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Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
It struck me recently how the word “independent,” once a generic label used to describe candidates with no formal political affiliation, has changed significantly in 2010.
I’ve had the matter on my mind for a while now, ever since a candidate — who shall remain nameless — chastised me for referring to him as an “unenrolled candidate” rather than his preferred title of “independent candidate.”
Friday, February 26th, 2010
The local ballot is filling up nicely.
This week another candidate for the Legislature emerged, and that name is James F. Munafo, Jr. He’s a Republican and currently serves as a Barnstable Town Councilor (for precinct three).
He last ran for the post in 1998 but didn’t make it past the primary. The man who eventually won that race is the man Mr. Munafo could face in November: State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable).
As of deadline this week, three members of the Cape’s legislative delegation have no pending challenges: State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable), and State Representatives Susan D. Williams Gifford (R – Wareham) and Matthew C. Patrick (D – Barnstable)…although that list may soon shorten (more on that below).
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Despite rumors that he would be retiring at the end of this, his second term, Barnstable County Sheriff James M. Cummings is planning to run for re-election. He pulled nomination papers last week, but has yet to make a formal announcement.
Sheriff Cummings, a Falmouth Republican, was first elected to the office in 1998.
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Republican David T. Vieira of Falmouth – who, coincidentally, works for Sheriff Cummings — is one step closer to becoming a formal candidate for state representative of the third Barnstable district (now represented by the aforementioned Rep. Patrick). He has his nomination papers and he’s out and about collecting signatures, so if you see him, stop and say hi.
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Joseph D. Malone could take Congressman William D. Delahunt (D) in a fight, and a new survey commissioned by Joseph D. Malone proves it!
Mr. Malone — a former two-term Massachusetts state treasurer and Republican candidate in the 1988 US Senate and 1998 gubernatorial races — commissioned a survey of 300 voters in the 10th Congressional district to determine where he stood in a theoretical race between himself and Rep. Delahunt (who, as of this writing, has yet to decide if he’s running for re-election). That survey was conducted by, as the Boston Herald put it, “conservative consultants McLaughlin & Associates.”
The results: Malone beat Rep. Delahunt, 37 percent to 34 percent.
Am I the only one who suspects this poll may be slanted?
Now now, Republicans, don’t take this as a pro-Delahunt remark; if I’m going to give Malone a hard time about anything it’d be the fact his résumé is weak and the man hasn’t done squat in politics for more than a decade.
And that, really, is the basis of my suspicion. How could a guy with so few credentials and so little name recognition best a Democratic incumbent in a theoretical race unless A) the questions posed to voters were leading and/or B) Republican voters instantly sided with the guy who wasn’t a Democrat, giving no thought to his qualifications?
Mr. Malone has yet to enter the race officially, and I think he’d be better off staying in the Land of Has-been Politicians, especially when you consider there’s at least one much stronger GOP candidate already out there (hint: he’s mentioned below).
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From the “Things You Probably Shouldn’t Have Said” file: in a story that ran in the Boston Globe last week, the gubernatorial candidates were asked what they would do to tackle the state’s fiscal crisis. Republicans Charles D. Baker Jr. and Christy P. Mihos both talked about cutting state jobs, while unenrolled candidate Timothy P. Cahill said this: “I don’t have enough insight into the budget, especially particular areas where money is being wasted, until I get in there.”
Let me reframe that quote: the guy who has served as the Massachusetts State Treasurer since 2002, and who, according to the state treasurer’s website, “manages the state’s finances by taking a fiscally conservative approach to investing and maximizing the use of taxpayer money,” doesn’t “have enough insight into the budget, especially particular areas where money is being wasted.”
Tim, Tim, Tim…you’re losing me here, dude. I know you’re more on the revenue side of the process, but still, shouldn’t you know A LITTLE about where all that money’s going?
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Elsewhere in the governor’s race, Mr. Mihos got some more unwanted ink in the Boston Globe over the weekend after he apparently bounced a $20,000 check to his campaign committee, raising the question of whether the mostly self-financed candidate can keep his campaign going.
He’s also lost the services of campaign consultant Dick Morris, who was brought on-board last year amidst much ballyhoo and appeared at several early campaign fundraisers. Financial records filed with the state show that Mihos dropped about $80,000 for the last four months’ of Mr. Morris’s services. Mr. Mihos said he plans to hire Mr. Morris back in the near future.
The Mihos camp is of course downplaying the situation, but these aren’t the first financial headaches his campaign has experienced, so it’s looking increasingly dicey for Smilin’ Christy M. Pardon my alliteration, but if he can’t scrape up some serious scratch soon, say sayonara to this sinking ship.
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Another gubernatorial note: Mr. Baker and his hand-picked running mate Richard R. Tisei are in Plymouth this Sunday if you feeling like making the drive to Gainsborough Hall at Plimoth Plantation. They’ll participate in a town hall-style forum starting at 11:30 AM. Go to https://bakerforgov.wufoo.com/forms/plymouth-town-hall-rsvp/ to RSVP for the event.
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Here’s your final reminder for State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry’s (R – Sandwich) kickoff event for his Congressional campaign. That’s next Friday, March 5, at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis starting at 7 PM.
Rep. Perry is the scheduled guest speaker for another upcoming campaign launch, this one for friend/fellow Republican/campaign treasurer F. Randal Hunt of Sandwich. Mr. Hunt (a.k.a. Randy a.k.a. “The Situation”) is hoping to succeed Rep. Perry as state representative of the fifth Barnstable district. That one is on Tuesday, March 9 at the Sandwich Hollows Golf Course from 5 PM to 7 PM.
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Peter A. White, unenrolled candidate for US Congress, has launched his official campaign website. Truck on over to www.peterwhiteindependent4congress.com. Not much on it yet, but the events page has an entry on bank bailouts that would make either a good folk music-style protest song or great beat poetry.
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I know the US Senate special election is done and gone, but this is too damn silly to not mention.
US Senator Scott P. Brown’s (R) daughters Ayla and Arianna sent out an e-mail to supporters with a special offer to commemorate the one-month mark since Sen. Brown defeated Martha Coakley (celebrating the one month anniversary? Really?), including a seat cushion that reads “The People’s Seat.” Behold:
And all it costs you is a $20 donation.
Donation to what, is what I’d like to know. Is Sen. Brown already stockpiling cash for a re-election bid in 2012? Or maybe he’s looking to buy a new truck (just don’t buy a Toyota, dude).
Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net
Friday, February 19th, 2010
I hardly know where to begin this week!
Well, a coin toss decided I should start with the news that Republican Thomas F. Keyes of Sandwich has taken what I’d consider a very bold move and announced he plans to run for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable district – which could put him on the ballot against Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth).
Why is this a bold move? Consider, first of all, that Sen. Murray is one of the three top dogs in state government, and while I hate to invoke the whole “clout” issue, let’s be realistic: it would be bad for the Cape to lose that kind of leverage in the Senate.
Sen. Murray has also personally spearheaded two major government reform initiatives over the past four years, one aimed at health care and the other, launched last week, at economic development. To really put that one in perspective: Sen. Murray’s “Sunshine Act” legislation seeks to, in one fell swoop, reduce wasteful government practices and improve economic development efforts, two of this year’s hot talking points.
Then there’s the money. Sen. Murray ended 2009 with more than $140,000 sitting in the war chest, and she knows how to generate campaign funding. Gripe as you will about money in politics, it’s a harsh reality Mr. Keyes would have to face should he join Sen. Murray on the ballot in November.
What does Mr. Keyes bring to the table? He is a former two-term Sandwich selectman, a former member of the Sandwich Economic Development Council, and is in the middle of his first elected term on the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates (he is currently the deputy speaker).
That’s a thin résumé to put up next to Sen. Murray’s curriculum vitae, and I don’t care what the mood of the electorate is, you can only play the “government outsider” card to limited effect against such a strong incumbent candidate.
Is this an insurmountable challenge? No. Is it an uphill battle? Oh, yeah…call it a direct assault on the sheer vertical face of Mount Murray.
Ah, but there is one thing that could yet radically chance the complexion of this brewing race, which leads me to the next big news…
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…which is the growing speculation that Congressman William D. Delahunt (D) is not going to run for re-election this year. The Boston Globe reported last week that Rep. Delahunt is considering retiring from life as an elected official, but the congressman said this was all part of his biennial deliberations over whether to run again.
“Every election cycle, I take my time, I think it through, and I think, not about whether I can win or lose, but: ‘Am I in a position to make a difference?’ ”Rep. Delahunt told the Globe. “Can I achieve what I want to achieve outside of public life?” He insisted that his decision would not be influenced one way or the other by US Senator Scott P. Brown’s victory last month, which continues to reverberate throughout the Massachusetts political scene.
A formal announcement is coming next month, and two big names have already emerged as possible torchbearers for the Democratic Party should Rep. Delahunt bow out: Conan O’Brien look-alike Joseph P. Kennedy III…
I think it's a damn shame they're giving your show back to Leno...
…and — wait for it — Sen. Murray.
Sen. Murray told the Globe she thought Rep. Delahunt would come back to run again (and win again, she predicted), but if he doesn’t run? Her tune could change very quickly.
More on this situation as it develops, but one word of warning: anyone who thinks that sticking a Kennedy in this race would produce a sure-fire win for the Democrats is fooling themselves.
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One last random note on the brewing 10th Congressional district situation: there’s been some talk that Doug Meehan, who grew up on the Cape and was recently let go from his gig as WFXT/Fox 25’s helicopter reporter, would throw his hat into the increasingly crowded ring as a Republican.
A Republican working for Fox News? I’ve never heard of such a thing!
There are already three confirmed GOP candidates: State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich), Ray Kasperowicz of Cohasset, and Donald A. Hussey of Hingham. Joseph D. Malone of Scituate, a former two-term Massachusetts state treasurer and candidate in the 1998 gubernatorial race, and State Senator Robert L. Hedlund (R – Weymouth) have expressed an interest in running but have not yet made formal commitments.
Peter A. White of Mashpee is also in the race as an unenrolled candidate.
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A couple reminders for upcoming campaign events: Rep. Perry officially launches his congressional campaign on Friday, March 5 at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis starting at 7 PM.
Republican Randy Hunt of Sandwich, who is hoping to succeed Rep. Perry in the Legislature, has his campaign kickoff event on Tuesday, March 9 at the Sandwich Hollows Golf Course from 5 PM to 7 PM. Rep. Perry will be the evening’s guest speaker.
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Rep. Perry, by the way, will be opening his Cape-area campaign office tomorrow at 10 AM. It’s located at Heritage Plaza (337 Cotuit Road, Building B) in Sandwich, so swing by for the 10:30 AM ribbon-cutting to meet the candidate and pick up your signs, bumper stickers, and other Perry-phernalia.
(Rep. Perry, you’ll owe me a quarter every time you use that one.)
Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net
Friday, January 29th, 2010
I assume by now you’ve heard the news? If not, let me drop the bomb: State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) is “very interested” in challenging Congressman William D. Delahunt (D) this year for US Representative of the 10th Congressional district.
The prospect of Rep. Perry taking on Big Bill gets me absolutely giddy. Having worked with Rep. Perry since he got into the State House, I know for a fact he would run a powerful, punishing, and perhaps most importantly, positive campaign against Rep. Delahunt.
It would, I think, be a truly awesome race that would seriously test both men, and a rare win-win situation for voters in that, no matter which of these guys won, the Cape would have a strong voice in Congress.
I want this to happen! It’d be like the Thunderdome of local politics…two men enter! One man leaves!
Of course, for this to come to pass Rep. Perry would first have to win what is shaping up to be an active Republican primary.
Last week Republican Joseph D. Malone of Scituate, former two-term state treasurer (1991 to 1999), announced he would “almost certainly” challenge Rep. Delahunt. Mr. Malone unsuccessfully challenged Ted Kennedy in 1998 and, 10 years later, lost the Republican nomination for governor of Massachusetts to A. Paul Cellucci.
Then there is Ray Kasperowicz of Cohasset, a US Navy veteran and a nine-year member of the Cohasset Sewer Commission, who announced his candidacy back in September, and Donald A. Hussey of Hingham. Another possible challenger from the GOP: State Senator Robert L. Hedlund (R – Weymouth).
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Let’s talk a minute about the predicted surge of Republican candidates for 2010 (the catalyst for which is, of course, Senator-elect Scott P. Brown’s big win last week).
The Massachusetts GOP this week launched this year’s recruitment initiative, dubbed “The New Majority.” Prospective candidates can go to www.massgop.com and file online an recruitment form. “The staff of the MassGOP will respond to each online application with information on how to run a campaign and an assessment of the district in which the individual has an interest in running,” stated the official press release.
“When a potential candidate decides to run for elected office, the MassGOP provides assistance including candidate trainings, voter identification information, district information, message and campaign timeline development, incumbent voting records, as well as other opposition research.”
Not too dissimilar to past recruitment efforts, but the GOP is trying an interesting new tactic: offering this service to unenrolled candidates (hence the “New Majority,” making the Democratic Party the old majority). This should be interesting…
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Now that Martha Coakley has blown the US Senate race (face it, folks, she choked), what about that nice little attorney general gig she’s had for the past four years?
Word among her aides last week was that she was planning to run for re-election, and boy, doesn’t that set the stage for some big fun? The GOP is eyeballing Coakley the way leopards eyeball a wounded gazelle, and why not? She muffed a race against a solid opponent who was better at getting his message out and connecting with voters, and it could easily happen a second time if the Republicans can find someone who can bring the pain.
AG Coakley won her seat in 2006 by beating Lawrence W. Frisoli, a Belmont attorney who did not campaign that well, so one could speculate that AG Coakley herself is not a strong campaigner and won the post by dint of having a weaker opponent.
(The shame is, she has done good work as AG and it would be a shame to lose her simply because she’s lousy at selling herself, but I digress.)
State Representative Karyn Polito (R – Shrewsbury) has been mentioned as an early possible challenger, as has Peter Flaherty, a former prosecutor, one of W. Mitt Romney’s aides during his stint as governor, and a Senator-elect Brown campaign supporter.
On the flip side, the prospect of AG Coakley running again has already caused one Democrat to rethink his candidacy. C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County’s district attorney, had been kicking the idea around but has since backed off.
Democrat William Keating, Norfolk County district attorney and a former state senator, is as of this week still planning to run for the office.
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We have an early dropout in Joe Connolly, the Democrat and Norfolk County treasurer who intended to run for state treasurer. He posted a notice on his website stating that he was bowing out due to health concerns.
This leaves Republican Brian J. Herr and Democrat Steve Grossman all by their lonesomes.
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To bring this baby full circle, Senator-elect Brown is scheduled to make an appearance at the Falmouth Inn this evening (January 29) at 7 PM, as a thank-you to folks who showed up at a pre-election rally.
Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Well, the special election has totally soured me on politics.
That is not a statement about the results, but rather the process — more specifically, the tactics both the major candidates resorted to throughout the campaign. Forget for a minute who cast the first stone and focus on the fact both Martha Coakley and Scott Brown engaged in negative campaigning (yes, Brown supporters — it happened), disseminated misleading and sometimes entirely false information about each other’s credentials and positions, and allowed outside parties to only exacerbate the situation by tacitly supporting their aggressive and at time borderline slanderous ads (in that neither candidate did anything to renounce ads taken out on their behalf but without their express consent). (more…)
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
And the winner is…State Senator Scott P. Brown (R- Wrentham)!
And I gotta tell you, I’m not surprised to be writing this. Martha Coakley made some disastrous missteps in the later weeks of the campaign: tossing out the first harshly negative TV ad; passing on local campaigning to attend functions in DC; and bringing in the President, which absolutely smacked of desperation, just to name a few.
In short, this was Martha Coakley’s race to lose, and she did, spectacularly. Her complacency and garden-variety weak campaigning cost her what I think was, very early on, a sure-fire victory.
Whether Sen. Brown now lives up to his promises to be an independent voice in the US Senate is the big question now, but if he proves just another party loyalist, expect the Dems to make a major push to reclaim the seat in 2012.
Meanwhile, the immediate repercussions of Coakley’s loss could be significant. For a Republican to defeat a Democrat to claim the late Ted Kenney’s seat in Blue State Massachusetts could serve as a HUGE rallying cry for the GOP in the coming regular election cycle, and we could see a major party resurgence this year after several years of foundering.
Was Senator-elect Brown’s victory a mandate by the voters? Debatable; a five percent margin of victory in and of itself is hardly a mandate, but considering the surrounding circumstances, it’s clear voters were sending a message.
Was that message in essence a repudiation of the Obama Administration? Hardly; one man does not a repudiation make, and I’m sorry, while Obama hasn’t been as aggressive in making his much-ballyhooed changes as he said he’d be, it’s unrealistic to expect eight years of damage by the Bush Administration to be magically fixed in a year.
Nevertheless, every Massachusetts Democrat now has a target on their backs, and it should be interesting to see who goes gunning for whom.
As for Coakley herself, her post as Massachusetts Attorney General is now very vulnerable. Her blood is in the water, and the GOP would be remiss not to capitalize on it.
Look for detailed coverage of the special election elsewhere in this section, and in the front section of the Enterprise for town-by-town results.
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As if on cue: we have a possible race for a local legislative seat!
Last week David T. Vieira of Falmouth said he was considering running against State Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D – Falmouth) this year. Mr. Vieira, who oversees the Cape’s Triad programs through the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department and is finishing his 10th year as Falmouth’s town moderator, has filed his paperwork Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance and expects to make a final decision on his candidacy soon.
I’m hopeful he’ll go for it. I expect Mr. Vieira would run a solid campaign against Rep. Patrick, now in his fifth term, and a robust campaign is always a good thing (particularly for voters, who would actually have to give some serious thought about who to vote for).
If he runs, Mr. Vieira would be the third Republican to challenge a Democratic incumbent in the Cape delegation; folks have already popped up to challenge State Representatives Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis) and Sarah K. Peake (D – Provincetown).
I want to see the trend continue, until we have a chock-a-block full ballot. That said, I don’t expect anyone to announce a run against Senate President Therese Murray (D – Plymouth). She has some crazy cash in her war chest – she ended 2008 with more than $150,000 – and from a strategic standpoint, losing her would greatly diminish the region’s clout in the State House, and the Cape and Islands cannot afford that (literally or figuratively).
Who is the most vulnerable to the GOP? That would be State Representative Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket). First-term legislators are generally good targets because it’s easy to claim they haven’t done anything of substance. While this is technically true – precious few freshman lawmakers get anything huge accomplished in their first outing – it’s also a bit disingenuous for the same reason.
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Now that the US Senate special election has wrapped, expect the race for governor of Massachusetts to take center stage as The Big Race. There are five people in the mix right now: incumbent Deval L. Patrick; Timothy P. Cahill, the state treasurer, who is running as an independent; and Republicans Christy P. Mihos and Charlie D. Baker Jr.
Number five is Jill E. Stein of the Green-Rainbow Party, who announced her candidacy earlier this month. Dr. Stein ran for secretary of the Commonwealth in 2006 and for governor in 2002 (and got trounced in both races).
While Mr. Mihos has been a bit more active than his Republican rival in the early days of the campaign, it looks like Mr. Baker has been quietly building a well-financed support base. The Boston Herald reported last week that Smilin’ Charlie Baker raised $1.85 million in the last five months of 2009—twice the amount Gov. Patrick raised over the course of the entire year.
If Mr. Baker can put some substance behind the spending and put in some solid work into getting his name and message out to voters, he could be the man to beat in the primary and—dare I say it?—in the general election. Despite its widespread Blueness, Massachusetts has never been hesitant to put a Republican in the Corner Office; 20 of the state’s 34 governors since 1900 have been Republicans.
However, a recent poll by the Boston Globe suggests that neither GOP hopeful will prevail in a three-way race against Gov. Patrick and Mr. Cahill. About a third of those surveyed currently back the incumbent, despite his low approval ratings, with Mr. Cahill coming in second. Regardless of who represented the GOP, that man came in third.
I can’t take this poll seriously, not this early in the process. If this had come out, say, in October, I’d say the Republicans are in deep trouble, but a lot can change over the next 10 months.
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Speaking of our treasurer (part the first), a fellow by the name of Brian J. Herr has filed his paperwork with the OCPF as a candidate for state treasurer. Mr. Herr, a Republican, is currently a selectman in the town of Hopkinton. He was elected to that post in 2007 and this year is the board’s chairman.
He joins Democratic candidate Steve Grossman.
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Speaking of our treasurer (part the second), Mr. Cahill has chosen his running mate: former state representative Paul Loscocco. “As a former Republican, Loscocco makes the ticket truly bipartisan and independent, helping the campaign represent the 51 percent of Massachusetts voters who are not affiliated with either major political party,” read a press release from Cahill’s camp.
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So with AG Coakley not going anywhere, where does that leave Democrat William Keating, Norfolk County district attorney and a former state senator? The man who threw the state Senate in a tizzy back in 1994 when he challenged William M. Bulger for the Senate presidency he’d held for 15 years announced his candidacy recently, but will that change with Coakley potentially staying put?
His campaign website is up at www.billkeating.org.
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Over in the surprisingly active race for state auditor – five candidates so far! – Republican Earle Stroll has launched his campaign website at http://stroll2010.com, and Democrat Michael E. Lake has his site up at www.electmikelake.com.
Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net
For more political commentary, visit Michael’s blog “Snark-Infested Waters” at http://capenews.net/blogs/snark-infested_waters/
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Happy New Year, everyone!
Normally I would only now be welcoming everyone to the triumphant return of my weekly political column, but thanks to the US Senate special election this puppy has been rolling for a few months now. Yet, in about two and a half weeks that election will be over and, hopefully, the state and local races will start to pick up.
And this year stands to be fairly active as all our constitutional officers – governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of the Commonwealth, attorney general, treasurer, and auditor – are up for re-election along with all state legislators. More locally, the positions of Barnstable County sheriff and Cape & Islands district attorney are up for grabs, along with one seat on the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners. (more…)
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