‘Pinch–yourself moments’
Bill Keating adjusts to a hectic schedule nine months into his congressional term
By Taylor Bigler
Patriot Ledger, September 24, 2011
A black-and-white photo of the original
Dunkin’ Donuts in Quincy decorates freshman Congressman Bill Keating’s office
in Washington. There is also a Red Sox
poster with Jonathan Papelbon’s signature scrawled in Sharpie as well as a
vintage photo of cranberry bog workers.
Although his office on Capitol hill
is 450 miles from his district in Massachusetts, Keating’s office is adorned
with reminders of home.
But none of these photos are as
poignant as the photograph of young Congressman John F. Kennedy at work in the
same office where Keating now spends his time.
“The history is humbling. It truly is.
It’s not just in this office, it’s the history of Massachusetts being
such a big part of our country’s history,” Keating said.
It’s been less than nine months since
Keating, 59, was sworn in as U.S. Rep. for Massachusetts’ 10th
District. He is still adjusting to a
home that isn’t home, workdays that seem endless, weekly plane rides between
Washington and the district, event-packed weekends and a culture of partisan divisiveness
that came as something of a surprise, even to a man who has held elective
office for nearly 35 years and has spent his entire adult life in politics.
“It feels like 10 years,” he said of
his time in Congress.
In Washington, Keating’s days begin
at 6 in the morning. He wakes up in his
tiny basement apartment and walks the four minutes it takes to get to his
office on Capitol Hill.
A Tuesday in early September was
typical. Keating had an early morning
breakfast briefing, followed by meetings with constituents from the district. Each meeting seems to run about 15 minutes behind
schedule, putting his already jam-packed day in to overdrive.
He was running 15 minutes late on the
way to a hearing with Congressional Committee on Small Business, but stopped to
chat with Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Virgina.
“This is how the day gets away from
us,” his press secretary Lauren Amendolara said.
But Keating is intent on soaking up
every bit of Washington.
“You’ve got the ‘pinch yourself
moments,’” Keating said. “Am I really
having this opportunity?”
During the day, Keating was whisked
from meetings to hearing to the House floor for a vote, at least one of his
seven staff members always at his side.
His exercise is the “Washington walk,”
the brisk pace that members of Congress and their staff members adopt as they
go from committee hearings and offices to the House chamber for roll call
votes, and then back again.
His only rest comes at the end of the
day at his apartment, which he described as far from homey.
“It’s a bed, and that’s it. As soon as I get up I’m out the door,”
Keating said. “When I’m down here, it’s
a business trip. I still have the sense
that my feet are still planted at home in the district.”
Keating was born in Norwood and was
raised and lived in Sharon until he decided to run fro Congress. He already owned a home in the 10th
district – in Bourne – but Sharon is in the 4th District,
represented by Barney Frank of Newton.
Early in the campaign, he began renting a home in Quincy, the 10th
District’s most populous community.
He has been in elected office nearly
his entire adult life, first to the State House of Representatives in 1977 when
he was 26. He became a state senator in
1985, the same year he got a law degree from Suffolk University.
He left the State House in 1999 after being
elected Norfolk County District Attorney.
Keating serves on three Congressional
committees: Small Business, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security, where he has
made headlines by criticizing national transportation officials about the security
around airports, which in some cases amounts to little more that a chain-link
fence. He became vocal on the issue last
year when a North Carolina teenager sneaked aboard a Boston bound plane at the
airport in Charlotte. The 16-year-old’s
frozen body fell from the sky onto a quiet Milton street as the plane’s landing
gear was lowered.
Another top priority is the creation
of new jobs in the district, Keating said.
One job he isn’t concerned
about? His own, he said.
When congressional district maps are
redrawn this fall, the state will lose one seat and the 10th is in
the sights of lawmakers.
“I am much more concerned about
people who don’t have their own jobs.
There are thousands in our district, so I’m not going to preoccupy
myself with who doesn’t get one job,” he said.
Veteran U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-
Newton, who has called Keating a personal friend since their days in the
Massachusetts Legislature, said Keating has done well during his first months
in Washington. It’s difficult for
freshmen lawmakers to feel like they are making a difference, particularly when
they serve in the minority, he said.
“Congress is a very puzzling
business, but he’s very well-respected,” Frank said of Keating.
Keating said the strong party divide
came as a surprise, as did the influence of the Tea Party.
“Being from Massachusetts, we
sometimes forget that,” he said.
Keating tries to stay clear of
partisan divisiveness by borrowing a bit of wisdom from a John Quincy Adams
quote displayed in his office waiting area.
“Always vote for principal, though
you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote
is never lost,” the quote reads.
“That quote is a good lesson everyday
as I’m walking through here,” Keating said. “If you do what you think is right,
even if it’s not popular thing, you will be doing the right thing for yourself.”
