Senate challenger Seth Moulton brings listening tour to Waltham

U.S. Representative Seth Moulton was in Waltham Sunday afternoon to host a town hall at the American Legion Hall as part of his statewide Listening Tour.

Moulton is a Democratic congressman from the Massachusetts 6th Congressional District, covering the state’s North Shore. In October, he announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, challenging Ed Markey, the long-term incumbent who has served in Congress since the 1970s.

Before a large and supportive crowd, Moulton framed his campaign around generational change, stating that the Democratic Party needs younger leadership. 

“I don’t think we can wait six more years for new leadership,” Moulton said. “The status quo is just not getting it done … there comes a time to pass the torch to the next generation.”

As part of his talk, Moulton addressed two topics that relate to Waltham: affordability and work opportunity. 

“I think it’s true not just in Waltham, but across Massachusetts the middle class is getting squeezed,” he said. “People can’t afford a place to live. Electricity bills are way too high. The Democratic establishment has had a long time to fix this but hasn’t gotten it done.”

Moulton’s vision is to increase density in places people want to live and improve transportation options to match housing and jobs. 

For example, he’s championing a plan to transform the MBTA commuter rail into a high-speed East-West regional rail network. The idea is that faster rail access will allow for more concentrated, walkable and sustainable communities and increased work opportunities.

His plan to achieve affordability includes instituting a national wealth tax on mega-millionaires and closing tax loopholes that favor corporations. He also proposes banning private equity firms from buying up private property and raising prices.

Moulton promised to fight for policies to help working people, such as universal healthcare.  “Housing, healthcare and education – they’re just human rights and not debateable,” he said.

During the Q&A at the end of the town hall, a participant quizzed Moulton with a history question, asking what Waltham, Lawrence and Lowell had in common with Patterson, New Jersey.

Moulton answered “Mill towns?” which was close. The answer: they all celebrated hydro-electric power, which early industrial mill towns viewed as the transformative technology of their time, the AI of their day.  “I should get half credit,” he said.

The Senate race has become surprisingly competitive. A recent poll shows Markey leading by only about five points among likely Democratic primary voters in Massachusetts.