Thirteen years ago, a state senator from Wrentham stunned America.
Scott Brown, a Republican, beat then-Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley, a Democrat, in a 2010 U.S. Senate special election 52 percent to 47 percent.
Brown won the special election following the death of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, a Democrat who served for nearly 47 years.
Brown served as a U.S. senator from 2010 to 2013. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Cambridge) defeated him 54 percent to 46 percent in his 2012 re-election bid, and he lost a tight New Hampshire U.S. Senate race to incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in 2014, 52 percent to 48 percent.
During President Donald Trump’s administration, Brown served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 2017 to 2020.
Brown, now 63, currently serves as the head of the Competitiveness Coalition, a right-of-center organization that opposes increasing regulations of technology companies.
NewBostonPost conducted an email interview with Brown about his political career. It’s below.
1. You were first elected to public office in 1992 as a member of the town of Wrentham’s board of assessors, a position many people have never heard of. What inspired that first run?
I was new to town and wanted to get involved and learn more about it. I was a real estate attorney and the issues worked on by the office were of great interest to me. I enjoyed the experience.
2. You have served in five elected positions – board of assessors, board of selectmen, state representative, state senator, U.S. senator. What is the oddest constituent services request you got?
There have been upwards of a hundred, but the most interesting and difficult was when one of our citizens was killed in an Earthquake in Haiti. The parents could not locate or secure the body. We did and were able to return the remains quickly and respectfully.
3. You are currently the chairman of The Competitiveness Coalition, which advocates for what it calls “light-touch regulation and tax policies” toward technology companies and against what it calls “Washington’s misguided legislative attacks” on them. Tucker Carlson has frequently criticized tech companies for censoring conservative content and has called for more government regulation of them. What’s the right approach?
The right approach is the one that I/we are taking. If there is an issue that needs to be addressed, then let’s do it. DO NOT submit and try to pass legislation that gives more power to the FCC and Commerce that makes us less competitive and pours water on the ideas of our new innovators. China would love that.
4. When you lived in Wrentham, you had a friendly association with the Cistercian nuns at Mount St. Mary’s Abbey there, even though you are not a Catholic. How did that begin, what did it entail, and does it continue?
They asked for me to come and brief them on the election and ballot questions. It was so wonderful to be let in to their order and speak openly and honestly. Sister Katie (still there) is someone our family has turned to for guidance, love, and support. I have helped them with immigration issues, getting their wind turbine and solar panels up and running. We still speak today. Ayla volunteered there and still visits. Great candy, as well.
5. What happened to the famous truck from the 2010 U.S. Senate campaign? What do you drive now?
Here is the truck after 383k miles
Photo courtesy of Scott Brown
I have a 2024 GMC Canyon. It is black instead of green.
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