To the editor:

Choosing a candidate to support in our 6th District Congressional race hasn’t been easy. But I’ve made a decision. 

Early on, we had had seven candidates throw their hats in the ring. Rick Jakious, a fine man, dropped out. The run was just too expensive for him. That left six.

So what are the qualities one should look for in a Congressional candidate? As one ponders that reasonable question, it should be noted that the choice one might make will be from those who are available and running. One can’t just grab a candidate from a shelf or the sky. The choices we have are right in front of us. You look them straight in the eye, listen to what they’ve to say, take a peek behind to see where they came from, pick and choose the factors that are important to you…and then make a choice.

In calmer, less dangerous times, a voter might support an inexperienced candidate who, one believes, has good qualities that will only grow over time. He or she would learn on the job and get better at it. In different times and circumstances, that might seem a reasonable stance. But, right now, that’s not where we are. The crises we are facing on a daily basis have not been this serious since 1860.

I eliminated two of the six early on.

In recent months I’ve met John Beccia more than once. He is a polite, charming, articulate fellow … who I will not support because, in addition to those positive qualities, he has deep connections with the unregulated “Cryptosphere” which I consider to be a fundamental threat to our economic stability, He is the Crypto Candidate, at least among Democrats. Among Republicans, it is the Trump family who are the Crypto Masters. In addition to his minuscule, unlivable, small-change Presidential salary — $400,000 plus expenses — Donald Trump and family made over $1.4 BILLION in 2025 just from his cryptocurrency and digital token ventures and partnerships. 

“Forbes” magazine estimated that those who invested in Trump’s Crypto ventures, most of them low- and moderate-income folks, collectively lost from $2.3 billion to $3.8 billion! Trump manipulated those who trusted and supported him into becoming the “losers” he so despises.

I’ve also met Jamie Belsito more than once. She is an unashamed liar. In a previous Congressional campaign debate among Seth Moulton, Belsito, and Angus McQuilken, upon arriving at the debate site at the Nahant Town Hall, because of COVID, she demanded a separate table, to be more distant from the other participants. It was provided. The following day, she publicly accused the Democratic debate sponsors of discriminating against her as a woman by pushing her away from the table where the men were seated! Two of the three sponsoring committees were chaired by women!! Those women reached out to Belsito and asked her to withdraw her attacks and correct her account. She would not do it. She did not do it. She showed exactly who she was and is … someone who would use egregious lies about other Democrats to advance her “career.” The fact that her sexist lies were about other women was especially reprehensible. She recently “apologized” … just a few years too late.

The middle candidates — Mariah Lancaster, Tram Nguyen and Bethany Andres-Beck — all have good qualities. None have fatal flaws. They are honest, intelligent individuals with interesting backgrounds who have a variety of skills and experience to offer. Ms. Lancaster, in particular, has some Washington experience as well as personal charm and other positive qualities. 

However, at this difficult and important moment, the decisive question in this election is this: “Which of the candidates would be most effective for our Sixth District and for our country. 

Given his experience, drive, and determination as well as his long experience in DC and working relationships with the rest of the Massachusetts delegation … my choice for Congress is Dan Koh. He was an elected member of the Select Board in Andover. He knows the needs of towns in our District. He was also a vital assistant to Mayor Marty Walsh in Boston, who then brought Dan to Washington when he became Secretary of Labor. Dan’s local roots are honest and deep while, at the same time, he knows Washington from the inside, having worked in the White House and among those in Congress.  He is experienced in local, state, and national government. He knows the system. 

Some see practical experience as unimportant … I don’t.

Dan Koh has the intelligence and background to make a positive and important impact in and for the 6th District and for our country nationally. From Day One, he will know what to do and how to get it done. With his incredible energy, he will hit the ground running at a time in our history where those skills are desperately needed. 

One might have a degree from Harvard or from a small state or community college. One’s parents might be financially well off or struggling. But it’s what you do with whatever you’ve got that counts, and Dan Koh has done a lot.

Finally, a personal note. I grew up in an Irish working-class family with a sister and eight sets of aunts and uncles. My extended family was Italian, Polish, Jewish, German, and other kinds of hyphenated Americans. My sixteen cousins are and were a mixture of ethnic, social, and economic statuses. None of us are “elite.”

When I heard Dan describe his kids as “German-Irish-Italian-Lebanese-Korean Americans!” it brought a smile to my face. I felt an affinity. We are all Americans.

Good for my district. Good for my country. I will vote Dan Koh for Congress.

Jim Walsh

Nahant