Politics & Government

Sharon Man Launches Congressional Campaign

Democrat Marty Farren seeks the Fourth Congressional District seat held by Barney Frank.

A Sharon Democrat is running for Congress to promote "a mostly honest look" at federal government.

Marty Farren told Patch Friday night he's running for the Fourth Congressional District seat held by largely because "there's a lot of what I see as slander, denigration of our federal government."

A data analyst who handles large data sets, Farren is the latest person to announce their interest in the congressional seat. Joseph Kennedy III announced this week he's forming an exploratory committee. Frank will not seek re-election in November.

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"Our federal government does a phenomenally good job of the things that it does, and we call it lots of bad names," Farren said.

"That's problematic. Because it means that it's very difficult for us to go and support it and make it more effective in those areas where it needs to be stronger, and it's harder for us to criticize those areas which are perhaps not as strong as they need to be.

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"If the only thing that we talk about in the federal government is what a disaster it is, how we should be afraid of it, how it is simply trying to run your lives for you, and run away from the federal government, it's going to make it very hard for us to have conversations about what should we do about things like Social Security (and) how can we handle health care nationally."

Farren said he is trying to "enunciate and articulate clearly" his general policy positions. His campaign website is http://www.martyformass.com.

Farren said he has been "investing in those things which would potentially allow me to be a more effective legislator for quite some time."

He studies economics, he said.

Farren said he does not see enough education on "how the national economy works."

"What is the national economy? What differences are there between a national enomony and a state economy and a business and a household?" he explained.

"Because the way the financial structures of each of these organiztions works is very different."

Farren said he grew up in Sharon and graduated from the Maimonides School in Brookline. He graduated cum laude from New York University with a degree in computer science.


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