Last Wednesday was apparently a fine day for Republican candidates to visit local businesses (rain notwithstanding).
Charles D. Baker Jr. and Richard R. Tisei, Republican candidates for governor and lieutenant governor respectively, were in Mashpee last week to greet voters at Polar Cave Ice Cream. Before that they spoke at the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents conference at Mashpee High School and met with local business owners.
(I should add that Governor Deval L. Patrick and unenrolled gubernatorial candidate Timothy P. Cahill also spoke at the conference on different days.)
Meanwhile Republican Congressional candidate Joseph D. Malone checked out Big Daddy’s Pizza in Cotuit, and the Falmouth Village Arts and Crafts Street Fair and the Quarterdeck Restaurant in Falmouth.
Mr. Malone then – and I am not making this up – went to the Falmouth Commodores game that night in Falmouth to sing the National Anthem. He then nipped up to the Chart Room Restaurant in Cataumet to – again, this is for realsies – entertain guests at the piano.
What is this, the 2010 election season or “American Idol”?
No, it’s an election…people are actually eager to vote in “American Idol.”
Honestly, I have to give the man credit for adding a much-needed air of fun to the campaign season…and, I must add, the dude has a decent set of pipes. Don’t believe me? Go here to view an exclusive video clip of Mr. Malone performing “Sweet Caroline” at the Courtyard in Cataumet.
Seriously!
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Another, less favorable Malone-centric tidbit: on Monday the Boston Herald ran a piece detailing Mr. Malone’s less-than-spectacular forays into business over the past two decades. Reports showed that he has over the past decade or so entered into four business ventures, three of which were dissolved by the state for failing to file annual reports, the fourth of which went filed for bankruptcy.
The candidate responded that he was proud of his efforts, and noted that sometimes small businesses simply fail.
True enough, but as the Herald rightfully pointed out, combine his business failings with the state treasury embezzlement scandal that hit right after his departure from that office and you’ve got a guy whose claims of fiscal responsibility and support for small business ring more than a little hollow.
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Mr. Malone’s main rival in the primary race, State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich), has launched a new radio show called “Wake Up Washington,” which airs every Tuesday night from 6:15 to 8 PM on WATD 95.9-FM (which is out of Marshfield and covers the South Shore area).
You can probably guess from the title that the show is about what’s wrong in our nation’s capital (I suspect, given the host, that the show will trace most of those problems to Democrats).
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Over on the Democratic side of the race, William R. Keating got some notice for a creative (yet apparently completely legal) way of raising money for his campaign. The Boston Globe reported last week that Mr. Keating, after learning he’d be unable to roll $800,000 from his state campaign account (for his current gig as Norfolk County’s district attorney) into his Congressional account, began issuing refunds to his donors.
Included with those refunds was a request to send the money right back as a donation to his Congressional campaign. So far about 60 percent of the $370,000 he’s refunded has indeed returned to him.
His rival in the primary, State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable) remarked in that article that this recycling of campaign donations kind of negates the appearance of a big fundraising lead on Mr. Keating’s part (Mr. Keating broke the $500,000 mark by the most recent campaign finance reporting deadline on June 30).
True to a degree; if Mr. Keating refunded $370,000 and got back 60 percent ($222,000), that accounts for close to half of his total take to date – but on the other hand, he did get that money back. It would have been more telling had his donors kept the cash.
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This week’s campaign event reminders:
Mary Z. Connaughton, Republican candidate for state auditor, will be in Centerville tonight for a reception at the home of Jennifer and John Williams. That’s scheduled for 7 to 8:30 PM. It may be too late to RSVP, but give Mary Sharkey a shout at 781-492-1728 and maybe she can slide you in.
F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, is holding his barbecue fundraiser Saturday, July 31 at the West Barnstable Deer Club from 3 to 7 PM; a meet-and-greet at Lakewood Hills on Tuesday, August 17 at 5 PM; a golf tourney fundraiser at Holly Ridge on Sunday, October 3 starting at 8:20 AM; a pasta supper fundraiser at the American Legion Hall in Sandwich on Saturday, September 25 starting at 6 PM; and “Pizza & Politics with Pizzazz” at Two Brothers Pizza & Mexican in Sandwich on Monday, October 11 at 5:30 PM.
So, yeah, dude’s busy.
Rep. Perry will hold a campaign reception next month, August 3, at the Flying Bridge in Falmouth. Jennifer Bruce hosts the event, which will feature remarks by Michael D. O’Keefe, the Cape and Islands’ district attorney.
Gov. Patrick will be at the “Hyannis Communities Connecting for Deval” event at the Zion Union Heritage Museum in Hyannis on Thursday, August 5. That event begins at 7:30 PM.
Ray Kasperowicz, Republican Congressional candidate, will make a rare Cape appearance on August 19 to participate in a political forum hosted by the Cape Cod Young Professionals. That’s scheduled to begin at 5 PM and will be held at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center.
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Finally, a quick note to the Republican Governors Association, which has been running negative ads against Tim Cahill for some time now, and recently launched its anti-Gov. Patrick ad series.
Hey, RGA people: cut the crap. Please. Attack ads are more tiresome now than ever, and by the law of transitive properties you’re making Charlie Baker look like a jerk, even though he’s been far from supportive of the ads (though he’s not done much to stop them, either). You’re doing him no favors and only adding another layer of rancor to an election season that has plenty already.
I know, they’re not going to listen to little ol’ me, but if there are Republicans out there that want a clean, civil, and issue-based discussion rather than cheap mudslinging, contact the RGA and tell them to shut up and go away. Let’s elevate the tone of the campaign.
Their website is www.rga.org and here’s the RGA’s contact info: Republican Governors Association, 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 250, Washington, DC 20006; telephone: 202-662-4140; e-mail: info@rga.org.
Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net
Tags: 10th Congressional district, 2010 election, Charlie Baker, Governor Deval Patrick, Jeff Perry, Joe Malone, Randy Hunt, Ray Kasperowicz, Rob O'Leary, Tim Cahill, William Keating
The views and opinions in the Enterprise blogs are those of the author and are not neccessarily shared by Falmouth Publishing.
