William Keating

William "Bill" Keating is the new Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives n, for the 10th Congressional District of Massachusetts, contending for a seat opened by the retirement of Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Massachusetts). He defeated Republican Jeff Perry, and three independent candidates.

"He will draw distinctions on how he would fight for job creation and Social Security, an area where Keating has rigidly opposed raising the retirement age. He said he views Perry’s popularity among Tea Party supporters as an opportunity to make inroads with “traditional Republicans and independents.”

The Perry-Keating race has featured attack advertising. Both candidates are called extremists by the other side. Keating does not now live in the 10th District, but in the 4th.

Issues

In contrast to his conservative opponent, whose platform is principally one of reducing government, Keating recommends retaining or enlarging some government functions. Social Security is a key differentiator, where both point out the Social Security Trust Fund is solvent until 2037. Perry regards this as an urgent matter to preserve the fund, while Keating points out there are several decades left and precipitous changes in this entitlement program are premature.

Government

He points to his experience as state Senator in keeping government honet, pointing to his opposition to the powerful Senate President Bill Bulger and forced Bulger to adopt key reforms like term limits on leadership positions. He calls for banning corporate earmarks, closing loopholes that allow lobbyists to game the system, and making government more transparent.

Social security

He opposes both privatizing Social Security and raising the age of eligibility. "The Social Security Trust Fund’s solvency is forecast until 2037, so any radical reforms such as privatization or raising the retirement age are unnecessarily dangerous and would harm efforts to ensure that citizens receive the benefits they deserve. "