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

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

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

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

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

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

US Senate

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

Congress

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

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

State Senate

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

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

Barnstable County Commissioners

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

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

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

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

Question One

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Issues At A Glance

Foreign Aid

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

Immigration

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

The Middle East

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

Social Security

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

Women’s Reproductive Rights

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

***

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

Pizza party! Wooooo!

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

***

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

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

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

It also means that some of this week’s items may be moot points as of today. And so it goes.

In the week leading up to the Thursday primary, two candidates were hit with allegations of campaign finance shenanigans. First, C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County DA and candidate for the Ninth Congressional District, blasted Congressman William R. Keating (D) for accepting special interest donations, specifically from the American Crystal Sugar PAC.

Rep. Keating last year received $10,000 from the American Crystal Sugar PAC, which represents a Minnesota-based sugar beet harvesting and processing firm (no, I am not making that up) that, also last year, locked out 1,300 workers during a labor dispute. Half the money was donated before the lock-out.

The national arm of the AFL-CIO asked all Congressmen who received donations from “Big Sugar Beet” (my term, not theirs) to return the donations. Rep. Keating, who said he was unaware of the whole thing until recently, donated the money to the affected union workers.

Mr. Sutter nevertheless chided his Democratic rival for a slow response and reiterated his boast that he would not accept PAC money.

And then there is the latest in a series of campaign donation missteps for State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable). The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance received this week a complaint that Rep. Atsalis had accepted inappropriate donations in excess of state limits, improperly reimbursed himself for expenses, and spent money on a campaign office he does not actually have.

The Yarmouth-based accounting agency Glivinski and Associates took the bullet for Rep. Atsalis on these offenses and took the necessary steps to correct the problems.

Point of interest: the individual who filed these complaints and sent copies to the local media did so anonymously for fear of retribution by Rep. Atsalis, but I spoke to “Robert” directly and confirmed that, despite the curious timing of the filing, it (and he) had nothing to do with Rep. Atsalis’s primary race against Brian R. Mannal.

The timing was simply due to the fact that this week was when Rep. Atsalis’s pre-primary campaign finance report was released to the public, Robert said.

***

Thomas F. Keyes of Sandwich, Republican candidate for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, continues to build his on-the-ground presence in preparation for the November general election.

Mr. Keyes recently announced that Falmouth residents Jan Perry, Debbie Aguiar, Mimi Frank, and Mary Anne and Mark Alliegro will serve as precinct captains to help boost Mr. Keyes grass-roots efforts in town.

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

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

Adam Chaprales of Marstons Mills

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Local Job Creation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Smaller Government

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Issues At A Glance

Education

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

The Middle East

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

Social Issues

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

When C. Samuel Sutter launched his campaign for US Representative William R. Keating (D), he came out swinging and has yet to let up on his opponent in the upcoming September 6 primary election.

Sam Sutter, Bristol County DA

“He’s kind of inherent in my decision” to run, the Bristol County district attorney said of Rep. Keating, who he regarded as representative of the many issues plaguing Congress.

“Look at polls that say that over 90 percent of all Americans are unhappy with Congress,” Mr. Sutter said. “Americans are unhappy with Congress because Congress isn’t getting enough done on behalf of them…we are electing our representatives to transcend [partisanship], to get things done, and that’s not happening.”

In addition to his personal frustration with Congress, Mr. Sutter said he was “frustrated by [Rep. Keating’s refusal to debate on Cape Cod…I asked for three debates on Cape Cod and debates all over the region -- nine, I called for -- and I was flat-out turned down on the Cape and the Islands.”

That refusal was “strategic as opposed to civic,” Mr. Sutter said, driven by the fact that the Cape Cod region is the largest chunk of familiar territory within what is now the Ninth Congressional District; redistricting following the 2010 federal Census eliminated the 10th District and placed the Cape and Islands within the new Ninth along with several communities formerly in the Fourth District.

“I think it’s undeniable that this is a brand new district. It might not be a brand new district for the people of the Cape, but it’s certainly a brand new district for the people from Wareham from Fall River,” Mr. Sutter said, adding that be believed his opponent vulnerable locally “since he’s really only been representing the Cape and Islands since January of 2011.”

Mr. Sutter added that Rep. Keating’s political career began long before his election to Congress; Rep. Keating served in the Massachusetts Legislature from 1977 to 1998 and in 1999 became the Norfolk County district attorney.

“That’s a career politician,” Mr. Sutter said, offering himself as an alternative to the career politicians he said have taken over Washington D.C.

Despite his relatively short political career, Mr. Sutter referred to his time in the DA’s office as evidence of his ability to serve effectively in the higher elected office of Congress. He referred to strategies he implemented since taking office in 2006 to greatly reduce gun violence, the homicide rate, gang activity, and high-level drug activity in Bristol County – particularly within the communities of Fall River, New Bedford, and Taunton.

Those successes, he said, were the result of solid initial planning, working cooperatively with various law enforcement agencies, and fully utilizing the available tools within the law enforcement and justice systems to leverage the desired results.

And those results were: 13 shootings in 2007, down from 38 in 2006; and a 100 percent homicide solve rate (cases resulting in charges) in 2007, up from 57 percent in 2006, with an 80 percent annual average solve rate over the past six years.

Local Issues

Mr. Sutter identified several key issues for Cape Cod, starting with safety concerns tied to Pilgrim Nuclear in Plymouth. “People throughout the Cape are very concerned about the safety, about the pollution, and about the evacuation plan,” he said, noting that very early in his campaign he began to speak out against re-licensing the power plant until several safety concerns had been adequately addressed.

“I did not call for a shutdown, but I did call for no re-licensing until the safety standard recommended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s task force in the wake of Fukushima (Daiichi, the Japanese nuclear plant damaged in a devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami) had been adopted,” he said.

The candidate also wanted to focus on wastewater management, and Mr. Sutter said he has spoken to several key players in the region including Paul J. Niedzwiecki, executive director of the Cape Cod Commission, and Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative, about the Cape’s challenges and needs.

On that topic Mr. Sutter said he wanted to emulate former Congressman William D. Delahunt, who was a powerful advocate for the Cape in its fight to clean up groundwater pollution originating from the Massachusetts Military Reservation.

“There was a huge problem, I know Congressman Delahunt got to work very quickly on it, and successfully and effectively on it, and the problem was greatly improved,” Mr. Sutter said. “That’s leadership and that’s what I believe, based upon my record as the district attorney in Bristol County, and my commitment to the people of Cape Cod, where I lived during the 1980s and had a law practice, that I will lead on this issue.”

National Issues

“I think it’s getting better but not getting better fast enough,” Mr. Sutter said when asked about the general state of the economy, “and that’s the biggest immediate concern.”

His plan for boosting the economy is based in infrastructure development, and he said he agreed with a plan floated by US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren calling for a $100 billion infrastructure investment initiative -- “not a stimulus plan,” he stressed, but an investment in developing roads, bridges, and sewer systems.

To offset such an investment, Mr. Sutter said he would identify “spending at the federal level that can no longer be justified in view of our national debt and our infrastructure,” namely military spending. He said he would cut military spending five percent across the board.

This could be achieved easily by almost completely withdrawing troops from the Middle East, Mr. Sutter said. He supported sustaining a “limited” military presence in the region to aid local governments in maintaining stability.

Mr. Sutter said he would also end subsidies for oil companies and agricultural conglomerates to boost revenue to fund infrastructure projects, and would vote to end the Bush tax cuts for individuals making more than $250,000 a year, but retain the cuts for those making less than $250,000.

The candidate said he’s had “no time to study every part of the [federal] budget,” but expected there are numerous “inefficiencies” that could be eliminated to reduce spending further.

He would also prioritize small businesses over large corporations, which “have let us down with the way they send jobs overseas. Mr. Sutter said the New Bedford/Fall River region has lost approximately 40,000 manufacturing jobs over the last 25 years.

A report prepared by the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth’s Center for Policy Analysis entitled “Economic History of the Massachusetts South Coast” stated that the two cities, the communities most heavily dependent on manufacturing, saw the total employment in that industry drop from 43 percent (average for the two cities) in 1985 to 17.9 percent in 2008.

Mr. Sutter had no specific ideas on stimulating small businesses beyond promoting public-private partnerships. “The exact specifics, I’m not ready at this time to discuss that with specificity because I haven’t studied the issue enough,” he said.

However, he did identify the green energy industry as a potential growth industry for the South Coast region. “The Cape Wind project is about to commence. We’re hopeful in New Bedford and Fall River that that’s going to mean hundreds and maybe ultimately thousand of jobs for our beleaguered economy in that area,” he said, and he envisioned those seaside ports as possible construction and staging areas for the Nantucket Sound-based project.

Regardless of the nature or size of the business, Mr. Sutter said employers and their workers would be affected by the federal Affordable Care Act, which he called “a good and needed start” to reforming the nation’s health care system, but “do we need to do more? Yes.”

He specifically identified as his top priorities lowering administrative costs and fees for services, and encouraging preventive care.

To learn more about the candidate, visit Mr. Sutter’s official campaign website at http://samsutter.com.

Other Issues At A Glance

Reproductive Rights

Pro-choice.

Same-Sex Marriage

Supports same-sex marriage.

Second Amendment Rights

Said gun ownership is “not a social issue. Guns are a public safety issue,” and would work to reinstate the federal “assault weapons ban” and close loopholes that allow for easier purchasing of firearms at gun shows.

Congressman William Keating

When he first ran for the 10th Congressional District seat in 2010, William R. Keating (D) vowed to be as much of an advocate for the Cape and Islands as his departing predecessor, William D. Delahunt.

Rep. Keating believes he has lived up to that promise, and is hoping that will help carry him to a second term. “I’m excited about what we’ve been able to get done,” he said, “and I see not only challenges ahead, I see opportunity.”

The former Norfolk County district attorney and state senator said his first term “wasn’t the easiest. It was a lot more of a heavy lift” due to such unusual challenges as three threats of a federal government shutdown and what he called “extreme Tea Party influence” on the issues and the process. “It was a very difficult Congress to work in.”

Nevertheless, Rep. Keating cited several accomplishments from his first term that were of direct benefit to his district, and he is highlighting these as he meets with voters in South Coast communities; in the wake of the 2010 decennial federal Census, Massachusetts lost one of its 10 districts, and the borders of the remaining nine were redrawn to compensate. Now the Cape and Islands is part of the Ninth District with the Fall River/New Bedford area — coastal communities that, like Cape Cod, have economies very much dependent on the ocean.

Among his achievements: securing millions in federal funding for local projects such as the Phase II access road to Barnstable Municipal Airport, SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency) Grants for the Hyannis and Falmouth fire departments, community development block grants for Bourne, an Indian Housing Block Grant for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and a algae bloom research project at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Rep. Keating said the new “cranberry caucus” of cranberry-growing communities would be of interest to some of the inland towns that have joined the Ninth District such as Wareham and Middleborough. “That’s been well-received in this district,” he said, and he predicted that with the caucus serving as a direct advocate for the industry, “we will rival if not surpass Wisconsin for the largest cranberry industry in the world.”

He also spearheaded the effort by the state’s Congressional delegation to save 142 jobs on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, which had been included by the US Air Force in a $8.2 billion package of reductions affecting bases nationwide. “They didn’t really look at the function” of individual bases, Rep. Keating said.

An amendment he filed to defer cuts to non-air base installations failed, but the USAF is holding off on enacting any cuts until 2013.

That, Rep. Keating said, will give the base and the delegation time to illustrate the 102nd Air Operation Group’s value to national security. “They’re part of the whole global strike force, right here on the Cape,” he said. “It’s a necessary service. There is no other replacement for their function.”

Environment And Local Economy

Rep. Keating said if he is returned to office, he would continue working on major national issues that have an indirect impact on the region’s economy, starting with environmental protection.

“There’s been an attack on the kind of protections that are important, particularly for our region,” he said, and he has voted against measures that would weaken the federal Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. “These things would have an extremely harmful effect on protecting coastal areas…and those are the hallmark of our region.”

Rep. Keating also planned to continue playing a role in addressing Cape Cod’s ongoing water quality management efforts, and said as early as next month US Senator Jack Reed (D – Rhode Island) could unveil his long-in-the-works water quality management master plan for southern New England.

“We’ve been in contact with [Sen. Reed’s] office” about the plan, Rep. Keating said, “and we’re excited about the prospect of a Southern New England Restoration Council.”

That excitement stems not only from the project’s potential direct benefit to the environment, but its secondary effect on the region’s economy. “I think there’s going to be new industries springing from this” to handle water quality management projects, he said, from research to developing the technology to implement cleanup projects.

When it came to supporting job growth, Rep. Keating said he favored incentives, tax breaks, and subsidies for small businesses using American workers rather than for major corporations that outsource jobs overseas.

He disagreed that an onerous domestic tax environment and harsh regulation was driving businesses out of the country, and said the true culprit was generous tax loopholes that effectively encourage businesses to ship jobs — manufacturing jobs in particular — overseas.

Conversely, he said Congress has repeatedly failed to act on tax incentives that would attract foreign corporations “eager to invest in the U.S.”

Rep. Keating also planned to continue opposing subsidies for oil companies. The watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense has identified tax breaks available exclusively to the oil and gas industries that cost the United States an estimated $5 billion in tax revenue each year.

The congressman said he would maintain the Bush tax cuts only for lower and middle-class households, but would eliminate the cuts for individuals with personal income levels above $250,000 a year, which he said could reduce the deficit by $1 trillion over a 10-year period.

Model For Health Care

While Rep. Keating remarked on several national issues that have a trickle-down impact on Massachusetts and the Cape, he said the state and the region could in return serve as models for health care reform on a national scale.

“The Cape is a model for its health care systems and delivery systems,” he said. “People from other parts of the county will say, ‘What’s going on in Massachusetts?’ and I can point to the Cape area in particular as the vanguard of what’s going on in many of these models…we’re doing it all down here.”

He lauded the region’s community health care clinics for improving access, and Cape Cod Healthcare for working in cooperation with these facilities. “That’s not happening around the rest of the country,” Rep. Keating said, explaining that hospitals and clinics tend to view each other as competition rather than part of a comprehensive health care network.

Rep. Keating opposed any effort to repeal the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred to as “ObamaCare,” but agreed the program needed some fine-tuning and adjustments in the areas of improving access, reducing costs, and increasing reimbursements to primary care physicians. “It’s still a work in progress…there will be adjustments.”

He added that Massachusetts’ health care reform law, often cited as a model for the ACA, has disproved fears that it would be a “job-killer,” stating that the state ranks fifth in job growth and has an unemployment rate two percent lower than the national average. “It hasn’t hurt Massachusetts at all.”

(The claim of Massachusetts being fifth in job growth is in question. US Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics data used by Governor Deval L. Patrick to make that claim was later adjusted for an over-estimation of new jobs created during Gov. Patrick’s second term. Various independent analyses of bureau data claim that job growth rates are in fact much better or much worse — as high as third in job growth and as low as 41st.)

An issue of particular concern to the Cape with its aging population is Social Security reform. Rep. Keating refuted accusations that, during a radio debate with primary opponent C. Samuel Sutter, he flip-flopped on a previous position on raising the minimum retirement age.

“There’s no inconsistency…the option of raising the retirement age is to me fatally flawed and remains so. That’s what I said last time, that’s what I believe now, and that’s what I’ll believe 10 years from now,” he said.

However, he said the Social Security system does need to be reformed, noting that current projections by the Congressional Budget Office indicate the program will exhaust a $2.5 trillion surplus by 2037. It expects to begin tapping into the surplus in 2018, and once the surplus is drained, assuming the system has not been reformed by then, the program’s annual revenue will be sufficient to cover only 75 to 80 percent of its obligations.

Rep. Keating’s preferred fix is to increase the “arbitrary” annual income ceiling from $106,000; workers only pay toward Social Security for the first $106,000 of income, after which point they stop contributing for the remainder of the calendar year.

To learn more about the candidate, visit Rep. Keating’s official US House of Representatives web page at http://keating.house.gov or his campaign website at www.billkeating.org.

Other Issues At A Glance

Citizens United

Opposes the Citizens United US Supreme Court decision that led to the creation of “SuperPACs” (Political Action Committees), wants to require all SuperPACs disclose names of their donors.

Energy

Supports Cape Wind, co-sponsored legislation providing incentives to offshore wind and renewable energy development.

The Military

Voted in favor of measures to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and set a timetable for withdrawal; wants to reduce defense spending by identifying and eliminating redundant and ineffective programs.

Reproductive Rights

Pro-choice; voted against legislation that would strip all federal funding from Planned Parenthood; received a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood and NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) Pro-Choice America for his voting record on women’s issues.