Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

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The week in politics

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…

***

…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...

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.

***

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.

***

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.

***

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

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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

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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

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The week in politics

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).

***

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…

***

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.

***

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.

***

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

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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/

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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…)

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The week in politics

Friday, November 6th, 2009

First of all: of you haven’t already picked up your copy of this week’s Enterprise, go do so now to read my interview with US Senate candidate Steve Pagliuca, who was kind enough to give me some time last week following his visit to WHOI.

***

YOU! You’re the campaign consultant!

Or, you can be – kinda-sorta – by going to the official website for US Senate candidate Alan A. Khazei and checking out three campaign videos and voting on which one gets pasted all over the Internet.

One is a straightforward (read: dull) endorsement by Max Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy; the second attempts a kind of mild whimsy (and comes off as kind of dopey); and the third…oh, lordy, the third one just sucker-punched my brain. It knocks off the theme to “Cheers,” badly, and includes the lethal line, “But nobody knows his name.”

That’s really not the kind of thing you want to admit, dude.

I dare say whoever participates in this exercise might make a better campaign consultant than whoever came up with these videos.

***

State Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D – Falmouth) has released a letter of endorsement for his choice in the US Senate race, Congressman Michael E. Capuano (not Martha Coakley, as previously and erroneously reported).

“Mike is a real down to earth guy who is not too important to discuss issues with the average person,” Mr. Patrick wrote. He extolled Rep. Capuano’s work in promoting “progressive values” in Congress over the past decade, and urged voters to support him in the upcoming primary (December 8, by the way).

***

Our last US Senate race-related note of the week: Martha Coakley’s supporters are holding visibilities (a fancy name for “standing in the freezing cold to wave at cars”) in Bourne and Falmouth tomorrow. The Bourne visibility runs from 1 to 3 PM, the Falmouth visibility from 9:30 to 11:30 AM.

For more info on these or other campaign events, contact Mike Falcone at mfalcone@marthacoakley.com or 617-241-0200.

***

Republican Mary Z. Connaughton of Framingham is joining the growing field of candidates for – get this – state auditor. Who’d’ve thunk that this would be one of the races to draw early attention?

Ms. Connaughton ended last month her tenure on the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority’s board of directors, which she was appointed to in 2005. She previously ran, unsuccessfully, for state representative of the seventh Middlesex district.

In addition to Ms. Connaughton, the brewing race includes fellow Republican Earle Stroll and Democratic incumbent A. Joseph Denucci, who has served six terms in that seat.

***

Charles D. Baker Jr., Republican candidate for governor, has launched a revamped website with a new look and, at last, some decent content. Go scope it out.

Among the new bells and whistles: “Conversations With Charlie,” a feature that allows visitors to submit video or e-mail questions, to which Mr. Baker will respond via the magic of Internet streaming video.

***

Mr. Baker’s sole rival in the primaries (so far), Christy P. Mihos, seems to be having some campaign difficulties. The Boston Globe reported this week that his fundraising has been floundering, and was thus unable to launch his planned TV ad campaign in October.

The more disconcerting news to me was how his director of communications, Kevin Sowyrda, was fired: he learned he’d been terminated not from Mr. Mihos himself, but from someone else within the campaign. Mr. Sowydra was quoted as saying, “Apparently, [Mihos] has told people on the campaign that I resigned a month ago and have been working pro bono since then, which of course was news to me. However, we all love Christy dearly for this type of eccentricity, because that’s what makes him the very special person that he is.”

WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! You get canned indirectly, the man who should have done the dirty deed himself lied about it, then divested himself of all responsibility, and your attitude is, “Oh, that rascal!” ?

Is this really the sort of behavior we want in our Corner Office guy? I personally am not crazy about the idea of a “very special eccentric” running the state…

***

A reminder: Ray Kasperowicz, Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives – 10th Congressional District, will meet with the Sandwich Republican Town Committee on Tuesday, November 10. The meeting will begin at 7 PM and will be held at the Riverview School on Route 6A in East Sandwich.

The press release I received added that one attendee will receive a door prize. My bet is it will be a stuffed toy Honky the Republican Elephant, official mascot of the GOP.

Hey, it’s better than the Tickle Me Rush Limbaughs they were giving out during the last election…

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

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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

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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

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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.

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