State Representative Tom Conroy wants to be your U.S. Senator. Before that, however, he wants to get to know your town.

Conroy, the state representative for the Middlesex 13th District, which includes Lincoln, Sudbury and Wayland, is currently vying with five other Democrats in a primary to see who will run against Senator Scott Brown in 2012.

In order to prove that he was serious about running and serious about understanding the issues Massachusetts voters face, Conroy embarked on a walk across large tracts of the state.

The inspiration for his walk came from the story of a Florida congressman who walked across the state of Florida from the Alabama border in order to understand the issues facing the state. In the same way, Conroy hopes his walk will give him insight into the troubles facing everyday Americans throughout the Commonwealth.

Conroy broke his 400th mile today during his walk from New Bedford to Mattapoisett, stopping over in Shipyard Park for lunch at the Kinsale Inn and a chance to meet some of the seaside town's locals.

"I thought it was appropriate to learn more about the state for the first couple of months," said Conroy.  "I wanted to get out there and become grounded in the realities people in Massachusetts face on a day-to-day basis."

While having lunch with a crew of media and locals, Conroy spoke to local Democratic party officials, school committee members and patrons at the Kinsale.

Conroy presented infrastructure investment as a major part of his platform and lamented that the spirit of cooperation he remembered when he worked in the Senate no longer seems to exist.  As a current state representative, he believes he has the experience to understand Washington.

"What attracted me to Tom was that he's a legislator, he knows the system," said Charles Motta, a member of the Mattapoisett School Committee.

Conroy's walk will take him through about 125 cities and towns and the reality of everyday people is what he's hoping to find.

"I want to lead by example and enhance the public's trust in government," said Conroy.

Conroy then departed Mattapoisett, heading north towards Marion and Wareham, where he would end his day only to continue on his pan-state journey the next.

To find out more about Tom Conroy, see www.tomconroy.org.