Upton, MA …On Monday of this week with Memorial Day weekend quickly approaching Shawn Craig, Iraq War Veteran, officially filed his paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office to run for State Representative.
“We need change at the State House, not more of the same. I am the only candidate with private sector, municipal, and military experience. It is the professional politicians who have gotten our state into this mess of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars. They have had their chance. It is now time for new leaders who will fight for the people,” said Craig.
Craig will be listed on the ballot as both a veteran and as a member of the Upton Finance Committee.
Earlier this week Craig pledged to fix the broken housing assistance system that allows people to get housing without a Social Security number.
“It saddens me that people without a Social Security number or those of non-eligible status can get housing assistance before our veterans. We need to fix the system,” said Craig.
Right now veterans, elderly and the disabled are given preference for housing. However, if someone claims to be homeless, whether they have a Social Security number or not, they go to the top of the list. Craig believes it is time to give preference to legal residents. In general, Craig believes that illegal immigrants should not be getting taxpayer funded benefits.
“We have people on waiting lists. Like the federal government, taxpayer funded housing should be reserved for our legal residents,” said Craig.
In 1977 there was a federal court decision that prohibits the state from inquiring about an applicant’s immigration status. Craig believes that it is now time to challenge the 37 year old ruling especially with the federal government requiring Social Security numbers.
Craig is a member of the Upton Finance Committee and is the liaison to the Mendon Upton Regional School District. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Mendon-Upton Multi-Board Task Force. In addition, he is an active member of the VFW and Upton Men’s Club.
Professionally, Craig has 18 years of private sector experience with the majority spent within the financial services industry. He worked for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) for 8.5 years where he investigated broker-dealers for compliance with federal securities laws and FINRA rules and regulations. This included both routine as well as special investigations involving the review and discovery of money laundering, misrepresentation and fraud, embezzlement, insider trading and unsuitable investments. One investigation of which he was the team lead resulted in the discovery of fraud and misrepresentation at a firm located in Braintree, MA. Craig drafted a referral whereby the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission became engaged along with the FBI. The firm’s owner was detained October 2, 2012 and sentenced in April 2013 to 17 years in federal prison plus 3 years supervised probation and $9 million in restitution. Craig left FINRA in 2013 to start a consulting business focused on helping small broker-dealers.
Craig earned his B.A. from Roanoke College, where he double majored in International Relations and Business, and an M.S. in Finance from Suffolk University in Boston.
UPTON DAILY 