By which I mean the end of the election cycle, and thank Cthulhu for that, because the onslaught of negative TV ads was honestly grating on my last nerve. Sad to say, I’m actually looking forward to the non-stop ads for Christmas shopping sales.

With Election Day tomorrow, I’m going to offer some thoughts on various races. I wouldn’t call them endorsements per se, since I think endorsements are worthless, but I will opine about who I think should win.

I’ll start at the top and say that I want Obama to get a second term. I say this as someone who voted for Obama and has often been disappointed in his performance over the past four years — but not so much as to give him the boot and put Romney in the Oval Office.

I find Romney to be as disingenuous and insincere a politician as you could get, but that’s not why I oppose him. Nor do I oppose him on his rather vague financial policies, which I believe are ultimately no better or worse than Obama’s (though I definitely do not subscribe to trickle-down/supply-side economics as a viable and sustainable economic model).

What is driving me away from Romney in a huge way: I believe he would champion a social agenda that sets back civil rights for women and homosexuals. If you’ve read the GOP’s official policy paper for the 2012 election (I have), you’ll see that it codifies repressing rights for same-sex couples and, specifically, women in the military. Our President is supposed to champion equal rights for all citizens, and anyone who would repress rights in the name of some ill-defined greater social good doesn’t deserve the nation’s top seat.

If Obama is re-elected, my hope is that the GOP ceases its efforts to stop Obama’s major economic initiatives cold in the name of political gamesmanship and works with him to craft policies that are in everyone’s best interests — not just the uber-rich, not just the very poor, everyone.

US Senate

I’m one step away from flipping a coin at the voting booth, because I really don’t care for either Scott Brown or Elizabeth Warren. Neither of them has impressed me so much that I’m falling over myself to vote for them.

Congress

Let me first say that Dan Botelho is probably the best third-party/non-party candidate this area has seen in years. He’s not a righteously indignant one-issue ideologue, which is largely what has emerged to run against the party candidates,  but a thoughtful and well-informed candidate with some good ideas.

Christopher Sheldon, while a decent candidate, never struck me as a great candidate, and definitely not a superior choice to Congressman William Keating. His critics like to say “Keating hasn’t done anything for this district!” but that is a patently false statement. His record of achievement is fairly good for a first-term Congressman, and he has treated the Cape as well as his predecessor Bill Delahunt ever did.

State Senate

I think Cape voters would be nuts to let Senate President Therese Murray (D – Plymouth) go, in good part because of that title in front of her name; as Senate President, she has the mojo to get things done for her district in a big way. She’s also spearheaded some significant reform efforts over the past two or three terms, so she’s not sitting on her hands doing nothing.

Tom Keyes has run a much better campaign than in 2010, and I fully expect another close race between him and Sen. Murray, but so much of his campaign has been based in reactionary statements that try to paint Sen. Murray as a corrupt, ineffective do-nothing. If Murray were to state, “I like cats,” Keyes would issue a press release accusing her of being in the pocket of Big Dog. He hasn’t really distinguished himself as a superior alternative to the incumbent, and if he does come out on top, I would say Murray lost the race rather than Keyes won it.

Barnstable County Commissioners

Mary Pat Flynn and Sheila Lyons should be returned to the board, because Eric Steinhilber has not proven himself worthy of ousting either of the incumbents.

Mr. Steinhilber chose the wrong tentpole issue in the “MWRA on Cape Cod” to-do, stuck to his guns far longer than he should have once that topic’s shelf-life expired back in the summer, and has failed to show voters why his opposition to a taxpayer-funded wastewater authority is somehow better, more reliable, or just plain different than Ms. Flynn’s or Ms. Lyons’.

I directly asked Mr. Steinhilber why voters should believe him when he says “I oppose a wastewater authority” but doubt the incumbents when they say it, and he did not provide a good answer; his argument was, basically, he was dead-set against it and Flynn and Lyons were not — and he did not elaborate whether he thought they were lying or were simply easily manipulated dupes who could be bullied into changing their minds.

That, coupled with his lackluster ideas on other issues and failure to recognize OpenCape as a potential economic engine for the region, make him ill-suited for the job compared to Flynn and Lyons — and that’s a shame because I had high hopes for the guy. I maintain he would have made a better challenger for State Senator Dan Wolf (D – Harwich) in 2010 than Jim Crocker, but the man needs to be better about doing his homework and distinguishing good issues from bad (or non-) issues.

Question One

The Right to Repair question is a tricky one, but let’s be clear about one thing: voting “no” on Question One does NOT negate the Right to Repair Law passed earlier this year; a “no” vote is against the ballot question only.

What a “yes” vote would do is set the stage for a mess in the Legislature. By approving a RtR Law via the ballot, voters would be overriding the existing law, which lawmakers approved after several failed efforts in the face of staunch opposition by the auto industry. The existing law may have flaws, but it would be better to address those flaws through the legislative process than by forcing lawmakers to either entirely scrap the law they crafted — or create a compromise law, or ignore the will of the voters completely and keeping the current version.

I’ll be taking next week off for some much-needed time in a deep coma, so see you back here after the election for some final analysis, but for the nonce…

Eric R. Steinhilber has picked up a few endorsements from assorted Barnstable County officials (and, I’m sure not coincidentally, fellow Republicans), including Sheriff James M. Cummings, Special Sheriff (and former state rep) Jeffrey D. Perry, Cape & Islands DA Michael O’Keefe, Clerk of Courts Scott W. Nickerson, and Clerk of Probate Anastasia Welsh Perrino.

In other obvious political endorsements, State Representative David T. Vieira (R – Falmouth) has endorsed fellow Republican Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth for US Representative of the Ninth District.

Finally, Thomas F. Keyes, Republican candidate for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, picked up an endorsement from New Jobs for Massachusetts, a “public policy advocate for rapid growth in private sector employment” in the state.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Fall River native Daniel S. Botelho is banking on his mix of “Wall Street meets Main Street” experience to propel his campaign for the Ninth Congressional District.

“I feel that there isn’t anyone else with my brand of common sense that is running,” Mr. Botelho said, “and I don’t think the other candidates really have a clear idea of their decisions and how they impact people.”

Mr. Botelho is running as a non-party candidate against two party-backed opponents, Congressman William R. Keating (D) and Plymouth Republican Christopher Sheldon, and while he admits he’s at a financial disadvantage, he’s hoping his grass-roots approach will level the playing field come November.

“I’m going old-school, and what that means is doing a lot of footwork,” he said, “and to be honest, I wouldn’t want all that (campaign) money. This shouldn’t be about how much money you can raise…advocating for people means you need to meet them, you need to be out there.”

“It’s worked pretty well thus far. We’re beginning to gain some traction,” Mr. Botelho said, “but we have a lot of work to still do.”

A political newcomer, Mr. Botelho is highlighting in his campaign his first-hand experience helping his parents run a small business in the Fall River garment industry and, as an adult, his background in the financial industry. Mr. Botelho currently works at Bank of America as an officer senior operations analyst in the bank’s Global Financial Operations (GFO) group.

In his younger days “I saw what regulation can do to a relative small business,” when trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the 1992 trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “killed our business” and cost about 350 people their jobs.

That is why Mr. Botelho listed cracking down on the United States’ trade partners and making them honor the provisions of such agreements as on his “top 10 list” of priorities should he be elected. “If we’re importing from you, you need to abide by our trade agreements, otherwise we’re not going to follow it because you’re not,” he said.

Domestically, on matters of the economy and job growth, Mr. Botelho said he would take a balanced approach to dealing with all sizes of business, recognizing that businesses large and small contribute in their own ways to the nation’s economic health.

“We can’t demonize completely Wall Street. They have some of the blame” in the nation’s current economic crisis, he said, “but we do need markets where people can own shares and you can go out and build capital.”

When it comes to federal finances, Mr. Botelho said he would apply basic business principles to how the government operates. “I really would like these guys to sit down and, before they start their spending plan, they look at and project their revenue, just like a company would,” he said, “and then budget their expenses to that. You’d eliminate the deficit if you only did that.”

Spending cuts should be across all government departments and programs to avoid the battles that often result in Congress as elected officials fight to save their pet programs, he said, and departments would have to determine “employment to appropriate levels” necessary to accomplish their jobs.

Mr. Botelho said he would support deficit spending only in the case of emergency situations such as providing aid to disaster-stricken areas. “I’ll put myself in hock to help the American people, any day of the week,” he said.

He added that “you can’t talk budgets without talking taxation,” and advocated for a national consumption tax, a direct tax on goods and services, and ending “the 100-year experiment of the (federal) income tax system.”

“Everyone always talks about how we need to streamline the tax code, how we need to get rid of loopholes,” and a flat consumption tax would accomplish just that and create a complete fair tax system, Mr. Botelho said.

Mr. Botelho faulted the current Congress for “kicking the can” on taking permanent and decisive action on the Bush tax cuts, and said he would advocate extending them for anyone earning less than $500,000 to boost revenue without adversely impacting businesses looking to re-invest their profits.

The third piece of his economic plan is addressing government regulation by “working with industry instead of against it,” meaning that the government would work with particular industries to craft reasonable, balanced regulations. He cited as an example the stringent commercial fishing regulations that have adversely impacted the industry in the Ninth District.

Addressing taxation and regulation would be key elements of stimulating job growth in the district, Mr. Botelho said. He would not resort to tax incentives or government-subsidized loans, especially those that favored specific industries. He referred to the debacles with Solyndra and, more locally, Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios as examples of failed attempts by the government to boost growth in specific business sectors.

“Businesses need to be able to function on their own,” he said, and the best support they could receive is an educated, well-trained workforce. To facilitate that, Mr. Botelho advocated for partnerships between the business and higher education sectors to create “skills-based training” for the workforce.

Mr. Botelho envisioned the business sector as a partner in a new model of health care for the US, based on Canada’s two-payer system. The government would provide a basic insurance plan to American citizens with well-defined basic coverage benefits, including basic wellness visits, certain routine screenings, and birth control.

“If you need more than that,” he said, “you can buy across state lines, your employer can provide it — you have an open market for that third-party insurer.”

He added that basic coverage would be defined with input from the medical community rather than bureaucrats. He did not state whether this would be accomplished by amending or repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he faulted for its taxpayer penalty provision, which he said does not accomplish the ACA’s overall goal and provide an uninsured citizen with health insurance.

For more information about the candidate, visit his official campaign website at www.danielbotelhoforcongress.com.

Other Issues At A Glance

Foreign Aid

Mr. Botelho said foreign aid budgets should be scrutinized and, if it is determined the money is not being used for its prescribed purpose, pulled.

Immigration

A child of immigrants from the Azores, Mr. Botelho called for comprehensive immigration reform to streamline the process for those seeking to enter the country legally; preferred an “invisible fence” of cameras and drones to secure the border with Mexico over a physical fence.

The Middle East

The candidate believed the US should not get involved with other nation’s internal conflicts; he called for a short-term troop increase for the specific purpose of quickly and safely conducting “a complete withdrawal” of all Americans, including military forces and US ambassadors.

Social Security

Mr. Botelho warned that the current generation of workers might have to make due with reduced Social Security benefits unless it is returned to its original purpose and did away with any programs that benefit residents who have not paid into the system.

Women’s Reproductive Rights

Pro-choice, but would keep legal abortion in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s health is at risk; otherwise “I would not try to dictate a woman’s reproductive rights by any means”; he added that “the GOP does not wage war against women.”

State Senator Daniel A. Wolf (D – Harwich) has issued an endorsement for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners race, and he is backing his one-time rival Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet.

“Sheila Lyons is a leader for Barnstable County who is not afraid to take on difficult issues and bring people together to solve challenges,” Sen. Wolf said in a press release. “From broadband internet access to wastewater, Sheila has worked hard for the last four years. Sheila has served us well and I’m proud to support her.”

Sen. Wolf and Ms. Lyons squared off in 2010 for the Democratic nomination in the state senate race.

Ms. Lyons also received an endorsement from Congressman William R. Keating (D), who said, “Sheila has tackled the issues affecting the Cape head on.  I support Sheila in her re-election campaign and look forward to continuing to work with her in the future.”

***

Andrew V. Putnam of Falmouth, candidate for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, has put together a campaign ad you can check out online at YouTube:

The candidate is holding a pair of meet-and-greets next week. On Thursday, October 18, Mr. Putnam will be at Betsy’s Diner on Main Street in Falmouth from 7 to 9 AM, and at Liam Maguire’s, also on Main Street, from 5 to 7 PM.

Finally, Mr. Putnam is calling for an open debate this month with his opponent, the incumbent delegate Julia C. Taylor. Mr. Putnam announced on Monday that Ms. Taylor had accepted, and they are working on a date, time, and location for what may be the first-ever dedicated debate between two assembly candidates.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to someone treating the assembly race like a real political campaign. It’s so weird!

***

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 17 and get ready to meet the candidates who are running to represent Sandwich in the Legislature.

The League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area is co-sponsoring a candidates’ forum at Sandwich High School that night, and the guest list includes Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) and State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich), and their respective opponents, Thomas F. Keyes of Sandwich and R. Patrick Ellis of Sandwich.

Rep. Hunt and Mr. Ellis will face off at 6:30 PM, and Sen. Murray and Mr. Keyes will square off at 8 PM. The event is open to the public.

After that, the League of Women Voters of Falmouth will hold its candidates’ night on Wednesday, October 24 at the Morse Pond School in Falmouth. That begins at 7 PM. The final roster of invited candidates has not been announced.

***

Speaking of Mr. Keyes, his next fundraiser is next Sunday, October 21 at the Aqua Grille on Gallo Road, Sandwich. Former US Attorney Michael Sullivan is the evening’s special guest.

The Oktoberfest-themed event runs from 5 to 7 PM and is $35 per person or $50 per couple. Tickets will be available at the door or in advance by calling 774-208-3480.

***

Quickie endorsement time. Christopher Sheldon, Republican candidate for US Representative of the Ninth District, recently received the endorsement of the Wholesaler-Distributor Political Action Committee of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

The non-party candidate announced this week that there is no truth to the rumor he was suspending his campaign for the Ninth Congressional District race — a rumor, he said, is being spread by one of his two opponents, though he declined to specify whether he meant Congressman William R. Keating (D) or Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth.

***

In politics, context is everything — or, another way to put it: a lack of context is everything.

For example: Republican Thomas F. Keyes recently issued a statement chiding his opponent Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) for “snubbing” Falmouth by declining to participate in the October 24 candidates’ night sponsored by the fine ladies of the League of Women Voters of Falmouth.

Mr. Keyes opined that Sen. Murray is dodging Falmouth voters due to her past support (which she later withdrew) of a proposal to expedite onshore wind turbine siting. The town has had many well-reported problems with two town-owned turbines negatively impacting abutters, and Mr. Keyes believes Sen. Murray does not want to face them.

While he does acknowledge that Sen. Murray is hosting “a conference” in Boston that same day, he does not note that the two-day event at the State House is on the US-EU Memorandum of Understanding on eHealth. The conference is a huge networking opportunity for the Massachusetts health care industry and could have some serious economic development impacts for the state.

Is it a shame she is passing on the debate? Absolutely, especially since the biennial League forum is always an informative and well-run evening, but to accuse her of “snubbing” Falmouth voters so she can host a major conference that has been on her schedule since June is a bit of a cheap shot.

But, to end on a positive note, the League’s candidates’ night an excellent time, politically speaking, and I highly recommend it to voters who would like to learn more about the folks running for office. It will be held at the Morse Pond School in Falmouth beginning at 7 PM.

***

Pizza party! Wooooo!

State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) is throwing a pizza party fundraiser on Monday at Two Brothers Pizza in Sandwich. The open event runs from 5 to 7 PM and campaign donations are optional but appreciated.

***

Finally, Eric R. Steinhilber, candidate for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners, this week picked up an endorsement from Mary LeClair, a 13-year veteran of the board.

“Cape Cod will be best served with Eric Steinhilber as a County Commissioner,” Ms. LeClair said in a press release. “Eric will listen and be a thoughtful, well-rounded leader on the issues facing our community.”

Well, he’ll be well-rounded if he can effectively address issues other than the “MWRA on Cape Cod” spiel he’s been throwing out lately, but we’ll all find that out next week when I’ll have my profile of the candidate.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

From the “I Called It” file: I remarked last week that the race between Republican Congressional candidates Adam G. Chaprales and Christopher Sheldon would be close, but I had no idea the race would end with fewer than 50 votes separating the two; the final tally was 11,019 votes for Mr. Chaprales, 10,980 for Mr. Sheldon.

But wait! In a shocking last-minute twist, the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office announced Tuesday that Mr. Sheldon was in fact the winner by 79 votes. Mr. Chaprales conceded the race Tuesday, leaving Mr. Sheldon to focus on Congressman William R. Keating (D), who handily defeated C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County’s district attorney.

Mr. Sutter simply did not present a well-fleshed-out platform. Most of what he said during the campaign was framed as a criticism of Rep. Keating rather than a sales pitch for himself.

From the “Missed It By That Much” file: Brian C. Mannal scored what everyone (myself included) is calling an upset primary victory over State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable). I thought Mr. Mannal would lose this race — as did the candidate himself as evidenced by remarks he made to the media after the election — but he instead won with 56 percent of the vote in the Second Barnstable District.

I predicted a Mannal loss because, not unlike the Keating/Sutter race, the challenger focused more on tearing Atsalis down than he did on building himself up. Petty carping over quasi-issues like endorsements and attendance records made Mr. Mannal appear more like a man running to take down Rep. Atsalis and less like someone running to act as a champion for his potential constituents.

So why did Mr. Mannal win? My theory is that years of running against ho-hum opponents made Rep. Atsalis complacent and he did not take the race as seriously as her perhaps should have.

Regardless of the reason, Mr. Mannal now belongs to the “Free Ride to Re-Election Club” that also includes State Senator Daniel A. Wolf (D – Harwich) and State Representatives Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket), Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis), and David T. Vieira (R – Falmouth).

Then there is the item from the “Never Expected That!” file: the Democratic primary for governor’s council of the first district ended in a statistical three-way tie between Nicholas D. Bernier of Fall River, Oliver P. Cipollini Jr. of Marstons Mills, and Walter D. Moniz of New Bedford.

In terms of ballots cast, Mr. Cipollini, a three-time candidate for the post, received 142 votes more than Mr. Bernier, who announced Monday he would seek a recount.

We’re now set up for a repeat of the 2010 general election race that pitted brother against brother: Oliver Cipollini against Charles O. Cipollini, the incumbent.

This time, however, Charles may forgo the pretense of a campaign he waged in 2010, when he actively encouraged voters to support his brother. Charles has indicated that he might simply drop out of the race and hand the job over to Oliver.

For two candidates who liked to talk about restoring integrity in politics, they’re showing an appalling lack of integrity in so shamelessly conspiring to get Oliver into office.

***

Daniel Botelho, non-party candidate for Congress, has a new campaign website up at www.danielbotelhoforcongress.com. It’s a solid improvement over the previous iteration, so go check it out.

***

State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) invites the public to his next fundraiser, the “ ‘Slice & Ice’ Golf Outing and 19th Hole Social” on Monday, September 17. That will be held at the Ridge Club in Sandwich starting at noon with warm-ups and a bag lunch, followed by a 1 PM shotgun start.

The cost to attend is $150 per player for the entire day or $75 per person for the after-tourney social, which starts at 5 PM. Go to www.electrandyhunt.com/events.html for further details and to register.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

By his own admission, Adam G. Chaprales of Marstons Mills is a reluctant candidate for US Representative of the Ninth Congressional District.

Adam Chaprales of Marstons Mills

“I don’t think anyone wants to be a politician. I don’t think anyone wants to run a political campaign and go through the hardships you have to go through,” Mr. Chaprales said, “but people like myself, that don’t necessarily want to go through what we’re going through, has a passion inside to want to change the community, and that’s why I want to run, because I want to change the direction of where our community’s going.”

“I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and swear at the TV every night because I’m so fed up with what’s going on, I want to be the person that’s actually going down to Washington and championing the issues,” he said.

Mr. Chaprales is emphasizing the fact he is a lifelong Cape Cod resident and says his deep Cape Cod roots make him better suited to represent the region than his immediate Republican rival Christopher Sheldon or his potential general election opponent, Congressman William R. Keating (D).

“I’m not a carpetbagger like most of the people running in this race…I didn’t just move into this district to run,” he said. “I’m in tune with this community. I’ve been in this community my entire life and I know what people want here in this district.”

He also pointed to his experience in local government. At 21 years old Mr. Chaprales became the youngest ever member of the Sandwich Board of Selectmen, defeating a long-term incumbent in the process. He served one term, from 2005 to 2008, and did not seek re-election.

“I have a track record,” he said of his time on the board. “When I ran for selectman, I told the residents of Sandwich what I was going to do when I got elected, and I did everything I said I was going to do.”

Mr. Chaprales criticized not only Mr. Sheldon’s lack of similar credentials in public service but his lack of a solid work history. “Unlike my opponent, who’s had job after job after job,” he said, “I’ve held the same job (at New York Life) since 2006, worked my way up as a partner.”

“Chris is a nice guy. He’s a good kid, he’s smart, but he’s not ready for this,” Mr. Chaprales said. “I am far more experienced than he is, on every level.”

Conversely, he criticized both Rep. Keating and C. Samuel Sutter — Bristol County’s district attorney and Rep. Keating’s primary opponent — as out of touch with voters due to their lengthy careers in public service.

“What we need in that office is one of us. We don’t need another politician,” he said. “We don’t need someone to move into this district that can talk slick, that has years of political experience, we need a representative who is one of us, accountable to the people.”

Local Job Creation

Mr. Chaprales said his top priorities in the campaign are “jobs and the economy, number one,” and said he has become more keenly aware of how economic issues affect him and his growing family; Mr. Chaprales and his wife Aynaz are expecting their first child in early 2013.

“I feel the pinch, the economic pinch. I know what it’s like to put gas in my car and see the gas prices go up,” he said. “I know what it’s like to see the electricity bill going up. I know what it’s like to say gee, should I pay this bill or that bill and wonder if I’m going to get to this bill because I don’t have the money for it.”

During his time with the Sandwich Board of Selectmen, Mr. Chaprales served as the board’s liaison to the Sandwich Economic Development Initiative Corporation (EDIC), and he said community EDICs are underutilized in local job creation.

“We need to start working in collaboration with them, and start getting federal funds over to them and state funds over to them, and help them so that way they can stimulate the economy locally, in all part of our district,” he said.

Similarly, programs like Coastal Community Capital, a program of the non-profit Cape & Islands Community Development, are not realizing their fullest potential due to the lack of funding – for which he faulted Rep. Keating. “Why isn’t Bill Keating working on getting more federal grant money over to [the program]?”

Another part of the formula is stability and predictability in the tax codes, which he said scare businesses away from investing in themselves. “A lot of these businesses are afraid to hire more employees and to invest in the infrastructure of their businesses, because if taxes go up, they’re in big trouble,” Mr. Chaprales said. “People feel victimized to our taxes…there is no predictability right now with our current tax code. Our tax code needs to be reformed and simplified.”

Part of that simplification would involve maintaining the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers, he said.

Mr. Chaprales said he would prioritize helping the small business community over large corporations, noting that on Cape Cod “we are comprised of small businesses, and if you think that we’re comprised of large corporations where were are, you’re wrong…we’re comprised of mostly mom-and-pop-type businesses, and that’s what we need to stimulate the economy.”

However, the candidate drew the line at getting the government directly involved in job creation through investing in particular companies or industries. “The government should always step aside and let the free market do what it needs to do. The federal government should be an assistant and not a big brother,” Mr. Chaprales said.

“If you want a big loser, get the federal government involved,” he said, citing as an example the “biggest loser in history,” the California-based Solyndra, which received a $535 million loan from the US Department of Energy before filing for bankruptcy in 2011. “The government is terrible at investing.”

Smaller Government

This ties into Mr. Chaprales’s desire to see the size of the federal government shrink and shed itself of costly bureaucracy, duplicated services, and wasteful programs.

Mr. Chaprales said his basic strategy would be to keep government spending focused on public safety, the military, and infrastructure needs, with additional consideration for necessary safety net programs “to help people get back on their feet and get back to work.”

Within that latter goal Mr. Chaprales said it would become necessary to review Social Security and consider raising the retirement age, but he stressed that any changes to benefits should affect only future beneficiaries, not anyone currently collecting Social Security.

He did not outline a specific game plan for accomplishing his goal of shrinking government, and said only he would “stand up and fight for the best interests of my district…I yell, I scream, I kick, and I make noise, and I think my colleagues down in Washington, if I’m lucky enough to get voted in, will understand and back me up, because people are fed up.”

The candidate did not express a desire to reduce military spending. “We’re the number one nation in the world, and that doesn’t come without cost,” he said. “You can’t have both, you can’t have a weak military and be the strongest nation…if you want to be the strongest country, you have to have a big military.”

Mr. Chaprales, like many Republicans, advocates a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, often called “ObamaCare.” “It shouldn’t have been approved the way it was approved. It shouldn’t have gone through reconciliation,” a process that allows bills to pass with only 51 votes n the Senate rather than the usual 60, he said. “That’s just another way of our President bullying Congress and bullying the American people.”

He said many elements of the plan are undesirable and unaffordable, and would prove burdensome to businesses. Mr. Chaprales agreed health care reform was necessary, but said it should focus on promoting competition by allowing taxpayers to purchase insurance across state lines, increasing transparency by making costs clear and understandable, and addressing tort reform for malpractice insurance.

He added that the government should not force anyone to purchase health insurance. “That’s unacceptable. I wasn’t a fan of the Massachusetts health care law” championed by former governor and current Republican presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney, which includes an individual mandate provision, “and I’m certainly not a fan of ObamaCare.”

When asked how he would avoid the divisive and often inaccuracy-laden public debates preceding the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Chaprales did not offer a specific strategy. “I think that’s an unfair question to answer” because of its hypothetical nature, Mr. Chaprales said, but said he did not anticipate such a recurrence.

“I think that the Republicans agree that we need to do something with our health care. I think the Democrats agree that we need to do something with our health care. I think that we can all agree that we need to work across the aisle and get something done,” he said, “and I think that the people who are going to get elected for 2013 are going to wake up, smell the coffee on both sides, and say ‘We got to start getting the job done’…and I will be shocked if our American people vote in a Congressional body again with people that are going to be divisive and not want to work for the better part of Americans.”

To learn more about the candidate, visit Mr. Chaprales’s official campaign website at www.adamforcongress.com.

Other Issues At A Glance

Education

Wants states, not the federal government, to determine educational requirements; promoted strengthening community colleges to increase access to higher education.

The Middle East

Mr. Chaprales said he “trusts the military” to do its job properly and should respond appropriately to threats against the United States. He added, “I am not someone who wants to go to war.”

Social Issues

The federal government should not get involved in social issues such as women’s reproductive rights and same-sex marriage, and should allow state governments to enact their own laws; Mr. Chaprales called most current political discussions on such issues “a smokescreen” to distract voters.

First and foremost, folks, remember that the primary election this year is two weeks earlier than normal and on a Thursday — September 6, to be precise. Get out and vote! Voting gets things done; whining on news website comments sections about how bad the country is does not.

The primary ballot is not terribly busy but there are a few key races to consider, starting with two contests for the Ninth Congressional District. On the GOP side we have Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth and Adam G. Chaprales of Sandwich vying for the party nomination.

In terms of positions on the major issues, these men are largely interchangeable and their respective experiences in public service I would call comparable, so this might be a very close race.

On the Democratic side, I am not anticipating good news for C. Samuel Sutter, the Bristol County DA challenging Congressman William R. Keating (D). Mr. Sutter’s campaign strategy has been to aggressively criticize Rep. Keating rather than sell his own qualities, which is never a good sign.

Add to that the fact Mr. Sutter has issues he wants to address, but in most cases no game plans for doing so — and has made addressing traffic at the bridges one of his three big issues. Having been stuck at the bridges myself on many an occasion I appreciate the sentiment, but really: bigger fish to fry.

More locally we have a primary contest for State Representative of the Second Barnstable District between incumbent Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable) and Brian R. Mannal, or as I’m calling it, The Race of Lost Opportunity.

See, Rep. Atsalis I consider one of the more vulnerable incumbents in the region. I think a very solid challenger could defeat him, but no such challenger has come along in several years and Mr. Mannal, in my opinion, has failed to buck the trend.

As a fellow Democrat, Mr. Mannal needed to decisively illustrate where Rep. Atsalis has failed as a legislator on critical issues and show voters how he would be markedly different. On his campaign website, Mr. Mannal compares and contrasts himself with the incumbent on three issues of significance: the increase in the sales tax, an expedited approval process for wind turbines, and whether to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

The other three topics he mentions are rather trivial: proposals on a term length increase, posting roll call votes on the state website, and a campaign spending disclosure measure…not the kind of issues voters are all that concerned with nowadays. His positions on other priority issues are unsurprising and fail to educate voters how he’d be a change from the status quo.

Mr. Mannal’s most aggressive push against Rep. Atsalis has also been on relative non-issues: Marie Parente’s endorsement of the incumbent and Rep. Atsalis’s attendance record. I’ve written about both previously and won’t rehash them now, I’ll simply say Mr. Mannal could have (and I dare say should have) put his time and effort toward something more substantial.

Still, Mr. Mannal has put significantly more effort into his campaign than Stephen M. Palmer, the Plymouth man challenging Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) — and by “challenging” I mean “His name is on the ballot but he has a snowball’s chance of actually winning.”

I recently listened to WATD’s online candidate forum hosting Sen. Murray and Mr. Palmer and…uh, yeah. Wow. Mr. Palmer was semi-coherent, confused, angry, occasionally condescending — in other words, he sounded like yet another person running for office not to serve the public but to have a large stage upon which to grind his anti-government axe.

Finally we have the three Democrats running for governor’s council of the first district: Nicholas D. Bernier, Oliver P. Cipollini, and Walter D. Moniz. This is another toss-up because the candidates’ positions are virtually identical: more public outreach, more diligence in appointing judges, no rubber-stamping whatever comes to them.

One thing voters should be aware of is the potential for another non-contest should Mr. Cipollini win. The Republican incumbent, Mr. Cipollini’s brother Charles, won the 2010 race against Oliver despite his continued insistence that he didn’t even want to win. He actively encouraged people not to vote for him. Voters deserve better than that.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

When it came time to start thinking about the 2012 elections, Christopher Sheldon decided to look around and check out the potential field of Republican candidates.

Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth

What he quickly learned was that the prospects were few and far between. “I started looking at this race about 12 months ago, trying to find a great candidate,” he said, and in meeting with potential candidates, “time and time again, the response was exactly the same: ‘I’m not interested in running, haven’t heard of anyone who is, if you find someone, let me know’.”

After six months of dead-ends, Mr. Sheldon said people started to suggest that he run for Congress, so in March he formally launched his campaign, and he’s betting his professional background will strike a chord with voters.

“I think [voters] are going to look at me and say, ‘This is a guy who’s really different and perhaps even more qualified than anyone we’ve seen in this area in a long time’,” he said, “and I think that’s something that’s going to excite them, and that that’s really where I differentiate and distinguish myself from my potential opponents.”

Mr. Sheldon is running in the Republican primary against Adam G. Chaprales of Marstons Mills. The winner of that race will face the winner of the Democratic primary between C. Samuel Sutter and the de facto incumbent, Congressman William R. Keating (D).

Rep. Keating currently represents the 10^th District, which is being eliminated as part of the decennial redistricting process. Portions of the 10^th District, including the Cape and Islands, will be rolled into a new Ninth District that also includes the New Bedford area, which is currently part of the Fourth District.

Mr. Sheldon said he viewed the Ninth as a “50 – 50 district, one that could go either way” in terms of whether voters chose a Democrat or a Republican, and he hoped voters will choose to break up the Democratic lock on the state’s Congressional delegation (all 10 Massachusetts Congressman are Democrats).

The Springfield native and current South Plymouth resident touted his extensive and varied private sector experience as a key component of his candidacy. Following his graduation from Syracuse University, he joined the New York-based Worldco Financial Services as a logistics coordinator, and later spent several years with the company as an equities and derivatives trader. The company dissolved in 2003 and he joined the Florida-based iHealth and led the consumer goods company’s sales and marketing department.

After obtaining his Master of Business Administrations from the University of Florida, Mr. Sheldon became a consultant for — and still works with — AlixPartners in New York and Bridge Strategy Group in Chicago, as well as for businesses in the health care, utility, and manufacturing sectors.

Mr. Sheldon believed that voters will find his résumé an appealing change of pace from the professional politician environment that dominates Congress. “Folks are tired of business as usual, they’re tired of professional politicians, they’re tired of people – by people I mean politicians – not taking on the tough challenges, the tough decisions,” he said. “They want somebody with a business background…I think that is unique to my candidacy.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, Mr. Sheldon is emphasizing the economy in his platform, with an eye toward improving the business climate locally and nationally. “I would like to see this country move in a more business-friendly direction,” he said, explaining that increasing government regulations, operational costs, and a corporate tax rate that is not competitive in the global market are conspiring to drive businesses overseas.

In 2012 the United States’ combined corporate tax rate (which includes federal, regional, and local taxes) stood at 39.2 percent, and until March was the second-highest combined rate in the world behind Japan (which dropped to 38.01 percent). The top federal corporate tax rate is 35 percent.

“We’re simply not competitive,” he said, and what the nation is experiencing now in the “flight of capital or the non-return of capital” to other countries is reminiscent of what happened in the 1950s, when businesses began to leave urban areas for outlying suburbs.

“If you go back into the fifties, you see cities believing, ‘We can make these decisions about our local city property tax rates and income tax rates and nobody will ever leave the city. This is the economic hub of our state’,” he said, but those high costs drive capitalists out, and businesses followed soon thereafter.

To reverse this trend, Mr. Sheldon said he would push for a corporate tax rate of 25 percent for large corporations, “and we need consider and at least have a healthy debate on eliminating corporate taxes for small and medium-sized businesses…and we need to consider eliminating corporate income taxes for new businesses, to try to encourage investors and new businesses.”

Mr. Sheldon also wants to greatly simplify the federal tax code, which he described as “convoluted” and “completely unwieldy,” to get rid of special interest-driven deductions and exemptions; and sustain the Bush Tax Cuts for all income levels.

“I don’t think our economy is in a position to really absorb any major shocks right now,” he said. “We’ve created an economy that’s fragile enough that we shouldn’t be messing with it right now.”

While the Ninth District would benefit from such actions in the form of increased tourism spurred by greater economic prosperity, Mr. Sheldon said the district needs industry-specific relief, namely from federal regulations that dampen the fishing industry.

“That is our greatest asset, our coastline,” he said, “so we need to make sure we protect the coastline environmentally…and we need to allow for the continued development of coastal businesses like fishing.”

Through these economic stimuli strategies, he said, the nation can recoup some of the revenue lost through cuts and tax reduction in the form of income and payroll taxes paid by employees and employers as the job market expands. “It’s a lot more powerful to have a growing economy, to have people working, than it is to sit around complaining companies aren’t paying enough in taxes,” he said.

However, Mr. Sheldon said spending cuts must also be part of the equation, and politicians on both sides must be prepared to make sacrifices. “We need to take a step back to try to figure out what out priorities are, try to figure out the things that have to be done versus the things we’d really like to be done, and make some tough decisions,” he said. “I don’t think that any organization at the government level is off the table.”

He included Social Security, and he faulted Rep. Keating for failing to address the issue. “He absolutely refuses to acknowledge that there’s any issue,” Mr. Sheldon said, stating that the Congressional Budget Office has projected bankruptcy for the program by 2031.

(The CBO predicted in 2011 that Social Security will exhaust a $2.5 trillion surplus by 2037. It expects to begin tapping into the surplus in 2018, and once the surplus is drained, assuming the system has not been reformed by then, the program’s annual revenue will be sufficient to cover 75 to 80 percent of its obligations. Rep. Keating has opposed raising the retirement age and privatizing the program.)

A middle ground solution for reducing government expenditures Mr. Sheldon hopes to play a role in implementing is in the elimination of fraud and wasteful government spending, although he admitted that might be a considerable challenge. “It’s weird. Everybody agrees we should get rid of fraud, waste, and abuse,” he said, “but for whatever reason, when you point to wherever you think that there’s fraud, waste, and abuse, then all of a sudden you get an outcry, even though everybody internally and externally agree it exists.”

Mr. Sheldon also expected to realize savings through the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “ObamaCare,” and maintained the a full repeal would be necessary before the government made a new attempt at meaningful health care reform.

“What we have there is a giant bill with a ton of uncertainty, but one that didn’t really address the issues that they said it was going to address, which is lowering our overall health care costs and making sure that everybody gets covered and making sure people get to keep their plans,” he said. “It doesn’t address the two major issues that we have with health care in the country today, which is a lack of transparency and a lack of competition…the ACA did not accomplish that on any level.”

Because of the bill’s complexity, Mr. Sheldon said it could not be amended piecemeal without risking unintended consequences to other parts of the law. “There’s just too much there in the ACA for us to peel it all back one piece at a time,” he said, “and make some subtle tweaks and changes…what is relatively easy to do is to get rid of stuff cleanly, and it’s a lot cleaner to get rid of the ACA and start over.”

To learn more about the candidate, visit Mr. Sheldon’s official campaign website at www.electsheldon.com.

Other Issues At A Glance

Energy

Wants greater energy independence in the U.S. but wants the free market rather than the government to decide which energy sources are best for the country.

The Middle East

Supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine; thinks America should not have an “occupying presence” in the Middle East or engage in nation-building, but should retain enough military presence to address security threats; supports troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Reproductive Rights

“This decision should ultimately be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor,” he said, but wants to reduce abortions performed in the U.S.; opposes federal funding for abortion services, which he said should be covered entirely by the patient and/or her insurance.

Same-Sex Marriage

Marriage is primarily a religious issue, not a government issue, Mr. Sheldon said, but states should decide on who may be legally married through direct voter input rather than court action; supports a repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Second Amendment

“Unequivocally” supports the right to own firearms, does not believe “responsible citizens” should be restricted in their gun ownership.

In addition to praising Mr. Chaprales’ positions on the economy and various traditional conservative social issues, Mr. Perry highlighted the fact the candidate is a true local and not a fake local (my term, not his) like Congressman William R. Keating and Christopher Sheldon. Rep. Keating relocated from Quincy to Monument Beach so he could run for the Ninth District (Quincy is in the soon-to-be-eliminated 10th District and will become part of the revised Eighth), and Mr. Sheldon moved to Plymouth in November.

“As you know, there has been a disturbing trend of politicians relocating their residence for the sole purpose of running for office,” Mr. Perry wrote in his endorsement. “Unlike Adam’s primary opponent and the sitting Congressman, Adam did not have to move into the District to run for this office.”

I’m not a fan of carpetbaggers, but residency is sort of a tricky issue when your territory consists of dozens of towns. Mr. Chaprales’ opponents could argue he’s not fit to serve the district because he’s a lifelong Sandwich resident and has never lived in Middleborough or Nantucket or New Bedford.

For good or ill, our laws allow quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to candidates meeting residency requirements, so my advice is to worry less about who lived where and for how long and more about important issues.

***

Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) has responded to Republican challenger Thomas F. Keyes’ challenge to a series of eight hour-long debates.

An official statement from the Murray campaign stated that they are holding dates for two debates, one to be held on the Cape and the other in Plymouth, but otherwise will not commit to anything until after the primary election is done and out of the way.

There’s been no response from the Keyes campaign so far, and I’m hoping he doesn’t try to spin Sen. Murray’s answer of “We’ll get back to you on that” as an attempt to “dodge” debates. It’s only a refusal when someone actually says “no.”

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Bob King and Tobin Wirt, proprietors of Cafe Chew on Merchant’s Road in Sandwich, tonight welcome R. Patrick Ellis, Democratic candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District.

The fundraiser for Mr. Ellis runs from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and the candidate is scheduled to speak at 6:30 PM. The requested donation for the event is $75 per person and made be made at the door.

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Final reminder: State Representative Randy Hunt’s (R – Sandwich) Texas BBQ and trap shoot fundraiser is tomorrow from 4 to 8 PM at the Monument Beach Sportsman’s Club in Bourne. It’s $35 per person for admission and dinner, plus $10 to shoot ($5 if you bring your own shells). Go to www.electrandyhunt.com/events.html for details on this and other campaign events.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.