Brady hopes namesake gives campaign a boost
Helen Brady has something that State Auditor Suzanne Bump doesn’t. That is a picture of her and famous New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. And she has her arm around his shoulder. Not only that, Brady is holding up a bumper sticker touting Republican Helen Brady for state auditor, a position currently held by Bump, a Democrat, who is seeking re-election. Last week, Helen Brady posted the photo on Facebook. In the picture both Bradys (no relation) are smiling. Bump is not. It reads: “Give ’em Helen! Brady State Auditor.” Not even Gov. Charlie Baker has one of those photos with Tom Brady. Helen, one of seven children from Weymouth, is married to Bob Brady, a middle-school teacher, whom she met when both attended UMass Amherst. They live in Concord and have four children. The last time Tom Brady got involved in politics — outside of NFL politics, that is — was when a Donald Trump red MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat was seen in his Patriots locker in 2015. The quarterback said candidate Trump had sent the hat to Patriots owner Robert Kraft and “it found its way to my locker.” He would not say if he would vote for Trump, although Trump was “a lot of fun to play golf with.” Trump called Brady a friend. Helen Brady, who has an uphill fight to defeat an entrenched Democrat, is not only a Patriots football fan, but is connected to Brady through Best Buddies, Tom Brady’s charity, as well Pan-Mass Challenge fundraising rides. She has worked for the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 30 years and is currently its business manager. “My first order of business will be to change the culture of an office that has been stuck in the last century,” she said of her candidacy. Brady said she was persuaded to make the run by the Republican State Committee after she declined to run for state representative for a seat being vacated by out-going Rep. Cory Atkins, a Democrat from Acton. In a Market Basket coffee bar interview in Westford, Brady said, “I wanted to run for an office that can make a difference, where I could accomplish something, and not be beholden to the Democrats and House Speaker Robert DeLeo.” One of the not-unexpected surprises she has come across on the campaign trail is that while few people know who the auditor is, fewer know what the auditor does. “I want to change that,” she said. Brady admits she is a longshot to oust Bump, who is seeking a third four-year term. Defeating a Democratic incumbent in one of the lower three constitutional offices — auditor, secretary of state and state treasurer — is almost impossible. “Somebody had to do it,” the feisty Republican said of challenging Bump. “If nobody else was going to do, I decided that I would do it. I am that somebody. “I’ll always be a longshot. But so wasn’t Tom Brady. Nobody knew who he was. And then one day Drew Bledsoe gets hurt, and the rest is history,” she said. Not that she is Tom Brady, she is quick to add, but you get the picture. She would be the Tom Brady of the Statehouse going by the name of Helen. She envisions a Republican auditor (her) working with a Republican governor to get things done on Beacon Hill. “I think Gov. Baker would be encouraged by what I am talking about,” she said. “Just think of the things we could do if the governor had a person in this office who was compatible with his agenda. “I will be proactive and aggressive to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse,” she said. As auditor, she would work to end “bad management” decisions at UMass Boston while working with UMass President Marty Meehan; weed out “fraudulent providers” and “bad actors” in mental health services; redirect misspent funds in the Department of Children and Families; help the MBTA deliver value for taxpayers; and provide leadership in the war against the scourge of opioid abuse. While she remains relatively unknown outside of political circles, she is producing a television ad to get out the word of her candidacy to the voting public. Also, she is hopeful that an expected big vote for Baker, who is popular with Democrats and Independents, will trickle down to her. What she really needs in this fight, though, is a long Brady-to-Brady Hail Mary pass completion in the end zone. It’s a nice thought, but there is little chance of it happening.