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.

In addition to praising Mr. Chaprales’ positions on the economy and various traditional conservative social issues, Mr. Perry highlighted the fact the candidate is a true local and not a fake local (my term, not his) like Congressman William R. Keating and Christopher Sheldon. Rep. Keating relocated from Quincy to Monument Beach so he could run for the Ninth District (Quincy is in the soon-to-be-eliminated 10th District and will become part of the revised Eighth), and Mr. Sheldon moved to Plymouth in November.

“As you know, there has been a disturbing trend of politicians relocating their residence for the sole purpose of running for office,” Mr. Perry wrote in his endorsement. “Unlike Adam’s primary opponent and the sitting Congressman, Adam did not have to move into the District to run for this office.”

I’m not a fan of carpetbaggers, but residency is sort of a tricky issue when your territory consists of dozens of towns. Mr. Chaprales’ opponents could argue he’s not fit to serve the district because he’s a lifelong Sandwich resident and has never lived in Middleborough or Nantucket or New Bedford.

For good or ill, our laws allow quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to candidates meeting residency requirements, so my advice is to worry less about who lived where and for how long and more about important issues.

***

Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) has responded to Republican challenger Thomas F. Keyes’ challenge to a series of eight hour-long debates.

An official statement from the Murray campaign stated that they are holding dates for two debates, one to be held on the Cape and the other in Plymouth, but otherwise will not commit to anything until after the primary election is done and out of the way.

There’s been no response from the Keyes campaign so far, and I’m hoping he doesn’t try to spin Sen. Murray’s answer of “We’ll get back to you on that” as an attempt to “dodge” debates. It’s only a refusal when someone actually says “no.”

***

Bob King and Tobin Wirt, proprietors of Cafe Chew on Merchant’s Road in Sandwich, tonight welcome R. Patrick Ellis, Democratic candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District.

The fundraiser for Mr. Ellis runs from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and the candidate is scheduled to speak at 6:30 PM. The requested donation for the event is $75 per person and made be made at the door.

***

Final reminder: State Representative Randy Hunt’s (R – Sandwich) Texas BBQ and trap shoot fundraiser is tomorrow from 4 to 8 PM at the Monument Beach Sportsman’s Club in Bourne. It’s $35 per person for admission and dinner, plus $10 to shoot ($5 if you bring your own shells). Go to www.electrandyhunt.com/events.html for details on this and other campaign events.

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

And right out of the gate we have Republican Thomas F. Keyes challenging Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) to a series of eight hour-long debates over the next three months. Mr. Keyes sent a letter formally requesting the debate series and, as of this writing, is awaiting a response.

Of course, he’s now set the stage for a classic political “Gotcha!” trap: if Sen. Murray declines to participate in every single debate, Mr. Keyes can claim she’s dodging him, is running scared, doesn’t want people to know where she really stands, et cetera.

Now, if Sen. Murray declines to debate at all? Okay, that doesn’t look good, but if she says, “Hey, let’s cut that number in half” and Mr. Keyes pounces? Well, it’s the same kind of absurd set-up as the “I challenge my opponent to refuse special interest donations!” and “My opponent won’t sign this pledge!”: it dupes people into thinking there’s a larger issue at play when really, there isn’t.

That all said, I’d like to see at least a few debates — well-moderated, preferably, to keep things civil and on-topic.

***

State Representative Randy Hunt’s (R – Sandwich) next fundraiser is coming up soon. Saturday, August 25 is a Texas BBQ and trap shoot event at the Monument Beach Sportsman’s Club in Bourne from 4 to 8 PM. It’s $35 per person for admission and dinner, plus $10 to shoot ($5 if you bring your own shells).

Meat and guns! How can you refuse? Well, unless you’re a pacifist vegetarian…

Rep. Hunt also has a golf outing fundraiser scheduled for next month and a jazz concert in October. Go to his website for details on those and other campaign events.

***

Endorsement lightning round! State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable) recently received endorsements from NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, the Service Employees International Union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and Mass Equality.

***

Now for some other Atsalis-related news, which I’ll file under the heading, “Girls! Girls! You’re BOTH petty!”

Less than a week after we put “Marie ParenteGate” to bed, Rep. Atsalis issued a response to claims by his primary election opponent Brian R. Mannal that the incumbent has — and this is taken directly from Mr. Mannal’s website — “one of the worst attendance records in the Massachusetts State House.”

Mr. Mannal specifically cites a December 2011 Beacon Hill Roll Call Report that lists Rep. Atsalis as having one of the worst attendance records for that session, missing 23 roll call votes (12.8 percent of all roll call votes taken).

One of the worst attendance records ever? Let’s take a look.

Rep. Atsalis’s attendance throughout his legislative career, thoughtfully provided by Bob Katzen, who prepares the BHRC, reads like this: 2011, 87.2 percent; 2010, 66.1 percent; 2009, 85.7 percent; 2008, 94.5 percent; 2007, 95.8 percent; 2006, 96.3 percent; 2005, 96.4 percent; 2004, 100 percent; 2003, 97.8 percent; 2002, 96.6 percent; 2001, 99.5 percent; 2000 99.6 percent; 1999, 99.3 percent.

That gives us a lifetime average of 93.45 percent, and that does not count the as-yet unannounced 2012 attendance rate.

In 2009 and 2010, Rep. Atsalis missed votes due to the deaths of, respectively, his father and father-in-law, and both those circumstances were made public by the candidate. Mr. Katzen pointed out that any absences during budget season or near the end of the formal session can be particularly damaging to one’s record since so many votes are taken in such a condensed timeframe, and that was the case in 2010.

Here’s where things get tricky. Following his 2009 attendance report, Rep. Atsalis’s camp stated in a letter to the Enterprise that the BHRC data was inaccurate as it considered two types of roll call votes: votes on legislative matters and “quorum roll calls,” which are taken for the express purpose of determining if enough people to constitute a quorum are present in the House chamber.

Rep. Atsalis claimed that his voting record on legislative matters was in the high 90 percent range, and his average was skewed because he missed quorum roll call votes, which don’t matter as much because they aren’t votes on legislation.

(Mr. Mannal in a subsequent press release called this explanation “a desperate effort to discredit” his previous accusation of excessive absenteeism.)

Mr. Katzen stated that his attendance data calculates all roll call votes and does not separate out quorum roll call votes. He added that all a legislator has to do is indicate that he or she is present in the House chamber, and failing to do so counts as a missed vote (although this does not necessarily indicate that the lawmaker in question was not in the State House at the time, only that he was not in the chamber when the quorum roll call vote was called for).

However, it should be noted that Rep. Atsalis’s Cape colleagues consistently recorded perfect or near-perfect (above 96 percent) attendance between 2009 through 2011, and as the aforementioned numbers show, Rep. Atsalis himself had much better, often near-perfect attendance prior to that period, so the “quorum roll call vote” argument is a little flat.

Nevertheless, 2009 and 2010 are the worst examples to draw from if anyone wants to push the “poor attendance” angle.

In the final analysis, Mr. Mannal’s claim that Rep. Atsalis has “one of the worst attendance records” is off because it considers only three years out of a 14-year tenure, two of which are marked by well-documented extenuating circumstances.

Conversely, Rep. Atsalis’s counter-claim that his record is not really that bad is undermined by his own past superior attendance record, as well as the records of his Upper Cape contemporaries, and relies on a very specific context in which to present his argument — a context that stymies an apples-to-apples comparison.

“To compare apples to apples, one would have to remove all quorum calls from the equation and calculate the attendance record without using any quorum calls,” Mr. Katzen said, and that means “one would have to recalculate all the other 159 representatives’ records without counting quorum calls.”

My judgment: both of you, stop nit-picking each other to death and try talking about some real issues.

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) faced off against C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County district attorney, on a live NECN debate with Jim Braude serving as moderator. Over the course of about 22 minutes, the two candidates traded ideas on major issues and some in-our-own-backyard concerns.

First, I’ll recap the predictable Democratic Party-approved lip-service: cut military spending! Troops home now! Tax the rich! Create jobs! Reach across the aisle and hug a Republican!

Now, onto the good stuff. Cape Wind came up early on. Mr. Sutter offered the “right idea, wrong location” sound bite and with a metaphorical “Whatcha gonna do?” shrug said the thing was a done deal, so time to suck it up, cupcake. Rep. Keating spun his previous opposition to the project as “concern” over its chosen site, but said the prospect of jobs for Cape Cod and a step toward breaking the nation’s dependence on foreign oil (another Democratic oldie but goodie) outweighed the project’s siting-related drawbacks.

Controversial Energy Facility Chat Number Two was about Pilgrim Nuclear in Plymouth. Mr. Sutter claimed Rep. Keating was dead silent on the issue of the plant’s re-licensing until he criticized said silence earlier this year, but Rep. Keating said he visited Pilgrim during his first month in office, and co-sponsored H.R. 1242, The Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act.

Rep. Keating boasted about his job creation successes and specifically highlighted $540,000 in federal funding he secured for Falmouth Hospital and money that trickled down to the Falmouth Fire Rescue Department, all of which saved jobs. Mr. Sutter berated the Congressman for coming in “at the last minute” and taking credit for his “small roll” in securing that money, which had been “in the works” for years.

I know it’s traditional for pundits to name a winner and a loser in debates, but neither man really shined or tanked. It was a rather tepid discussion with a few jabs but no knockout punches.

Go to www.necn.com to view the full debate video.

***

We should soon know who will be Barnstable’s new representative for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates — and, in all likelihood, that town’s candidate-to-beat for the November election.

Last week I reported that Terry Duenas, executive director of the Cape Cod Community Media Center, and Patrick Princi, chairman of the Barnstable Democratic Town Committee, had filed letters of interest with the Barnstable Town Council, which will choose one of the two men to replace former delegate Thomas K. Lynch.

J. Gregory Milne, former town councilor and two-time candidate for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners (2002 and 2008), also submitted a letter of interest just before the July 3 deadline.

On a related note, Ronald R. Beaty Jr. of West Barnstable has withdrawn his candidacy for the assembly and is now running for…nothing. He previously planned to run for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners, then entertained the notion of running for both the board of commissioners and the assembly, then dropped his county commissioner run.

***

State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) is hosting a golf day campaign fundraiser in Sandwich. The event is scheduled for Monday, September 17 with a 1 PM shotgun start, and will be held at the Ridge Club in Sandwich. A reception follows at 5 PM.

Further details are pending, just to keep you all in suspense. Go to www.electrandyhunt.com for additional info as it becomes available.

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

It looks like two men are putting their names in for consideration as Barnstable’s new representative for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.

Information released by the Barnstable Town Council’s office stated that Terry Duenas, executive director of the Cape Cod Community Media Center, and Patrick Princi, chairman of the Barnstable Democratic Town Committee, have filed letters of interest with the council, which will choose one of the two men to replace former delegate Thomas K. Lynch. Mr. Lynch had to resign from the assembly when he was appointed as Barnstable’s new town manager.

Whoever is appointed to the assembly would have the advantage should he decide to run for the post in November. Even though he would serve only three months or so until the election, that could be enough for such a low-profile race to leverage the “incumbent’s advantage.”

***

Sandwich hosted dueling Senators over the past week, as Democrat Elizabeth Warren swung through town last week for the opening of the Sandwich Democratic Campaign Office – and give some face time to state representative candidate R. Patrick Ellis – and yesterday US Senator Scott P. Brown had a joint meet-and-greet with Mr. Ellis’s opponent, State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) at Two Brothers Pizza & Mexican Restaurant.

***

By the time you read this, Congressman William R. Keating (D) and his Democratic primary opponent C. Samuel Sutter will have wrapped up their first debate. The two met on NECN’s “Broadside” with Jim Braude, and I’ll have some thoughts on that next week.

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

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.

I’ll mark my return with something from the Shoe’s On the Other Foot File. I’ve reported here previously that Bristol County DA C. Samuel Sutter, who is challenging Congressman William R. Keating (D) in the Democratic primary for the Ninth Congressional District, was under the microscope for alleged misconduct by his office tied to a 2010 murder case.

Mr. Sutter’s office was earlier this month cleared of any wrongdoing in that case, but now Rep. Keating is under similar scrutiny. While still in office as the Norfolk County DA, Rep. Keating’s office allegedly failed to turn over documents to a defense attorney involved in a statutory rape case.

The case was later dismissed without those documents ever being turned over to the defense attorney, and last month the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the DA’s office displayed “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” for its actions.

Rep. Keating defended his former office, claiming that withholding those documents was in the best interests of the alleged victim and the office was under no legal obligation to hand the information over.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sutter’s office is still under investigation for a second alleged instance of misconduct tied to a 2011 murder case that ended in dismissal over a recanted testimony, which the office allegedly failed to tell a grand jury about.

Frankly, it’s tough to take either of these situations as a major issue. Yes, all our candidates should have sterling ethics and spotless records, but in this day and age it’s hard to find anyone in politics with a flawless background. Unless either of these reveals a serious ethical lapse on the direct part of the candidates, voters would be better off trying to learn where they stand on the issues.

***

However, don’t expect to be educated through a debate this week on WBSM-AM 1420, because Rep. Keating has refused to participate. Why? Because on-air personality Phil Paleologos was tapped as the moderator, and he’s a Republican. Mr. Sutter said he planned to show up anyway.

Rep. Keating is calling his decision a matter of political principle, but I’m calling it silly posturing. Personally, I’d be very interested in hearing a debate guided by a moderator who holds politically contrary positions as compared to the participating candidates.

***

On another Congressional note, Republican candidate Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth has secured his spot on the ballot. Mr. Sheldon announced on May 31 that he had submitted more than enough certified signatures to qualify for the race.

***

Someone who won’t be on any ballots is US Senate candidate Marisa DeFranco, who was planning to challenge Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic nomination. Ms. DeFranco failed to receive 15 percent of the delegates at Democrats’ June 2 state convention, and under the party’s rules she is not eligible for the ballot.

While DeFranco had no realistic chance of beating Ms. Warren, it would have been nice if voters had a choice in September. It’d also be nice if all the signatures she collected to get on the ballot actually mattered more than internal party processes.

***

Linell and Steven Grundman of East Sandwich will host tomorrow (Saturday, June 16) a campaign event for R. Patrick Ellis, Democratic challenger to State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich). The event is scheduled to run from 7 to 9:30 PM and will be held at 51 Wing Boulevard E in Sandwich.

Shoot an RSVP e-mail to grundmans@comcast.net. Campaign contributions will be accepted but are not requested.

***

Thomas F. Keyes, Republican candidate for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, welcomes former state auditor candidate Mary Z. Connaughton to town on Monday. Ms. Connaughton is the special guest at a campaign reception for Mr. Keyes at the Nimrod in Falmouth, and that runs from 7 to 9 PM.

Admission is a donation to Mr. Keyes’ campaign, payable at the door or make arrangements in advance by calling 774-208-3480.

***

Finally, Andrew V. Putnam of Falmouth has filed his nomination papers for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, making him the first 100-percent-official candidate for the county’s legislative body.

Mr. Putnam will have a campaign kick-off event next week, details TBA, but in the meantime, go groove to his new campaign website at http://andrewputnam.org.

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

State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) has a few campaign events coming up. On Saturday, June 9 is a hoedown (no kidding, a hoedown!) at 305 Pine Street, West Barnstable, featuring Tex-Mex food (okay, now I’m interested), country music, and a horsemanship demo. This runs from 4 to 8 PM. To RSVP for this, shoot an e-mail to philip_n_wallace@hotmail.com.

On Tuesday, June 12 Tomatoes in Sandwich is hosting a Flag Day flag collection and reception from 5 to 7 PM. Contact Lisa Perry at flaldp@aol.com or 508-888-3094 to RSVP for this event.

Rep. Hunt goes country again on Saturday, August 25 with a Texas BBQ and trap shoot event at the Monument Beach Sportsman’s Club in Bourne from 4 to 8 PM. The details on that are still being firmed up, so visit the candidate’s events page at www.electrandyhunt.com/events for the latest details.

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Barnstable County Commissioner Sheila R. Lyons has officially kicked off her re-election campaign.

Ms. Lyons held a campaign launch event last week at Tugboats in Hyannis, which saw such special guests as Congressman William R. Keating (D), State Senator Daniel A. Wolf (D – Harwich), State Representatives Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable) and Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis), and fellow incumbent County Commissioner Mary L. (Pat) Flynn.

This week’s trivia: Ms. Lyons and Sen. Wolf ran against each other in 2010, vying for the Democratic nomination for state senate.

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