Political newcomer sets sights on unseating Tierney

LYNN – Democrat Seth Moulton said service as a Marine in Iraq equipped him with the leadership skills required to reform a stalemated Congress and convince voters they should pick him over U.S. Rep. John Tierney to represent the North Shore.Moulton is a Salem resident who spent five years in Iraq fighting and serving as a special assistant to Gen. David Petraeus, according to his resume.He had never run for political office before announcing his run against Tierney in July. He has set his sights on defeating Tierney in the Democratic primary next fall.”I know I have to earn every vote in this district. I’ve proven I can be a fighter in a pretty difficult part of the world,” he said.Moulton, 35, said the Sixth Congressional District stretching from Saugus to Amesbury risks losing a Democratic congressman if Tierney and Richard Tisei face off in a rematch of the 2012 final election Tierney won.”The Republicans have already said this is one of the top races in the country,” he told The Daily Item’s editorial board during an interview this week.He said national Republicans conducted a poll concluding Tisei, a Wakefield resident and former state legislator, can beat Tierney in 2014. Tierney has been in Congress for 17 years.”I respect the congressman for his service; I think it’s time for a change,” Moulton said.Moulton said the economy is the top concern on voters’ minds and said Tierney does not have a significant track record in addressing the country’s biggest problems.”He’s not driving the debate,” Moulton said.Tierney is seeking re-election and Tierney spokesman Daniel Rubin responded to Moulton’s remarks in a statement Friday.”It is not surprising that Mr. Moulton is making inaccurate and desperate claims about Congressman Tierney’s record. Constituents in Lynn know that Congressman Tierney has long been a leader on issues of job creation, education, veterans and small business. Through legislation such as his Workforce Investment Act and the Green Jobs Act, as well as his leadership on student loan rates, Congressman Tierney has had a strong and consistent focus on strengthening our economy, creating jobs and rebuilding the middle-class. That’s why Lynn residents have resoundingly and consistently sent him back to Washington to represent them,” Rubin stated.Moulton has an early supporter in former Lynn Mayor Thomas P. Costin Jr., whose granddaughter, Caroline, introduced Costin and Moulton. Costin said Congress needs a reformer like Moulton who has fought for the freedom of other people.”If he can do that in a war zone, what can he do in the war zone of Washington?” he said.A previously independent voter who “always thought of myself as a Democrat,” Moulton said he will work hard to win votes in Lynn and said General Electric, the city’s largest employer, “would do well to have someone from the military representing them.”Moulton said he learned humility by working with many different types of people in the military. He also learned that people working together make a difference.”If you have moral courage, you can have an impact on making peoples’ lives better,” he said.Moulton said the Affordable Care Act is “absolutely moving the country in the right direction,” but said the law dubbed “Obamacare” is not perfect. He agrees with President Obama’s policies in Afghanistan and said last summer’s showdown over chemical weapons use in Syria underscores the need for diplomatic options to counterbalance military solutions.He said national volunteer service programs like AmeriCorps need to be expanded to give more Americans a chance to understand what it means to serve their country. He said the sacrifice and experience of military service is limited to a fraction of the country’s population and the families of military personnel.When the Marines entered Iraq in 2003, Moulton said they anticipated leaving the country as quickly as they entered it. Instead, he stayed and helped run the country in the initial months before the death