Brewster’s Leibowitz Announces Campaign For First Barnstable District Rep

BREWSTER – Brewster resident Steven Leibowitz has had a lifelong commitment to his democratic values. Now, he’s looking to apply them on Beacon Hill. 

Earlier this month, Leibowitz officially announced his campaign for the Massachusetts House of Representatives First Barnstable District, representing Brewster, Dennis and Yarmouth.

 “In the times that we’re in right now,” he said, “it seemed to me really critical to be able to step up and do as much as possible to try and mitigate some of the effects of what’s happening top down from the federal government.” 

 While this is Leibowitz’s first bid for an elected position at the state level, he’s been a fervent political leader at the local level and passionate representative for the Cape and Islands in statewide committees. 

Leibowitz’s love for politics grew during his undergraduate years at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was part of the first college Democrats at the university and volunteered on a number of campaigns including serving as the assistant town coordinator for former house representative Barney Frank’s congressional campaign. 

After graduating from UMass with a journalism-political science degree, he sought further education at Northeastern University, earning a master’s degree in education.

He moved to the Cape in 1995, becoming an official Brewster resident in 1997. It was here that he became locally involved. Throughout his years in Brewster, Leibowitz has served as a Brewster school committee member, currently in his second term; filled a vacancy on the Nauset regional school committee; and served on the Brewster affordable housing partnership committee. He was also previously chair of the Brewster Democratic town committee and a 25-year veteran of Democratic state conventions. 

While he has been an active Brewster resident, he has also represented the entire Cape. 

“I am currently a Cape and Islands member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee,” he said, “where I have served [for] 10 years and been active in pushing to make sure this party lives up to its values.”

Outside of municipal leadership, Leibowitz is a strong proponent of social justice. He is the only Cape Cod member of Project Bread’s Make Hunger History advisory board, which is dedicated to eliminating hunger in Massachusetts. He has testified before the state Department of Agricultural Resources to stop Eversource from using pesticides along rights of way. He has advocated to maintain funding for school meals and the Healthy Incentives Program for SNAP recipients and is a strong proponent of affordable housing. 

In addition, he is involved with Feed Kids Massachusetts, Mass Farm to School, Mass Food System Collaborative and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute’s SNAP Coalition. 

“[Cape Codders] always feel we get overlooked sometimes,” Leibowitz said of representing the Cape on a variety of councils fighting hunger. “I’m glad that I’m able to represent us so that I can talk about the degree of food insecurity here on the Cape.” 

Aside from food issues, Leibowitz is a passionate supporter of immigration rights, securing personal data and education funding. 

“I don’t twiddle my thumbs,” he said with a laugh. “I put myself right into the fray." 

Leibowitz has centered his campaign around many of those same issues: education reform, affordable housing, the environment, food insecurity and economic development.   

With revenue estimates projected above the inflation rate, Leibowitz said it’s important to review the governor’s budget (coming out this month) and the local aid Cherry Sheet. 

“A real critical piece for me is to ensure that Brewster, Dennis and Yarmouth are getting as much funding as possible in order to support local government,” he said.

Federal funding is basically the way that local municipalities receive the basic services needed without massive overrides affecting resident taxes, he said. He is looking forward to being a representative who speaks on behalf of the needs of his community, especially when it comes to education. With two major school districts servicing local residents, he said it is important to maintain transparency when it comes to budgets. He also said there is currently no Cape delegate on the joint committee of education, which he would like to join if elected as state representative. 

Another gap that he is looking to fill is the lack of Cape representatives on the joint committee on aging and independence. Given that Brewster has one of the oldest populations in the state, Liebowitz said it is important to have representation on the task forces. 

He also wants to take more action when it comes to energy-efficient initiatives. 

“When I see that Eversource as a company made over $800 million last year and the rise in my electric bill was astronomical, I’ve got a little cognitive disconnect,” he said. 

While the legislature cannot set utility rates, Leibowitz argued that they are able to set rules as to what can and cannot be considered when the executive branch considers rate hikes. 

In a similar vein, he said he wants to enact more transparency for residents to know how state representatives are voting, what bills they are introducing and who they are collaborating with. He argues that it should be posted in layman's terms on the state website so it is clear how representatives are showing up for residents. 

Throughout his life, Leibowitz has remained a staunch Democrat, but says he thinks the party needs to fully commit and stand for what it believes in.

“In today’s climate, [being a member of the Democratic party] means putting up the strongest resistance we can to actions that are being taken in order to tear down authority, to tear down the Constitution, to tear down basic rights, to demonize poor people,” he said. “I have been committed to these values and these issues my entire life. There’s never been a time that I haven’t — the only time I get mad at the party is when we don’t fully stand up to the things that we say that we’re for. I want to push things along, stand up and be stronger than we are.”

He said he will always follow through with what he says — something that he sometimes feels is not consistent within the party.  

When asked about current First Barnstable District State Representative Chris Flanagan, who is the center of a federal fraud investigation, Leibowitz said he has two ways of thinking. 

“On a personal level, I have a lot of sympathy for his family,” he said. “From the point of view of our district and the representation, we’ve not had the same level of support that we need in a really critical time right now.” 

Flanagan has not commented on the case or announced whether he will run for reelection. He has not shown up on Beacon Hill since his arrest. Select boards within the district, as well as officials throughout the Cape, have called for his resignation. 

In a Jan. 25 press release, Leibowitz called on “Massachusetts lawmakers to pass the Safe Communities Act and the Location Shield Act and to take additional steps to protect civil rights, public safety and human dignity across the Commonwealth.” These acts would ensure that local police, sheriffs, jails and courts are not used as tools of federal immigration enforcement and prevent ICE and private data brokers from buying or exploiting location data to track people in their daily lives. 

As of this week, Chris Lambton of Dennis was the only other Democrat to announce a run for the seat. No Republican candidates have officially entered the race. The primary will be held on Sept. 1, with the general election following on Nov. 3. 

For more information on Leibowitz's campaign, visit stevenforstaterep.com.