Brownsberger gets a `yes' vote from Harshbarger

I write to express my support for the candidacy of Will Brownsberger for state representative in the 24th Middlesex District.

I am confident that he will be an exceptionally effective legislator. I have had the opportunity to observe his career for over 20 years. He is experienced, hard working, talented as a manager and as lawyer and, most importantly, he cares about people.

I met him first in 1982 when I was newly elected as Middlesex County district attorney. As a law student, he assembled a team to help me define prosecution policies. He did an outstanding job working with his fellow students and with the professionals in my office to build consensus around a new approach to the management of sentencing decisions.

After law school, he went to Wall Street. I reviewed his Wall Street career carefully and was favorably impressed when, in 1992, he told me that he wished to return to the Boston area and to public service.

I hired him as an assistant attorney general, and he made very substantial contributions to public safety and was rewarded with progressively more responsible positions in the office.

Prosecution at the level of the attorney general's office is a complex enterprise requiring collaboration among many people. Will's excellent management skills allowed him to stand out among legal professionals in the office. He did very significant work in consumer protection, health care fraud, and narcotics enforcement in particular.

While working hard in the trenches as a prosecutor, he also found time to do high quality research and writing on drug policy. He achieved national recognition in that field even before leaving the office in 1998 to work full time on policy research.

I am very encouraged by the prospect that someone with Will's skills and experience might be elected to the Legislature. I am certain that, as a seasoned advocate, he will do a superb job representing the people of his district. I am also certain that he will make important contributions to the larger issues that we face as a Commonwealth.

Scott Harshbarger
Former attorney general Massachusetts