In a letter announcing his endorsement, the mayor said Brown's ability to work across the aisle is what is needed at every level of government and the reason for throwing his support behind him.
WEST SPRINGFIELD — With less than a week left in the highest-profile Senate race in the country, Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown bagged another Western Massachusetts endorsement on Wednesday.
West Springfield Mayor Gregory Neffinger, also a Republican, is throwing his support behind Brown in the incumbent's bid to defeat Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren. In a letter announcing his endorsement, the mayor said Brown's ability to work across the aisle is what is needed at every level of government and the reason for throwing his support behind him.
1/3/12 West Springfield - Staff photo by Michael Beswick - The West Springfield Mayoral Innauguration for Honorable Gregory C. Neffinger was held at the Municipal Building Tuesday night. Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger addresses the crowd Tuesday night.
"This attitude of consensus building is what Scott Brown has brought to Washington and for me is long overdue. He has continued fostering this attitude by meeting with the president and the leaders of the Senate to discuss ideas that will move the country forward," Neffinger wrote. "Massachusetts has a long tradition of sending legislators to Washington that were able to negotiate and build consensus. Tip O'Neal, the Speaker of the House from Massachusetts, worked with President Ronald Reagan. Scott Brown has been working in that tradition espoused by President Kennedy ... With congressional approval at just 10%, we need senators willing to rebuild respect by working together for the country."
Neffinger went on to cite Brown working with Democrats in Boston as a state representative and state senator as an example of putting people over political party, a theme which defined Brown's closing TV ad in the Senate race, which was released on Wednesday.
In the ad, Brown reminded voters of his reputation as a moderate Republican, citing the Congressional Quarterly study which concluded that based on his 2011 voting record, he was the second-most bipartisan senator in the U.S.
Neffinger became the second mayor of West Springfield in 2011 after defeating Town Councilor Gerard B. Matthews.
This past weekend, Warren was endorsed by Springfield's Democratic Mayor Domenic Sarno, who said "She's consistently been a fighter for the middle class, and I believe she will be a good federal partner to the city of Springfield."
Both candidates were scheduled to spar in one final debate this week, but after Hurricane Sandy led to cancelling the Tuesday showdown, Brown declined to reschedule the debate, citing a busy campaign schedule including a state-wide bus tour.
A Suffolk University/7News poll found Warren leading Brown, 53 percent to 46 percent, with just over 1 percent undecided. However, a Boston Globe/University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released on Monday concluded that Brown holds a slight lead over Warren, 45 percent to 43 percent, a difference within the poll's 4 percent margin of error.