Hey, candidates! A friendly reminder that the deadline for turning in your completed nomination papers for any district or county seat is coming up! Party and non-party candidates have until Tuesday, April 27 to get their paper in.
Party candidates for statewide and federal offices have until May 4, and non-party candidates have until August 3.
As of this week, there are still a few local races with no stated formal challengers to the incumbents: William Doherty, Barnstable County Commissioner; James M. Cummings, Barnstable County sheriff; Michael D. O’Keefe, Cape and Islands DA; and State Representative Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket).
Even more curious is how no one from the GOP has emerged to take down Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. No one. The closest we’ve come? There was a rumor that Peter Flaherty, former aide to Governor W. Mitt Romney and former Suffolk County assistant DA, was considering a run, but nothing’s materialized.
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The Sandwich Democratic Town Committee opened up on Sunday their shiny new headquarters for the 2010 election season, and the ribbon cutting attracted no less than Governor Deval L. Patrick.
You may be asking yourself what the big deal is. The big deal is that Gov. Patrick’s presence sends the message that the Democrats are going to be focusing on Sandwich this year. The town’s been firmly in the GOP camp since State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) was first elected to the seat in 2002, and now that he’s moving on to focus on his Congressional run, the seat is vulnerable to a Democratic takeover.
The two gents lined up to duke it out for state rep of the fifth Barnstable district – which includes all of Sandwich – are Democrat Lance W. Lambros and Republican F. Randal Hunt. That’s going to be one of the stronger local contests and could be a very close race.
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Daniel A. Wolf, Democratic candidate for state senator of the Cape and Islands district, has announced his campaign kick-off event for Saturday, April 24. That will be held at The Paddock in Hyannis and run from 4 PM to 6 PM.
This is actually the third, final, and closest stop on a three-town tour that day which begins in Provincetown and stops in Orleans before ending in Hyannis. To RSVP for the Hyannis event call Stefanie Coxe at 508-360-9074 or kickoff@danwolfforsenate.com.
Mr. Wolf is getting ready to launch his campaign website. The URL is www.danwolfforsenate.com.
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Another Republican is eyeballing State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis’s (D – Barnstable) seat. Charles C. Case Jr. of Centerville, an attorney, filed his paperwork with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance last week.
This sets us up for a primary race as James F. Munafo Jr., a Barnstable town councilor, is also running as a Republican.
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Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) has given her official website a facelift. It boasts better aesthetics, more features (including more multimedia content), and more active updating. Go to www.theresemurray.com and poke around.
Sen. Murray is running for re-election this year to her ninth term.
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What the –?! Another candidate for governor’s councilor of the first district?
Yep, and her name is Patricia L. Mosca, and she hails from Bourne. She’s a retired probation officer with the Plymouth District Court and a former social worker supervisor with the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance.
She officially launches her campaign on Saturday, May 8 with a reception at the Hemisphere Restaurant in Sandwich. That starts at 6 PM.
Ms. Mosca is one of four people – all Democrats – running for the seat currently held by Carole A. Fiola, who is not running for re-election.
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Poll time!
The latest Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 likely voters revealed that Gov. Patrick might be reclaiming a little of his mojo. In a theoretical race between Gov. Patrick, Republican Charles D. Baker Jr., and unenrolled candidate Timothy P. Cahill, the incumbent comes out on top, edging out Baker by an eight percent margin.
This is a better lead than Gov. Patrick had only a month earlier, when he came out winning the same three-way contest by only a three percent margin.
In a scenario in which Christy P. Mihos is the Republican pick, Mr. Mihos replaces Mr. Cahill in the third-placer; Gov. Patrick wins this theoretical election over Mr. Cahill by a five percent margin, and Mr. Cahill beats Mr. Mihos by an 18 percent margin.
(There was absolutely no mention of Green-Rainbow Party candidate Dr. Jill E. Stein, nor of Grace Ross, a former Green-Rainbow Party member who jumped to the Democratic Party to challenge Gov. Patrick in the primary – in theory, at least, because she’s been pretty quiet since she entered the race.)
The poll suggested that Mr. Mihos’s standing is slipping, while Gov. Patrick may no longer be the sitting duck he was a few months ago. The Boston Globe reported last week that the governor has over the past few months displayed a renewed energy and hit hard on some key issues.
No, readers, it’s not at all cynical to think that Gov. Patrick is cranking the volume up to 11 because it’s an election year and his job’s at stake.
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Mr. Cahill, by the way, is claiming that he is the first candidate to reach the 10,000 signature mark, meaning (assuming all the signatures are certified) he has secured his spot on the November ballot.
“People are sick of the petty bickering between the two major parties, where one party says ‘no’ to an idea simply because the other party came up with it,” campaign mouthpiece Adam Meldrum said in a press release. “This year, the people of Massachusetts are not going to be saddled with the same old partisan choices they’re always been presented with. This year, voters will have a viable third alternative to the Democrats and Republicans who have created the mess this state is in.”
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Back to the polling thing. While poking around online I found on MassBeacon.com an informal poll to see who the favorites are in the race for US Representative of the 10th Congressional District. The poll – completely unscientific, by their own admission – had our two local boys in the lead: Rep. Perry came out on top on the Republican side, besting Joseph D. Malone by a crushing 54-point margin; and State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable) beat William Keating by a smaller but still decisive 18-point margin.
Perhaps tellingly, “other” was the third most common choice above other confirmed and rumored candidates in both races. Alas, the site did not hold a theoretical race between the two party candidates and unenrolled candidate Peter A. White.
The odds of an all-Cape slate candidates are not guaranteed, of course, but it would definitely be cool.
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On a Joe Malone-related side note, Mr. Malone has added Ted Langill to his campaign staff as his political director. Mr. Langill previously worked as a legislative aide to State Senator Robert L. Hedlund (R – Weymouth). Point of interest: Sen. Hedlund himself was for a time a rumored candidate for the 10th district race.
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Finally, Suzanne Bump, Democratic candidate for state auditor, has launched her campaign website. That’s up at http://suzannebump.com.
The auditor race is unusually active this year – six candidates! – but then again, long-time auditor A. Joseph DeNucci is stepping down, and open seats tend to attract more interest than those with incumbents.
Special online bonus time!
I came across this campaign ad, which is NOT for J.D. Hayworth, the guy trying to oust US Senator John McCain (R – Arizona) in the primary race, but for McCain himself. It’s remarkably whimsical for a campaign ad so I thought I’d share the cheap yuks with y’all.
Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.
