Regarding the news about Barney Frank, I am a longtime friend and I wish him well. I go back to 1980, when Barney was running for Congress, I stood at a corner near the Newton Highlands T stop and handed out flyers. A person came up to me and said, “why would you want to support that (expletive)?” and I said, “I didn’t know he was gay.”

He was a very liberal and progressive Democrat. He co-authored the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act which protected consumers from abusive financial practices. He fought against big corporations which took advantage of citizens. He supported everything that Mayor Mamdani does now, so how can Barney criticize those “radical Dems” and feel they can’t win races?

But progressive Dems have won—just look at Abigal Spanberger’s victory in her Virginia race for governor; Analilia Mejia in the New Jersey special election for a U.S. House seat; Mayor Mamdani’s surprise victory over Andrew Cuomo; even in red states like Ohio and Indiana, progressive candidates have put up a mighty fight even if they lost.

I hope via Jim Segel, his former chief of staff, Barney will read my letter and explain why he thinks Dems should become more centrist; maybe he has a handle on this better than I do.

He is a wise man. And I wish him well. But has age affected his perspective?

Jack Nusan Porter
Newtonville