Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
In that context, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz on Monday took Jay Gonzalez to the Bluebonnet Diner to formally endorse him in the state’s Democratic primary race.
Narkewicz is a regular at the diner, so it is perhaps no surprise that at this time last year he was at the Bluebonnet Diner endorsing Newton Mayor Setti Warren as the best candidate to take on Gov. Charlie Baker. But with Warren dropping out of the race in late April, Narkewicz was left to pick between Gonzalez and author and activist Bob Massie.
“I think Massachusetts needs a governor with a vision,” Narkewicz said of Gonzalez, whom he said he knows from Gonzalez’s time working in former Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration.
Gonzalez was formerly secretary of administration and finance under Patrick, and most recently was president and CEO of the private health care company CeltiCare Health, which he said covered people on Medicaid.
Asked what initiatives of Gonzalez’s he supports, Narkewicz said he expects Gonzalez to be significantly better than Baker on issues like funding transportation, infrastructure improvements and education.
Narkewicz also said Gonzalez will offer immigration policies that stand in direct opposition to the Trump administration’s agenda — unlike Baker, who Narkewicz said has not pushed back enough and has stood in opposition to efforts to make Massachusetts a sanctuary state.
“I will be the governor of the whole state,” Gonzalez said when asked how he would serve western Massachusetts. He said he started his campaign more than 17 months ago to demonstrate that, and has visited the region on multiple occasions.
Inside the Bluebonnet Diner, Narkewicz walked Gonzalez around the busy restaurant to talk to voters, approaching booths and tables to engage in conversations ranging from health care to immigration.
Bluebonnet owner James Greco challenged Gonzalez on his support of a $15 minimum wage, saying that as a business owner he feels that is “really pushing the envelope.” He also said health care costs were a big issue for him.
Gonzalez didn’t really engage Greco on the minimum wage topic. But he did address Greco’s financial concerns in talking about his support for a single-payer health care system, under which everyone would be covered and people — including small businesses — wouldn’t have to worry about navigating a complex, expensive and inefficient system like they currently have to do.
Health care was also on the minds of restaurant patrons Susan Harnois and Nancy Aubrey, who were eating when Gonzalez approached their table.
Harnois said under her current health care, she has to go to different doctors just to get qualified for disability following some recent health problems.
“How can the elderly do it? They’re on fixed incomes,” she asked.
“Nobody should have to worry about getting health care,” Gonzalez responded.
“He sounds like he is more for us — the little people — than Governor Baker is,” Aubrey told the Gazette after their conversation.
When Gonzalez approached Clivia and Chet Pasek at their booth, Clivia Pasek said she recognized Gonzalez’s name from an article she had just read in the Boston Globe. The piece was about Baker — under pressure from Gonzalez and others — reversing his earlier decision to send a helicopter and military analysts from the Massachusetts National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist the Trump administration in policing the border.
“I’ve been very vocal in opposition to it. I think I share the same values as the mayor,” Gonzalez told the Paseks.
The Paseks seemed pleased with the conversation, but said they hadn’t decided yet who to vote for.
“We’re just starting to pay attention,” Clivia Pasek said.
The Democratic primary is on Sept. 4.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.