Haggetts Pond Road resident Bob Shapiro, a former public school teacher, software engineer and business owner with no prior political experience, jumped headfirst this summer into the race to unseat U.S. Congresswoman Niki Tsongas. But first, he'll have to best three other Republicans in the Sept. 14 primary.
The 64-year-old Shapiro's views lean to the right, as he vehemently opposes big government and the spending, high taxes and debt that comes with it, he said.
"Up until now, for the last 30 years, I have been a very apolitical person. Like many Americans, I sat on the sidelines and complained about what's happening in Washington. But two years ago, I saw Tsongas run unopposed and saw (President Barack) Obama's programs approaching socialism. (With these programs,) you're stealing from one person to give to someone else, and taking away the liberties guaranteed in the Constitution. To me, it's evil. That's a little strong, but I have strong views," said Shapiro. "The growth of government in Obama's first term is staggering. The deficit stretches as far as the eye can see."
The Andover man is campaigning alongside Republicans Tom Weaver of Westford, Sam Meas of Haverhill and Jon Golnik of Carlisle. The primary will be Tuesday, Sept. 14 and the general election Tuesday Nov. 2.
Andover is on the edge of the Fifth Congressional district, which covers 29 towns. Tsongas, of Lowell, first defeated Dracut Republican Jim Ogonowski in an October 2007 special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan and was reelected in 2008.
Shapiro has a varied background and is currently not working, devoting all his time to his campaign. He's worked as a small business owner, pharmacist, corporate manager for pharmaceutical giant Merck and a software engineer, he said. After that, he became certified to teach public school and has taught math at middle and high schools in Methuen, Tewksbury and Lexington.
The nation's deficit is the one issue that sticks in Shapiro's craw the most, he says.
If the deficit - now in the trillions - is ignored, "it could take the country down in two or three years," Shapiro said. Other countries will stop dealing with the U.S., realizing we have no capacity to pay them back, he believes.
Cutting spending - slashing budgets by half - is the best way to solve the national debt "caused by decades of irresponsible leadership, by both Democrats and Republicans," said Shapiro.
Many of Shapiro's views align with the Tea Party, Libertarian and conservative movements, he said. He's against "handouts for illegal immigrants" and supports sealing U.S. borders.
"Libertarian is not a dirty word for me. On the economic side, I'm very much in tune with the Libertarian side. I don't want to get to zero government, but when we get close enough, we can talk about it," he said, chuckling.
If elected, Shapiro says he'll roll four of his most pressing issues into one constitutional amendment: balancing the budget, paying off the national debt, establishing a line-item veto and line-item dollar amount limits for federal budgets.
He'll also write and submit some new rules for Congress. The first would limit any bill to 100 pages.
"If they can't say what they want in less than 100 pages, they don't know what they want," said Shapiro.
Another would require members of Congress to certify they've read and know everything in a bill before voting on it. As in the case of the recent healthcare legislation, it is not uncommon for bills to have thousands of pages, often included at the last minute. It's not right for legislators to vote on a bill they haven't even read, he said.
Shapiro also wants to establish a congressional "Constitution Committee."
"Every bill would have to go there (before the Constitution Committee), and they (the bill's authors) would have to detail, very specifically, where this bill is authorized in the Constitution," said Shapiro. "I'd like to say 95 percent of bills coming out of Congress in the last few years would not pass that test."
Bob Shapiro snapshot
Republican
Haggetts Pond Road resident, has lived in Andover 17 years
64 years old
Married to wife of 41 years, Maria; has two children and five grandchildren
Has never held public office
Website: shapiro4congress.org
Hobby: singing in barbershop quartets. He directs a men's chorus in Haverhill and sings with another chorus in Lowell. "I've been doing it for 37 years. We sing at nursing homes, travel, do contests," he said. "It's a nice hobby that keeps me out of trouble."
