Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

Subscribe  |  Share    |  Print

Follow me on Facebook

Posts Tagged ‘Governor Deval Patrick’


The week in politics

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Hey, Democrats! Got anything planned for this Monday?

Then hie thee hither to the 12th annual Presidents Day Brunch at the 400 East Restaurant on East Harwich (at the intersections of Routes 137 and 39). The event runs from 11:30 AM until 1:30 PM and is sponsored by the Harwich Democratic Town Committee.

The HDTC folks have invited Democratic candidates for state auditor and state treasurer to the event, and at last word Suzanne Bump and Steve Grossman, candidates for auditor and treasurer respectively, will be in attendance.

The committee will also announce during the brunch the recipients of the Mabel Canto Democrat of the Year Award and the James Noonan Community Service Award.

The cost to attend is $20. To RSVP or for more information contact Ray Gottwald, HDTC chairman, at 508-430-1666 or RayGottwald@aol.com.

***

I’ve yet to mention Ms. Bump in this column, so let me rectify that. She’s a former state representative and, more recently, was the executive office of labor and workforce development under Governor Deval L. Patrick. Her official bio says she lives in Great Barrington in the village of Housatonic, which sounds like a sinister New England village in an H.P. Lovecraft story.

Her official website is http://suzannebump.com.

***

F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for state representative of the fifth Barnstable district, has his campaign website up and running. Trot on over to www.electrandyhunt.com and poke around.

Mr. Hunt has also scheduled his campaign kick-off/first fundraising event for Tuesday, March 9 at the Sandwich Hollows Golf Course. That runs from 5 PM to 7 PM, with “speeches (and other campaign rhetoric)” – his words, not mine – beginning at 6 PM.

***

And guess what? Mr. Hunt already has an opponent, and he’s a blast from the not-too-distant past: Lance W. Lambros of Sandwich announced this week he’s taking out nomination papers and plans to run for state rep.

Those familiar with county government will recognize Mr. Lambros as a former county commissioner and member of the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.

***

The governor’s race continues to heat up. Democrat-turned-independent candidate Timothy P. Cahill formally launched his campaign last week, and in an odd bit of turnabout, a former third party candidate has announced she plans to run against Deval L. Patrick in the primary.

Grace Ross, who ran for governor as a member of the Green-Rainbow Party in 2006 (and collected only two percent of the vote in the four-way race), is challenging Gov. Patrick for the Democratic nomination. I don’t expect her to receive much, if any backing from the party, so enjoy her candidacy while you can, folks.

***

Another note on the gubernatorial race. In case you were in doubt, Republican Christy P. Mihos is “in it to win it.”

Mr. Mihos last week issued a statement to dispel rumors that his wobbly campaign was perhaps about to end – rumors spurred on by recent stores about disgruntled former campaign staff, back-owed business expenses resulting in property liens, and the fact his campaign account is on the thin side.

He’s currently got about $17,000 in the bank, which is better than a few weeks ago when he was down to $2,000 or so, but still WAY behind Charles D. Baker Jr. ($1.6 million), Mr. Cahill (approximately $920,000), and Gov. Patrick ($657,000 and change), and not too far ahead of Jill E. Stein, the Green-Rainbow candidate ($11,425).

“It’s time that the privileged few stop profiting from the rest of us,” he wrote. “If you’re for a candidate who’s stood up to big government and big business before, who’s really for lowering taxes, cutting the size of government, returning rights and money to the people, and getting Massachusetts working again for you, then I’m your candidate for governor of Massachusetts 2010.”

Still, things are not looking promising for Mihos at this time. He has enthusiasm to spare, but he needs a lot more than that if he’s to survive even to the primary race (which I hope he does; a solid primary race is good for the process and for voters).

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Politics | No Comments »

The week in politics

Monday, February 8th, 2010

It’s happening! State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) is running for US Representative of the 10th District!

Should Rep. Perry make it through the primaries, he would pose the strongest challenge to Congressman William D. Delahunt (D) since the latter gent took office in 1996. Rep. Delahunt’s opponents read like a Who’s Who of Who’s That?: Eric V. Bleiken in 1998 and 2000 (Delahunt took about 70 percent of the vote both times), Luiz Gonzaga in 2002 (70 percent of the vote, again, to the incumbent), Michael J. Jones in 2004 (60 percent of the vote), Jeffrey K. Beatty and Peter White in 2006 (65 percent). In 2008 no one bothered to challenge him at all.

What are the chances Rep. Perry will make it to the Big Show? Well, let’s look at the other prospects: Ray Kasperowicz has very limited government experience (nine years on the Cohasset Sewer Commission). Joseph D. Malone did two terms as a state treasurer, but dropped off the political radar for 12 years after losing a gubernatorial primary in 1998. Donald A. Hussey is a former (unsuccessful) candidate for governor’s councilor.

Rep. Perry’s greatest hurdle in the primaries could be a State House colleague: State Senator Robert L. Hedlund (R – Weymouth), who has more experience in the Legislature (he served in the Senate from 1991 to 1992, got bumped, then came back in 1994 and has remained there since). However, Sen. Hedlund has not formally announced he would run, so he may not be an issue.

The only other complication would be the aforementioned Mr. White, a Mashpee resident who announced this week he planned to take another shot at the office. In an e-mail sent to a handful of friends Mr. White said he planned to run on “a platform to end the wars for oil, develop jobs and clean up the environment through a ‘Green’ economy, Medicare for all who need it, and federal support for community-based solutions to renewable energy development, affordable housing, recycling, and wastewater management.”

“We shall overcome the corruption of the two-party system if enough people try!!” he wrote in conclusion.

Yeah, this is gonna be fun…

Rep. Perry’s new campaign website is at www.jeffperryforcongress.com. His official campaign kick-off event is on Friday, March 5 at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis.

***

On a related note, Republican F. Randal Hunt, a Sandwich selectman, announced last week he planned to run to succeed Rep. Perry should the latter gent launch his Congressional bid, so I guess that’s all official-like.

The question now is: how long will he be alone? Whenever incumbents step down there is usually surge in candidates, so I think Mr. Hunt will soon have LOTS of company.

***

Wow, barely a month into the 2010 election cycle and already it’s getting a bit ugly in the race for governor.

Last week the media was abuzz about alleged issues with Christy P. Mihos, Republican gubernatorial candidate, after three former campaign consultants filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance claiming they were back-owed about a total of $43,500 in pay.

The complainants are web designer Geoff Fudge, communications director Kevin Sowyrda, and media strategist Rick Wilson. Mr. Mihos said all three had been paid in full.

Things got even worse when a subsequent story reported that a judge had placed liens on three of Mr. Mihos’ business properties as leverage against an outstanding $634,000 fuel delivery bill. His lawyer nevertheless called this ruling good news for the candidate, since no liens were placed on any personal property – indicative, the lawyer said, that Mr. Mihos himself was not personally liable for the back-owed money.

The first story also illuminated where the four active gubernatorial candidates’ respective war chests are, and things don’t look good for Smilin’ Christy M., who largely self-financed his 2006 run for the Corner Office.

As of mid-January Mihos had all of $2,000 in his account (which would be great if he were a Green-Rainbow Party candidate, but for a Republican? Eesh). Republican rival Charles D. Baker Jr. is leading the pack, with more than $1.6 million to burn, followed by independent Timothy P. Cahill at about $800,000 and then the incumbent, Deval L. Patrick, at a shade under $650,000.

I said it before and I’ll say it again: if he doesn’t pull a Coakley on the campaign trial, Charlie Baker could be the man to beat.

***

I’ll mention Mr. Baker again since his campaign is now officially underway. Yeah, I know the guy’s been running since last year, but he held a kick-off event in Boston Saturday, so now it’s really really super-duper official.

***

One last note of the governor’s race: why is Tim Cahill holding a fundraiser in New York City? Yes, he has a fundraiser scheduled for next Thursday in NYC. Shouldn’t be trying to drum up support in – oh, I don’t know – the state in which he’s actually running?

***

Did you catch State Representative Timothy R. Madden’s (D – Nantucket) appearance in the Boston Herald this week? It was under the headline “Mass. Hacks Rack Up Per Diems” (always a class act, the Herald). Rep. Madden got lambasted for collecting in 2009 $13,900 in per diem payments, the most of any member of the Legislature.

The payments are made available to State House lawmakers to cover travel, lodging, and meal expenses in connection with their jaunts up to Boston, and are based on where they live. Nantucket has the highest per diem rate at $100 per day.

The Herald took a “how dare you” attitude, blasting Rep. Madden and other legislators for collecting the payments A) when the state budget is so tight and B) when they all make at least $61,439 a year (not counting stipends for chairman duties and leadership positions).

What they never mentioned is that the cost to bring a car over on a Steamship Authority ferry costs $260 a pop for a round trip. A round-trip Nantucket-to-Boston ticket on Cape Air runs $122 – half the cost of the ferry but still more than the per diem (and that’s not counting whatever it costs to take a cab or the T to the State House).

I’m personally not in favor of the per diem program – my taxes already pay for their salaries, which I think are too high – but the Herald’s slant on this was not terribly fair toward Rep. Madden.

***

Earle Stroll, Republican candidate for state auditor, has launched his official campaign website. Sort of. Go to http://stroll2010.com/ to see the placeholder image and sign up for his mailing list.

***

Finally: We have some video of US Senator-elect Scott P. Brown’s (R) reception in Falmouth last week on the website, so go to www.capenews.net and check it out.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »

The week in politics

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.

***

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.

***

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.

***

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.

***

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.

***

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.

***

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/

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Politics | No Comments »

Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

The morning news has been punishing today. More precisely, the advertisements in-between segments of the morning news have been punishing, because every other commercial has been for Scott Brown or Martha Coakley, and I think both sides are running nothing but their slate of negative ads.

Thank you both for souring me on this election.

I was soured on Brown from almost day one, because — as a recipient of his campaign e-mails — I’ve seen nothing from him but condemnations of everything Coakley said or did throughout this process (“Martha Coakley drinks Pepsi Throwback, deprives the high-fructose corn syrup industry of vital revenue!”), followed by very superficial retorts meant to extol Brown’s virtues (“Scott Brown will support high-fructose corn syrup by drinking one bottle of Karo every day”).

His denouncement of Coakley’s negative ads are, in this light, hypocritical, but I have to agree: they’re low-road politics and are distracting voters. That Coakley ran negative at all, much less launched the first high-profile volley, is hugely disappointing and, as WHDH-TV’s Andy Hiller observed, not something a candidate with any confidence in her campaign would do.

This always has been Coakley’s race to lose, and she may well lose it. Eschewing on-the-street meet-and-greets with Massachusetts voters to go to out-of-state events? Jeez, Coakley, who are you? Mitt Romney? Running negative instead of pushing hard your considerably positive record as AG? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Should Brown win Tuesday, well, first I’m going to bang my head against a wall to dull the pain of seeing Coakley blow the election, then I’ll start looking for candidacy announcements from people looking to boot Coakley out of the AG’s office (because if she loses Tuesday, the GOP is going to just see blood in the water). Then I’m going to hope all this talk about intentionally dragging out the certification process to delay Brown’s entry into office is just that — talk — because I don’t know if I could calmly handle with any degree of aplomb the second most flagrant flouting of good public process since Massachusetts changed the Senate succession laws to allow Deval Patrick to plop Paul Kirk in Kennedy’s seat. If Brown wins, then he wins. Seat him.

Otherwise, everyone involved with such an affront to the political process will be facing voter wrath come November.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Politics | 3 Comments »

The week in politics – special editior director’s cut

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…)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Local issues, National issues, Politics | 2 Comments »

The Week in Politics

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Hidey-ho folks. I’m back from vacation, and I return to the column with a brief requiem for Bob Burr, would-be Republican candidate for US Senate.

Oh, Bob, we hardly knew ye, and I suspect that’s because you never really did anything with your campaign once you entered the race. I infer that by your inability to collect 10,000 signatures on your nomination papers by last Tuesday’s deadline.

So that brings our official field of candidates for the late Edward M. Kennedy’s US Senate seat down to one Republican – State Senator Scott P. Brown (R – Wrentham), who Mr. Burr is now supporting – and four Democrats: Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, Congressman Michael E. Capuano (D), Alan A. Khazei, and Steve Pagliuca.

The Fab Four engaged in a rather tepid debate Monday night, and you can read my analysis below.

***

AG Coakley, by the way, is under no small amount of scrutiny thanks to the Massachusetts Republican Party. The Mass. GOP recently filed a complaint against AG Coakley, claiming she was running a “shadow campaign” (insert dramatic musical sting here) for US Senate using money from her AG campaign coffers, which is a no-no.

The GOP specifically charges that AG Coakley spent about $31,000 from her state campaign fund on consultants in preparation for her Senate bid. Notably, she has reimbursed her state fund for $35,000 in expenses out of her federal campaign fund. File that under Things That Make You Go Hmmmm…

The Federal Election Commission is reviewing the matter but, as of this writing, has yet to announce whether it will launch an official investigation into AG Coakley’s campaign finances — so it will be a while before we learn whether this is a case of eagle-eyed diligence on the GOP’s part or they’re just out to get her.

One might suspect the latter in light of the new GOP-sponsored “Where Was Martha?” website, which focuses on the AG’s failure (real or imagined, you be the judge) to go after disgraced fellow Democrats – namely former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson, and Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner.

***

For those who care about such things, State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable) and State Representative Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket) have officially endorsed AG Coakley’s candidacy. The only Cape Dem who’s not on the Coakley bandwagon: State Representative Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis), who has yet to pick a favorite.

***

A final note on the Fab Four: a new Western New England College survey has AG Coakley as the person to beat: 37 percent of the people surveyed chose her as the favorite, followed by Mr. Pagliuca and Rep. Capuano running in a near dead-heat with 14 percent and 13 percent support respectively, and Mr. Khazei bringing up the read at a distant four percent.

***

A reminder: Sen. Brown will be on the Cape next month, specifically at the Hyannis Golf Course on Route 132 on Sunday, November 15 from 3 to 5 PM.

Shoot State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) an e-mail at ElectJeffPerry@aol.com if you’re interested in serving on the host committee for this campaign fundraiser.

***

Want to talk directly to Christy P. Mihos, Republican candidate for governor? You’ll get several chances during the campaign, thanks to his new series of live webcasts.

Go to Mr. Mihos’s official campaign website to check for the next scheduled webcast, which will allow viewers to call into his Hyannis campaign office and chat directly with the candidate. The shows will be, as the name suggests, broadcast live over his site. He hopes to hold the webcasts up to three times a week.

***

On the topic of the gubernatorial race, I can’t help but take this as a bad sign – whether of the economy or Deval L. Patrick’s re-election campaign, I’m not sure, but when President Barack H. Obama rolls into Boston for a fundraiser and the place is not standing room only, something is amiss.

According to several media accounts of last Friday’s fundraiser for Gov. Patrick, a high-priced private reception with the President was about half-full, and a subsequent $500-a-head fundraiser for those without such deep pockets was two-thirds full.

***

Ray Kasperowicz, Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives – 10th Congressional District, will be on the Cape next month – November 10, to be precise, when he meets with the Sandwich Republican Town Committee. Keep your eye on his website and www.sandwichrepublicans.org for details as they’re announced.

***

Republican Earle Stroll of Bolton has filed his paperwork with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance in preparation for his planned run for Massachusetts State Auditor.

If Mr. Stroll’s name sounds oh-so-vaguely familiar, it’s because he almost ran for the post in 2006. I say “almost” because he failed to get enough signatures on his nomination papers. Better luck this time around, dude.

***

State Representative Susan D. Williams Gifford (R – Wareham) has resurrected her dead website. Go there to see what’s new, and let’s hope she takes better care of it this time around.

***

Here’s a handy website promoting one of the possible ballot questions for 2010, which seeks to establish instant runoff voting in Massachusetts: http://voterchoicema.org, the official site for Voter Choice Massachusetts.

Under instant runoff voting, voters basically rank the candidates for a given race. During the tally the candidate who receives the least support (that is, the one who is the top pick among the fewest voters) is bumped out, elimination-style, and that vote is then automatically reassigned to the voter’s number two pick. This goes on until a winner emerges from the flaming heap of defeated also-rans like the lone NASCAR driver from a 30-car pile-up on a hairpin turn.

It sounds, and kind of is, complicated, but proponents claim that instant runoff voting avoids the “spoiler effect,” that voting phenomenon in which two similar candidates split the electorate, allowing a possibly weaker third candidate to sneak through with a win.

I don’t have another car racing metaphor for that one. Sorry.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Politics | No Comments »

Check me out, being all involved and junk…

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Below is the full text of a letter I e-mailed this morning to my legislative officials, State Rep. James Fagan and Senator Marc Pacheco. I doubt they’ll respond and even more doubtful they’ll act as I hope, but hey, it made me feel better to vent. I recommend it.

Gentlemen,

I am writing, simply, to request that you both reject the proposal heading to the State House floor to amend the state’s US Senate succession law.

Senator Kennedy himself once said to Congress that you do not change the rules in the middle of the game, and ironically, that is precisely what the late senator in his July letter asked Governor Patrick, House Speaker DeLeo, and Senate President Murray to do: change the rules mid-game — this after, in 2004, Mr. Kennedy himself advocated for the law as it currently stands.

While I understand Senator Kennedy wanted to ensure the state’s full representation in the event a health care reform bill came up for a vote — a proposal I generally support, I add — I do not believe that the Legislature should change the law, essentially, to support a single initiative.

Nor do I believe it should support a change that seems to me to be as much about maintaining a Democratic super-majority as serving the public. I always believed the true motivation behind the 2004 changes was to keep Governor Romney — who I did not and still do not care for, to put it mildly — from naming a Republican successor in the event Senator Kerry won the Presidential election. That the Democrats are now embracing a concept the Republicans (unsuccessfully) pitched as an amendment to the 2004 law — giving the governor the authority to appoint an interim Senator — only reinforces this opinion in my mind. As does the latest news I’ve read: that the proposal you may be voting on as early as tomorrow would mandate that any appointees would be of the same party as his or her predecessor.

This is standard in other states, I realize, and is meant to de-politicize such appointments, but in this instance I believe it very much politicizes the process. Mr. Kennedy requested that any appointee offer a personal guarantee that he or she would not run in the special election, specifically to avoid giving that individual an edge in the election. I understand the Legislature does not plan to formally support that request (a good thing as it is, by my understanding, unconstitutional anyway). I wish I could say I could not imagine Governor Patrick appointing, for example, Martha Coakley, as the interim Senator and would instead choose someone with no interest in running for the post, but frankly, my faith in my elected officials’ capacity to conduct business in an above-board manner has been greatly diminished over the past few years.

The argument I’ve heard from proposal supporters is that Massachusetts needs continuous representation in Congress. I cannot support that theory in light of the numerous votes Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Kerry missed because of, respectively, their health issues and Presidential campaign. According to data posted on Govtrack.us, Mr. Kennedy made only nine out of the 270 votes held in 2009 up until his passing. Mr. Kerry missed all but 40 out of 285 votes taken in the 12 months before the election, and missed all 42 votes in the three months immediately preceding the election.

To summarize, I do not believe there is a crucial need to fill Mr. Kennedy’s seat by gubernatorial appointment, nor do I believe that the current effort is geared toward serving the voters. Rather, I see it as making, for the second time in five years, amendments to a law based on current circumstances and a desire to maintain single-party rule. I urge you to fight to keep the law as it is and perhaps revisit the issue when there are no extenuating circumstances that, in perception or in reality, contaminate the noble intentions so many are trying to claim apply to the situation at hand.

Sincerely,

Michael Bailey – unenrolled

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Local issues, Politics | 1 Comment »

Thizbin: still makes more sense than politics

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Next week I’ll be giving our local legislators a call to get their thoughts on US Senator Ted Kennedy’s request to the Legislature regarding the possible need to fill his seat should, God forbid, it become vacant due to his ongoing health problems.

In July he sent a letter to Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo asking them to amend state law to allow Patrick to appoint an “interim senator” until a special election could be held to fill the seat semi-permanently (until the next time Kennedy’s seat was up for grabs, which is 2012). Kennedy noted that there is a lot happening in Congress right now — most notably work on health care reform, a topic near and dear to the Senator for many reasons — and Massachusetts needed to maintain a continuity of representation.

Seems reasonable enough, but when you consider that the law was already changed once in the recent past, for reasons one could argue were transparently political, it takes on a whiff of B.S.

In 2004, when US Senator John Kerry was running for President, the Democrat-dominated Legislature pushed through a change to state law that stripped the governor (Mitt Romney at the time) of the authority to appoint a full replacement. They feared that, should Kerry leave the Senate, Romney would appoint a Republican successor. He certainly would have, so the Legislature blocked Romney’s ability to indulge party loyalty by amending the law. They avoided, at least on the surface, the perception that they were also playing at party politics by calling for special elections. That put the choice in the voters’ hands.

Now, Kennedy wants to partially reinstate the governor’s former authority over the matter, and again, the pitch is made in such a way as to present the illusion that it’s all in the name of fairness. By giving the (not so coincidentally Democratic) governor the power to appoint a temporary successor, that leaves the core of the law intact; voters still get to choose who would take over for Kennedy, but in the interim have full representation in Congress. Win-win, yes?

Except that whoever is appointed to that vacancy would ostensibly be someone who wants to hold the seat permanently, and in grabbing the post on an interim basis, that person gains an instant boost to their special election campaign — especially if they are lucky enough to participate in a crucial vote that reaps major benefits for Massachusetts voters.

(EDIT: This is, of course assuming that the governor honors Kennedy’s request to get from the appointee a commitment not to run as a candidate in the special election — a request that is Constitutionally dicey, I must add.)

If the Legislature adopts Kennedy’s requested change, it would be the second time in five years state lawmakers subtly stacked the deck in favor of maintaining a Democratic monopoly in our Congressional delegation.

Enough, people. You gave voters total control over who represents us at the federal level, so leave it there.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in National issues, Politics | 3 Comments »

A funny thing happened at the forum…

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Governor Deval Patrick made a trip to the Cape this week to kick off this year’s series of town hall-style public forums, wherein voters get an opportunity to hit the Gov up about whatever is on their minds.

For the most part, the thing was a Deval Patrick Lovefest, which was a profound disappointment. People had a golden opportunity to ask some hard questions and (maybe) get some straight answers, and boy, did they flush that down the toilet in short order. One audience member waited patiently to ask Governor Patrick what his dog’s name was and if he could give her a cookie. No jive.

Another simply wanted to tell Patrick, “Darling, you shine.”

People who asked real questions weren’t that much tougher of the governor. The hardest question, from a D-Y High School teacher, asked Patrick why there still hadn’t been any movement on Chapter 70 reform and said she was “disappointed” in him for not making things happen. Even then she was far from belligerent; she spoke more like she was telling an old friend she was disappointed that he blew off her birthday party to stay home and watch football with his buddies.

No one hit Patrick with any probing questions about his various proposed tax increases for the FY10 state budget. No one asked about his increasingly strained relationship with Senate President Therese Murray. No one asked about his low poll numbers and how they could bode ill for his re-election bid. Hell, no one even went for a cheap shot about his continued use of the infamous Cadillac. If there was a single Republican in that entire crowd, he or she didn’t announce it.

Note I said “if,” and that’s because I doubt there were any hard Patrick critics in the group. Generally when there’s any kind of poltical rally ’round these parts, it’s only the loyalists who show up. I saw the same thing at the “Hardship Listening Tour” State Reps Jeff Perry and Sue Gifford hosted in Sandwich; there was a lot of Republican rah-rah talk and denouncement of the Democratic majority (locally and nationally) but nothing critical of the GOP, which is ripe for constructive criticism these days.

Far be it from me to say anyone should be barred from addressing the governor, but these things could sure use some guidelines to make the most of the time, for everyone’s sake…it’s not every day Joe Average gets to bend the ear of our highest elected official in person, and it seems a criminal waste to squander that time with feel-good accolades and insipid questions about Zoe the golden lab.

Or the wind farm, for that matter. Good lord, will I ever attend a forum with the governor in which the same faces don’t ask the same questions over and over? Even Patrick remembered Glenn Wattley of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound asking the same question he asked at last year’s forum about the cost of wind farm-generated power to consumers. That’s a sign you need to keep it to yourself this time around and let someone else speak.

So what about your incisive question? you might well ask. What were you going to ask the governor?

I had planned to ask about his and the Legislature’s disingenuous presentations of their respective tax increases. They say things like, “A 19 cents-per-gallon tax increase will equal per fill-up what you spend on coffee in a week,” and “This income sales tax increase means you pay an extra penny and a half on every dollar you spend.” Has there been any thought of the cumulative impact of all these increases? I’d have asked. I’d have requested the governor provide a solid estimate on how much extra per year the average person would be paying out if any given package of increases were to receive approval. It’s all well and good to present this data in a compartmentalized fashion that diminishes the apparent financial impact without ever technically lying about the true cost, but screw that noise — I want honest figures that paint an accurate picture of how much more of my paycheck the state plans to rook me out of in order to pay for its own incompetence and inefficiency.

Anyway, that’s what I would have asked, and not during the forum proper. See, as a member of the media, I get to participate in these things called “press availabilities,” in which reporter-types like myself get a few minutes of private time with the governor to ask our questions. That’s where I would have pounced, baby.

Except 45 minutes after the forum formally ended, Patrick was STILL talking with people, and since I was already suffering from mild hypothermia — it was bloody cold out! — I decided I didn’t want to turn into a Mikesicle and went to my car to thaw out.

So, my message for anyone out there planning to hit a future forum: give other people a turn, huh? Can the kiss-up platitudes and innane questions that no one really cares about. Keep them to yourself. Every minute you eat up is one minute someone else can’t use to ask what might actually be an important question.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Politics | No Comments »


Other blogs

Send in questions about wastewater issues to Elise Hugus.

Advertisement