Spring Break
Brandeis alumnus running for United States Congress
by Anya Bergman
News | 8/26/08
Posted online at 3:04 AM EST on 8/26/08
As a blind student at Brandeis in the late 1960s, Dennis Shulman '72 had to create his own solutions to problems. Now Shulman is running for Congress in New Jersey and said he is using the same problem-solving tactics to win over a constituency that knows little about its current politicians, let alone a newcomer like him.
A clinical psychologist and ordained rabbi, Shulman does not seem like the obvious choice as the Democrat to represent New Jersey's fifth congressional district, but he is ready to put his skills to good use. He won 61 percent of the vote in last June's democratic primary and is preparing for the November election.
Shulman said it is key to listen to the concerns of the people who will be voting rather than rely on ideology like his conservative opponent Scott Garrett is doing.
"The major component of my campaign is seeing that I am a sensible alternative to someone who is so out of touch," he said.
He credits the Brandeis sociology department, including Prof. Gordon Fellman and the late Prof. Irving Zola, who was an activist for disability rights, for being "remarkable components of social justice."
"Brandeis was extraordinarily influential to me as an institution that influenced my politics and my ethics," Shulman said.
Top on Shulman's list of priorities include the creation of a sound energy policy to combat the energy crisis and a focus on the "tremendous environmental crisis that we're in."
Pending his seat in Congress in January, Shulman will call for a rapid and responsible end to the "devastating war [in Iraq]."
Shulman said he was outraged that Garrett voted against stem cell research, aid for Hurricane Katrina victims and HeadStart, a national school readiness program. Garrett's constituents have little knowledge of his voting record, Shulman said.
He expressed dismay that Garrett takes campaign contributions from industries he is supposed to be overseeing as a member of the Financial Services Committee, including Countrywide Financial, a mortgage lender, and pledged never to take campaign cash from industries he oversees.
A clinical psychologist and ordained rabbi, Shulman does not seem like the obvious choice as the Democrat to represent New Jersey's fifth congressional district, but he is ready to put his skills to good use. He won 61 percent of the vote in last June's democratic primary and is preparing for the November election.
Shulman said it is key to listen to the concerns of the people who will be voting rather than rely on ideology like his conservative opponent Scott Garrett is doing.
"The major component of my campaign is seeing that I am a sensible alternative to someone who is so out of touch," he said.
He credits the Brandeis sociology department, including Prof. Gordon Fellman and the late Prof. Irving Zola, who was an activist for disability rights, for being "remarkable components of social justice."
"Brandeis was extraordinarily influential to me as an institution that influenced my politics and my ethics," Shulman said.
Top on Shulman's list of priorities include the creation of a sound energy policy to combat the energy crisis and a focus on the "tremendous environmental crisis that we're in."
Pending his seat in Congress in January, Shulman will call for a rapid and responsible end to the "devastating war [in Iraq]."
Shulman said he was outraged that Garrett voted against stem cell research, aid for Hurricane Katrina victims and HeadStart, a national school readiness program. Garrett's constituents have little knowledge of his voting record, Shulman said.
He expressed dismay that Garrett takes campaign contributions from industries he is supposed to be overseeing as a member of the Financial Services Committee, including Countrywide Financial, a mortgage lender, and pledged never to take campaign cash from industries he oversees.
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