I’d attach a picture of Stephen M. Palmer of Plymouth to this column, but I can’t find one. Nor can I find out anything about this guy, who is allegedly running against Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) in the Democratic primary.

I say “allegedly” because so far all anyone knows about the guy is his name. Town clerks in Bourne, Falmouth, and Sandwich, which fall within the Plymouth and Barnstable District, reported receiving nomination papers from the fellow, and he’s been mentioned in a few other media outlets as a candidate, but he has no Internet fingerprint and has yet to pop up on the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance database.

It’s looking like Mr. Palmer might belong to that rare species of candidate, the guy who goes through all the steps of getting on the ballot but never actually running.

***

On a similar note, it looks like Peter A. White of Mashpee is ending his campaign for Congress. He’ll instead focus his energy on supporting Green-Rainbow Party candidate Dr. Jill E. Stein.

In addition to citing family obligations, Mr. White — as he did when he dropped out of the 2010 Congressional race — implied the fault for his withdrawal lay with voters who did not rally to his side. “People are being herded into the Wall Street Empire’s two-party crap trap once again,” he said, “so what’s an activist for democratic social change to do?”

Let’s call a spade a spade here: Mr. White is your standard angry-at-the-system one-note candidate. He hates big business, he hates big oil, he hates the war, and he hates the current government system, and never have his press releases strayed from those specific bones of contention.

Not that any of these concerns are without merit, but when your every statement is a verbal fist-shake at your chosen pet peeves, why should any voter believe you’d dedicate any energy to issues outside such a limited area of focus? Or even be fit to handle the dry nuts-and-bolts responsibilities of the job?

Righteous indignation, now matter how justified, is not the most important qualification for elected office.

***

Readers might recall that some time ago, I offered a similar criticism of Ronald R. Beaty Jr., candidate for the Barnstable seat on the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.

Well, it appears he took that critique seriously and could be withdrawing from the race.

“I have been giving quite a bit of thought to your [comments] regarding the expected vacant Barnstable seat on the county assembly,” Mr. Beaty wrote to me in an e-mail. “The more I reflect upon it, the more you seem to be right on this particular matter…perhaps the time has finally come for me to let other Cape citizens discuss, debate, and fight over the current issues involving county government on Cape Cod.”

“Perhaps I should just completely remove myself from the equation all together,” he wrote. “I am sure that eventually other more qualified individuals will step forward to do what needs to be done.”

I maintain that it is always in the best interests of the voters to have a choice in candidates, and competition forces candidates to work a little harder to prove they have the best ideas. I also believe that if a given candidate is in a race to grind an ax and has no interest in addressing a broader range of issues, they’re not doing voters any favors. Running for any elected office should be about serving the public and not one’s own interests.

(I know, that’s cock-eyed optimism on my part, but a man can dream, can’t he?)

***

Andrew V. Putnam of Falmouth, candidate for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, is holding his campaign kick-off event on Wednesday at J.R. Brody’s Roadside Tavern in East Falmouth. That runs from 5 to 7 PM and it’s an open-invitation shindig, so drop on in after work.

***

Finally, R. Patrick Ellis, Democratic candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, has launched his official campaign website. Go check it out at www.electpatrickellis.com.

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

Thomas K. Lynch, who has served on the county’s legislative body for 11 years, is as I write this on his way to becoming Barnstable’s new town manager, which means he will have to resign from the assembly since the town charter bans its town manager from holding an elected position at the same time.

At present, the only confirmed candidate for the seat is Ronald R. Beaty Jr. If there are any readers out there considering a run for the assembly, I’d encourage you to do so, first and foremost so voters will have a choice in the coming election. Choice and competition are necessary to a healthy political process.

This is especially true here, because Mr. Beaty has yet to show himself to be something more than a one-trick pony; based on the content of his blog and his press releases, his sole purpose in running is to throw up a roadblock in front of the Special Commission on County Governance.

The special commission has filed two recommendations that Mr. Beaty has actively railed against: a proposal to merge the assembly with the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners (or, as some put it, eliminate the assembly and expand the board), and a proposal to create a regional wastewater management entity that could possess taxation powers.

Are these trivial non-issues? No, but the scope of the assembly’s duties stretches well beyond ensuring its own continued existence and wastewater. It helps craft annual operating and supplemental budgets. It reviews and approves Districts of Critical Planning Concern, changes to the county charter, and changes to the Regional Policy Plan. It creates new entities to help the county deal with pressing issues.

I know I often knock the assembly as a somewhat vestigial organ in the county government organism, and while I maintain that there may well be better ways to accomplish the functions it serves, it does have its fingers in a number of not unimportant pies — and I question whether Mr. Beaty would be an effective delegate when he’s up to his elbows in one very specific pie.

One-issue candidates generally make poor elected officials, and having to run an actual race would tell voters whether he had a vision for county government beyond his pet projects…and if not, would give voters another option.

***

A brief bookmark update: Peter A. White of Mashpee has updated his campaign website address to reflect the fact he is now a candidate for Congress rather than the US Senate. The URL is www.peterwhiteforcongress.org, and as an added note, it’s a much nicer-looking site than his past efforts.

***

Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth), who last week held her on-Cape re-election campaign kick-off event, picked up one of her first endorsements of the season, from the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus Political Action Committee.

The PAC called Sen. Murray “a devoted advocate for women throughout the Commonwealth. From her support of education reform to expanded access to affordable, quality healthcare to her efforts on behalf of victims of domestic violence, she has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of women and their families.”

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

The de facto incumbent, Congressman William R. Keating (D), announced last week his team had submitted his nomination papers and he was “on the ballot,” even though, technically, all those signatures must first be certified.

(I say “de facto” because Rep. Keating is running for a second term, but he is currently representing the 10th Congressional District. The 10th as it exists now will be eliminated and many of its communities will be rolled into a new Ninth District.)

The other party candidates in the race — fellow Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County’s DA, and Republicans Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth and Adam Chaprales of Sandwich — have filed their nomination papers according to local town clerks.

Two announced non-party candidates, Daniel Botelho of Fall River and Peter A. White of Mashpee, have until July 31 to file their nomination papers.

***

Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) is holding her Cape Cod-area campaign kick-off event tonight at 6 PM in the Atlantic Room of the Brookside Club in Bourne. If you’d like to attend, give a call to 508-591-0230 and see if there is still room.

Sen. Murray held a kick-off event last week in Plymouth, and the Massachusetts Republican party has offered an interesting opinion on that. In an e-mail to supporters sent out Monday, the GOP noted that the Plymouth event was preceded by “scant media notification and no announcement on the Senate President’s Facebook page.”

“Everyone in politics knows you announce bad news on a Friday, so clearly the Senate President believes her own candidacy for re-election isn’t good news for the Commonwealth,” Peter Blute, deputy chairman of the Mass. GOP remarked in the e-mail. “I agree with the Senate President that she should be ashamed of her record.”

By “her record,” Mr. Blute means the passage of a sales tax increase, revoking the sales tax exemption on alcohol sales, and the fact that “on Senator Murray’s watch, three state Senators went to jail.” Those three would be Anthony Gallucio (drunk driving), Dianne Wilkserson (who this year was sentenced to jail time for accepting bribes), and James Marzilli (sexual harassment).

(One note in the interest of full context: these Senators’ respective offenses were committed while they were in office, but they were all convicted after resigning from the Legislature.)

Mr. Blute’s analysis of Sen. Murray’s 11^th-hour event announcement is, of course, political rhetoric at its finest. He’s reading into the situation exactly what he wants to based on purely superficial evidence (why he went with subconscious self-loathing is beyond me), and preaching it to the choir. Hardly a compelling case for ousting Sen. Murray from office.

The Democrats could as easily interpret it this way: “Terry Murray has nearly $140,000 in her campaign fund and doesn’t need to go nuts promoting fundraisers.” Me, I interpret it as: “Whoops, that was really dumb. We should have publicized this better. Oh, well, we’ll pay closer attention next time.”

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

Busy week this week, so let’s get to it!

Robert A. O’Leary has put an end to weeks of speculation and announced that he will not take another shot at Congress.

Mr. O’Leary, a former Barnstable County commissioner and State Senator of the Cape and Islands District, ruled out a re-match against Congressman William R. Keating (D) because of the heavy financial cost of running a Congressional campaign.

“It was painful to make this decision,” Mr. O’Leary said in a statement released last week.

Rep. Keating and Mr. O’Leary faced off in 2010 for the Democratic nomination, and Rep. Keating eked out a win with 51 percent of the vote.

With Mr. O’Leary officially out, the field of candidate for the Ninth Congressional District remains at four confirmed candidates: Rep. Keating; Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County’s district attorney; Plymouth Republican Christopher Sheldon; and non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee.

***

On another Keating-centric note, Rep. Keating last week picked up another early union endorsement, and it’s a big ‘un: the Massachusetts AFL-CIO has not only given the freshman Congressman its official thumb’s up, AFL-CIO President Steven A. Tolman said returning Rep. Keating to office was “one of our top priorities.”

***

Looking more locally, County Commissioners Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth and Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet last week informed me personally that they would both be running for re-election this year.

That brings us to a field of three candidates for two spots on the board, the third being non-party candidate Ronald K. Beaty Jr. of Barnstable. I’ve heard chatter about a potential Republican candidate, who has taken out papers but has not made any formal announcements, so that’s not yet a done deal.

***

Also not a done deal, but close to it: Hyannis attorney Brian Mannal has announced plans to challenge seven-term State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable) — in the primary!

Mr. Mannal was born in Centerville, moved to New Mexico with his family as a child, and returned to his hometown to raise his family. He briefly worked for former Milford state rep Marie J. Parente and for George H.W. Bush’s campaign in 2000.

This could be a very interesting contest. Rep. Atsalis has had only one serious challenge during his time in the Legislature: his 2002 race against Ann B. Canedy, which he won by a mere 101 votes. Could a fellow Democrat succeed where many Republicans have failed?

***

I’m going to change Thomas F. Keyes’ name to Thomas F. Tease.

The Sandwich Republican has, since losing his 2010 race against Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth), suggested through occasional e-mails that read very much like campaign position papers and a couple of fundraisers that he would mount a second challenge this year.

This week Mr. Keyes sent out to supporters a link to this video:

http://youtu.be/Db-1IkeIWpw

Please note that he doesn’t specify whether he means he plans to run again or refund the donations…although — and here’s your free grammar lesson for the day, Tom — the way he phrases his announcement makes it sound like he’ll be returning everyone’s money.

I somehow think that isn’t what he’ll announce next month, but we’ll all find out together, won’t we?

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

1199SEIU, the largest union for health care workers on the Cape and Islands and the South Shore region, last week issued a formal endorsement for Congressman William R. Keating (D), who will be running for re-election.

Aside from Rep. Keating, the field of candidate for the Ninth Congressional District includes fellow Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County’s district attorney, Plymouth Republican Christopher Sheldon, and non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee.

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

This month alone Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, the Bristol County DA, has announced the formation of an exploratory committee and could challenge the de facto incumbent William R. Keating (D) for the primary nomination; and non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee announced he was abandoning his bid for US Senate to run for the Ninth.

Now let’s welcome to the race our first official Republican, Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth, businessman and member of the Plymouth County Charter Study Commission. This is, according to his official bio, his first run for public office, but he has served as a campaign manager for MaryAnne Lewis, who ran as a non-party candidate for the soon-to-be-retired 10th Congressional District in 2010.

“Like many from the South Shore, South Coast, Cape and Islands, I am very concerned about the direction of our country, and especially our economy,” Mr. Sheldon said in a press release announcing his candidacy. “I believe in the American dream and I believe that, if we start now, there is still time to get our nation back on track.”

Mr. Sheldon is pitching the “we need new blood” angle and calling for an ouster of the career politicians in Washington, as well as an end to partisan bickering — two points I can totally get behind, personally.

The candidate plans to formally kick off his campaign on March 20.

***

Republican Thomas F. Keyes, the not-quite-official candidate for State Senate of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, is holding a meet-and-greet on Sunday, February 4. That will be held at the Trowbridge Tavern & Canal Club in Bourne from 7 to 9 PM.

The evening will feature the music of Andrew Botieri and a silent auction to benefit Mr. Keyes’ campaign. Donations of any amount are also welcome.

To RSVP or for more information, call Agatha Bodwell at 774-208-3480 or e-mail her at events@votekeyes.com.

(PS: Tom. Dude. It’s pretty obvious you’re running again. Make a formal announcement already.)

***

Regardless of what anyone thinks of either US Senator Scott P. Brown (R) or Democrat Elizabeth Warren, you have to appreciate their willingness to play fair…or, at least, as fair as you can in the political world.

This week Sen. Brown and Ms. Warren signed onto a pledge to actively condemn any negative ad campaigns funded by third-party sources, and to personally shoulder the penalty for an infraction by an outside organization. Each candidate has promised to donate to charity 50 percent of the cost of any third-party ad that explicitly supports their own candidacy or attacks their opponent by name.

Sadly, there’s one potentially crippling flaw in this pledge: the political action committees (PACs) responsible for the mudslinging ads don’t have to honor it; legally, the candidates have no control over these PACs or the ads they put out, so don’t be surprised if the overall negativity does not subside to any appreciable degree.

Ironic postscript: as I was writing this, the pro-Republican PAC American Crossroads (Karl Rove’s group) sent me an e-mail claiming that all the loopholes in the agreement are totally Warren’s fault. Way to embrace the message, guys.

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

Mr. White issued a press release last week announcing the switch, noting that “many of my peers in the Occupy movement are supporting (Democrat) Elizabeth Warren for US Senate and my grassroots democracy key value moves me to respect their wishes that I not oppose her in her campaign to replace Senator Scott Brown.”

Instead, Mr. White will take his third shot at Congress, running for the Ninth Congressional District. He’s run for Congress twice before, the first time in 2006, coming in third in a three-way race, and again in 2010, but he dropped out midway through the campaign.

***

Ah, but when the political gods close a door they open a window, and that window’s name is William Cimbrelo. He has been running as a non-party candidate for US Senate since October, although I didn’t hear about him until this week, when he issued a press release touting his “Hyannis ties” in the form of parents who retired to Hyannis.

(And stretch and reach…)

Mr. Cimbrelo is the creator of www.jobaction.org, an online message board for job seekers, and the founder of IndependentSurge.org, which is dedicated to aiding third-party candidates for elected office.

***

Is he or isn’t he?

More precisely: is Ronald R. Beaty Jr. of West Barnstable running for Barnstable County Commissioner or not? The answer: maybe.

Mr. Beaty issued a press release this week in which he says he’s “only contemplating a run” for county commissioner, but included with that release a copy of a Citizens for Limited Taxation-created “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” that he signed “Ronald R. Beaty Jr. – Candidate for County Commissioner.” He also has a blog titled “Ron Beaty for Barnstable County Commissioner” (linked above).

According to the release, Mr. Beaty is waiting to acquire his nomination papers and should have a 100-percent-official announcement soon.

Now, there is one other factor that could come into play here, and that’s Mr. Beaty’s criminal background. In 1991, Mr. Beaty — and this has been verified by the man himself — spent time in prison after he was convicted of sending threatening letters to President George H.W. Bush, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and then-State Senator Lois Pines. You can read more about that here and here.

Mr. Beaty is seeking a presidential pardon for those offenses, but regardless of how that turns out, you can bet that if he enters the race, this will become an issue.

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

For new readers, welcome to the Enterprise’s regular dose of news briefs and witty(ish) commentary on Campaign 2012. In this column, I’ll post candidacy announcements, campaign event information, little newsy odds and ends that amuse me, and pepper it all with snarky wisecracks and obscure pop-culture references.

The focus here will be on the local races, so let’s start with an overview of those who are already in the game for this election cycle.

One of the big contests for Massachusetts will be for the US Senate seat currently held by Scott P. Brown (R), who was chosen in a 2010 special election to succeed the late Edward M. Kennedy. Sen. Brown is planning to seek a full term, and as early as it is, it’s almost guaranteed he’ll be facing Elizabeth Warren in November.

The Harvard law professor and adviser to the Obama administration has already managed to rack up a small body count of would-be primary opponents, including Newton mayor Setti Warren (no relation), City Year founder and 2010 US Senate candidate Alan A. Khazei, and State Representative Thomas P. Conroy (D – Wayland). They all dropped out because Ms. Warren is the Democratic Party’s darling in the race, so she’s getting all the party support (and money), making their continued participation no longer viable.

However, attorneys Marisa DeFranco and James C. King are (as of this writing) still in the running, as is non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee, who is making his third run for federal office; he ran against then-Congressman William D. Delahunt in 2006 and ran a partial race for the 10th Congressional District seat in 2010, dropping out part-way through.

Speaking of Congress, William R. Keating (D) has announced that he will make his long-time second home of Bourne his formal address so he can run for the Ninth Congressional District. Rep. Keating was elected to the 10th district in 2010, but the 10th was eliminated as part of the decennial redistricting process, so the Cape and Islands was rolled into the new Ninth District.

No one else has formally announced their candidacy for the Ninth, but when you combine a first-term legislator with a reconfigured district with the general hurly-burly of a presidential election year, expect a large field of candidates for this race to develop soon.

At the state level, Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) and State Senator Daniel A. Wolf (D – Harwich) have both announced they will run for re-election.

Although a formal announcement has not yet been made, it looks like Republican Thomas F. Keyes will throw down against Sen. Murray once again. He lost a tight race to Sen. Murray in 2010, and over the past year Mr. Keyes has issued semi-regular press releases criticizing Sen. Murray’s major decisions and has continued to raise money.

As of this week, State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) is the only one of the Cape’s six House members to formally announce a re-election bid. I predict we’ll have a full slate of incumbents, so the interesting part will be waiting to see who pops up to challenge them.

There could be quite a bit of action on the county level this year. County Commissioners Sheila R. Lyons and Mary L. (Pat) Flynn are both up for re-election, as are Register of Deeds John F. (Jack) Meade, Clerk of Courts Scott W. Nickerson, and the 15 seats on the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.

If anyone has any interest in running for public office, nomination papers will be available by February 14. Go to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth – Elections Division website for a full 2012 election year calendar detailing the key deadlines for candidates.

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