Hey, Democrats! Got anything planned for this Monday?
Then hie thee hither to the 12th annual Presidents Day Brunch at the 400 East Restaurant on East Harwich (at the intersections of Routes 137 and 39). The event runs from 11:30 AM until 1:30 PM and is sponsored by the Harwich Democratic Town Committee.
The HDTC folks have invited Democratic candidates for state auditor and state treasurer to the event, and at last word Suzanne Bump and Steve Grossman, candidates for auditor and treasurer respectively, will be in attendance.
The committee will also announce during the brunch the recipients of the Mabel Canto Democrat of the Year Award and the James Noonan Community Service Award.
The cost to attend is $20. To RSVP or for more information contact Ray Gottwald, HDTC chairman, at 508-430-1666 or RayGottwald@aol.com.
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I’ve yet to mention Ms. Bump in this column, so let me rectify that. She’s a former state representative and, more recently, was the executive office of labor and workforce development under Governor Deval L. Patrick. Her official bio says she lives in Great Barrington in the village of Housatonic, which sounds like a sinister New England village in an H.P. Lovecraft story.
Her official website is http://suzannebump.com.
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F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for state representative of the fifth Barnstable district, has his campaign website up and running. Trot on over to www.electrandyhunt.com and poke around.
Mr. Hunt has also scheduled his campaign kick-off/first fundraising event for Tuesday, March 9 at the Sandwich Hollows Golf Course. That runs from 5 PM to 7 PM, with “speeches (and other campaign rhetoric)” – his words, not mine – beginning at 6 PM.
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And guess what? Mr. Hunt already has an opponent, and he’s a blast from the not-too-distant past: Lance W. Lambros of Sandwich announced this week he’s taking out nomination papers and plans to run for state rep.
Those familiar with county government will recognize Mr. Lambros as a former county commissioner and member of the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.
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The governor’s race continues to heat up. Democrat-turned-independent candidate Timothy P. Cahill formally launched his campaign last week, and in an odd bit of turnabout, a former third party candidate has announced she plans to run against Deval L. Patrick in the primary.
Grace Ross, who ran for governor as a member of the Green-Rainbow Party in 2006 (and collected only two percent of the vote in the four-way race), is challenging Gov. Patrick for the Democratic nomination. I don’t expect her to receive much, if any backing from the party, so enjoy her candidacy while you can, folks.
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Another note on the gubernatorial race. In case you were in doubt, Republican Christy P. Mihos is “in it to win it.”
Mr. Mihos last week issued a statement to dispel rumors that his wobbly campaign was perhaps about to end – rumors spurred on by recent stores about disgruntled former campaign staff, back-owed business expenses resulting in property liens, and the fact his campaign account is on the thin side.
He’s currently got about $17,000 in the bank, which is better than a few weeks ago when he was down to $2,000 or so, but still WAY behind Charles D. Baker Jr. ($1.6 million), Mr. Cahill (approximately $920,000), and Gov. Patrick ($657,000 and change), and not too far ahead of Jill E. Stein, the Green-Rainbow candidate ($11,425).
“It’s time that the privileged few stop profiting from the rest of us,” he wrote. “If you’re for a candidate who’s stood up to big government and big business before, who’s really for lowering taxes, cutting the size of government, returning rights and money to the people, and getting Massachusetts working again for you, then I’m your candidate for governor of Massachusetts 2010.”
Still, things are not looking promising for Mihos at this time. He has enthusiasm to spare, but he needs a lot more than that if he’s to survive even to the primary race (which I hope he does; a solid primary race is good for the process and for voters).
Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net
