Kevin Powers, a Millville entrepreneur and small business owner, has announced he will run as a Republican for the Massachusetts 2nd Congressional District currently held by Democrat Jim McGovern.
Powers advocates for term limits, better jobs and energy independence, and challenging the ideas of career politicians.
“As a small business owner, I create jobs,” Powers said in a press release. “When I get into Congress, I will work to ensure that the government doesn’t get in the way of small businesses to create better jobs for you.”
The congressional district covers the middle of the state, including communities from Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, Norfolk, and Worcester counties. The district is currently represented by McGovern, who has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Massachusetts since 1997.
One of the key tenets of Powers’ platform is supporting term limits and he has signed the U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge, which states that if he is elected to Congress he will co-sponsor and vote for term limits of three House of Representatives terms and two Senate terms.
“Kevin’s support of term limits shows that there are people out there who are willing to put self-interest aside to follow the will of the people and the founding fathers,” advocacy organization U.S. Term Limits president Philip Blumel said in the release.
According to the press release, Powers feels that America is facing challenges like never before under the leadership of career politicians and he wants to limit terms to return control of the nation to people who earn a paycheck and pay a mortgage, “people in touch with the difficulties created by the career politicians we’ve been electing.”
He added that Congress has had low approval ratings in recent years — an October Gallup poll put Americans’ approval rating of Congress at 13 percent — but said that there still remains around a 95 percent re-election rate.
“The root of the problem is that politicians are incentivized by the political system to care more about retaining their position than about doing what is best for the country,” Powers said.
Another priority of Powers’ campaign is creating low cost and renewable energy with a plan for energy independence within 15 years, according to the press release.
Powers opposes sanctuary for illegal immigrants, supports strengthening U.S. borders and national defense and is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, according to his campaign website.
Other focuses of his campaign, according to the website, include protecting Social Security for seniors and improving the economy by easing government regulation. The website also states that Powers is a “strong and proud” animal rights advocate.
Campaign manager Ron Chernisky said that the campaign is working to organize local events in and around the district in the upcoming months so that Powers can meet residents and discuss his platform.
“The excitement for Kevin is growing and many people are beginning to come out to support him and get involved,” Chernisky said.