Navy vet challenges Neal; Republican announces campaign in Internet posting.

Byline: Donna Boynton

HOPEDALE - An entrepreneur and Navy veteran with experience working with top military officials in Washington announced his candidacy for the 2nd Congressional District of Massachusetts.

Tom Wesley, a Republican, announced he was challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, in a message posted on YouTube last week.

"I am not a career politician," Mr. Wesley said in his video announcement. "But I am called now to stand up for traditional values in this time of crisis in America. We must unshackle the power and imagination of our businesses to stimulate job growth; we must invest in our future wisely and within our means; and above all, we must keep the federal government out of the business of mandating our health care, running our factories, controlling our banking system and taxing our creative power into oblivion."

Mr. Wesley, 54, is employed by Waters Corp. in Milford, and has a bachelor's degree in marine transportation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and a master's degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

While his background is not in politics, he is no stranger to the Washington, D.C., environment. He began his career in the U.S. Navy, serving nine years as a pilot. He was later assigned to the Pentagon as a member of the organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he worked in the worldwide Command Control and Communications directorate. He was then transferred to the Chief of Naval Operations staff, where he worked in Manpower Personnel and Training, dealing with programs at the Naval Academy, the ROTC, Junior ROTC and other enlisted commission programs.

He then continued to fly for the Naval Reserves in South Weymouth. He also has worked for several large companies in sales, marketing and operations and even founded his own small business - an export-oriented aerospace business - before returning to work for Waters Corp. eight years ago.

"I am the product of the American dream," Mr. Wesley said in an interview. "I have achieved a lot of things that I never thought I'd be able to. I am a middle-class guy who hit the jackpot."

Mr. Wesley said he would like his three children - two daughters who have graduated from college and a son in Hopedale High School - to have the same opportunities for success that he has had without the "unbearable burden" of higher taxes that he said kills innovation and entrepreneurial enterprise.

With Tuesday's election returning many Republicans to office, Mr. Wesley sees hope for his candidacy.

"It's not a fluke that voters are turning out of office incumbent Democrats," Mr. Wesley said. "If you look at the level of discontent in the commonwealth, you hear that people are angry at the state level, they are angry on the constitutional level, they are angry on the gubernatorial level. The type of change people were looking for in 2008 was process change, the end of partisan rancor, but instead what they got was radical change."

Mr. Wesley said his will be a grass-roots campaign, a "campaign that will fight for the little guy" - to address unemployment and taxation, and be a voice for those who recognize the need for health care reform but don't agree with a public option.

Mr. Wesley said he wanted to share his love of and his hope for his country.

"Our best days are ahead of us, not behind us," said Mr. Wesley, adding that as someone outside political circles, he is not beholden to anyone. "I want to bring the hopes and dreams of the people in this district to Washington. I feel called to do this. There hasn't been a burning bush at the end of my bed or anything like that, but I want to go to Washington, not because it is a career objective, but because it is my time to do it."

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Tom Wesley