Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

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The Week In Politics For January 27, 2012

Friday, January 27th, 2012

The race for the new Ninth Congressional District is heating up in earnest (sure glad something around here is warm).

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.

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The Week In Politics – January 13, 2012

Friday, January 13th, 2012

Senate President Therese M. Murray (D-Plymouth) confirmed this week to the Enterprise that she will be running for reelection this year.

Sen. Murray is currently in her ninth term of office and her second term as Senate President. While the “formal” campaign announcement is forthcoming, she said Wednesday during an interview with this here column-writing guy her campaign planning has already begun.

Right now the only not-officially-confirmed challenger on the horizon is Republican Thomas F. Keyes of Sandwich, who narrowly lost to Sen. Murray in 2010.

***

State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) is off and running on his re-election campaign.

His first fundraiser is later this month, January 27, in the Emerald Room of the Cape Codder Resort and Spa in Hyannis. Stephen Bjork headlines the comedy night fundraiser, which comes with no suggested donation – which does not mean Rep. Hunt wouldn’t mind you dropping a little something in his campaign war chest.

Donate ahead of time and get primo seats at the event. You can send a check made payable to “Committee to Elect Randy Hunt” and mail it to his new district office at 297 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich, MA 02537.

If you don’t feel like giving the post office some business, you can also make a donation online.

***

Bristol County DA C. Samuel Sutter could be getting ready to challenge Congressman William R. Keating (D) for the Ninth Congressional District.

Mr. Sutter was mentioned as a possible contender soon after Massachusetts finished redrawing its Congressional district maps for 2012, and this week he formed an exploratory committee, a typical first step for someone considering a high-level elected office.

If he pulls the trigger, Mr. Sutter would face Rep. Keating in the primary election as they’re both Democrats. So far, no potential Republican challengers have emerged.

***

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

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The Week In Politics For January 6, 2012

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Great googily-moogily, is it that time already? Yes it is!

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.

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The Week In Politics – October 27

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

That’s right, people — I’m back, baby!

Well, sort of. The print edition of this column is still a ways off — it’ll probably debut in January — but there’s enough going on that I felt compelled to resurrect the column early as an online-only dealie.

Quick aside: this blog’s guts are a bit befouled at present, so trying to comment will lead only to frustration and heartbreak. If you feel the need to chew me out for anything, you can e-mail me at bailey at capenews dot net (sorry to spell it out, but man, the spambots have it out for me lately).

The development that really inspired my early return to whinging about politics is this week’s development with Alan Khazei, who on Wednesday dropped out of the US Senate race, citing an inability to raise money and gather support now that the Democratic Party has embraced Elizabeth Warren as its official horse in the race.

Alan. Dude. Has the Presidential race taught you nothing? A couple months ago, Rick Perry entered the Presidential race and everyone went “Michele who?” Now look at him! He’s running third in most polls behind Mitt Romney and Herman freakin’ Cain — and Herman is kind of crazy! Warren still has plenty of time to say or do something insane and give you a shot at overtaking her!

She’s already dipping her toe into that pool with a recent comment to The Daily Beast that she “created much of the intellectual foundation for what” Occupy Wall Street and its spinoffs are doing now. She’s since backtracked on that remark, so she’s obviously mastered the necessary campaigning skill of saying something rather outrageous and/or self-aggrandizing and then nimbly backpedaling when someone calls her on it.

But, to my intended original point: Khazei was the most promising candidate in the field beside Warren, who really needs someone to run her through the paces, if nothing else. There are four other Democrats that I know of who are still in the race — Tom Conroy, Marisa DeFranco, Jim King, and Herb Robinson — and I’m betting you haven’t heard of ANY of them.

And chances are you will continue to hear nothing about them, because the media, like the Democratic Party, is currently latched onto Warren, and now that Khazei — who had a degree of name recognition — is gone, it’s going to be All-Warren All The Time until after the September primary.

Anyone remember what happened the last time the Dems named an heir apparent to the Senate seat and left that candidate to cruise to an “easy victory”? The Democratic Party apparently doesn’t. Party leaders should have at the very least given Khazei enough support to keep him active through the primary so we the voters — remember us? We (ostensibly) choose elected officials — could see who the better candidate truly was.

***

Speaking of denying voters choice, it was also announced yesterday that longtime Congressman John Olver (D) is retiring, freeing up the race for the First Congressional District — and, perhaps more notably, giving the special joint legislative committee on redistricting every excuse in the world to let the First District take the big hit so the committee can, for the most part, maintain the existing boundaries for the other eight Congressional districts.

You see, when Massachusetts lost a district following the 2010 Census, there was a lot of concern that redrawing district lines would end up pitting two incumbent Democrats against one another in the primary race, and there was heavy speculation that the 10th Congressional District (which includes the Cape and Islands) would be eliminated and its towns folded into the Fourth or Ninth Districts — potentially setting up a contest between freshman Congressman William R. Keating and, respectively, Barney Frank or Stephen Lynch.

But now that Olver is out of the picture, the committee can carefully redraw the district boundaries to avoid any hot Dem-on-Dem action in September. Convenient, isnt it?

***

On a more local note: while there has not yet been an official announcement, there’s every indication that Republican Thomas F. Keyes is planning to challenge Senate President Therese M. Murray (D) in 2012. Keyes lost to Murray in 2010 in a surprisingly tight race: 52.5 percent of voters in the Plymouth and Barnstable District sided with the eight-term incumbent Murray, and 47.5 percent voted for Keyes, making this Murray’s tightest re-election race ever.

After the 2010 election, people on Keyes’ e-mail list (including me) continued to receive e-mails from the campaign, in which Keyes was referred to as the man “who is seriously considering” a rematch in 2012. The e-mails started out as stock rebuttals to everything Murray did (“Keyes Disappointed Murray Refuses To Create An Independent Commission On Redistricting” read one early notice), but soon turned into rally and fundraiser announcements. Once you start raising money, I think it’s safe to say you’re no longer merely “considering” running for office — especially when, according to a mid-year finance report filed with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, you’ve raised a little over $11,000 over the first six months of 2011.

The question is not whether Keyes is running, the question is: can he effectively run against Murray on his own? Last year Keyes’ campaign ran concurrently to those of two strong candidates — State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) and Jeffrey D. Perry, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress — and Keyes’ detractors insisted the only reason he made as good a showing as he did was because he hitched his faint star to two much brighter and, in Perry’s case, more high-profile wagons.

An upset victory is certainly not out of the question, but Murray’s undeniable clout has benefited the region for many years, and that’s going to be a hard thing for voters to give up in favor of a man with no clout, few connections in the State House, and little political experience beyond the town and county level.

***

Finally, we bid a fond farewell to State Representative Susan D. Williams Gifford (R – Wareham), whose Second Plymouth District has been shifted completely off Cape Cod due to the aforementioned redistricting. She represented three precincts in Bourne, which will now be divvied up between Hunt and State Representative David T. Vieira (R – Falmouth).

While the Cape delegation is losing one of its number, Gifford had a minimal presence on Cape Cod, so I expect her loss to be negligible. I very rarely saw her at any major event attended by the other members of the delegation, and I’ve on occasion heard some critical remarks about her non-attendance from a couple of her colleagues.

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The Week In Politics

Friday, October 15th, 2010

Welcome to the extra-scandalous edition of the column. You may want to shower afterwards, ’cause this ain’t pretty. I’ll start with the nastiest stuff and try to bring the tone up from there (good luck, me).

Things are getting seriously ugly between Democrat/Norfolk County DA William R. Keating and State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich), and that’s saying something considering the tone of this race from the get-go was far from cordial.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently unveiled an attack ad that strips down (and in the process, slightly sensationalizes) the Scott Flanagan/Wareham PD scandal. The Massachusetts Democratic party has also launched a “fact-based” anti-Perry website called “The Perry Files,” which links to a ton of media stories about Rep. Perry’s various controversies.

Meanwhile the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee launched a new website, “Bill Keating – Just the Facts,” a blog-style site that picks apart Keating’s political career, and boy, what timing! That launched just as news broke that Mr. Keating was accepting campaign donations from a defense attorney on the other side of a case Mr. Keating’s office is prosecuting.

Keating is dismissing this as no big deal, attorneys donate to him all the time, but the GOP is calling this a conflict of interests.

Then there is the startling new wrinkle in the form of a new endorsement for Rep. Perry from Thomas Joyce, who was the chief of the Wareham Police Department during the Flanagan scandal – a man who has completely avoided the media (and continues to do so) to discuss the matter.

Why he has emerged from hiding has not been revealed, but his endorsement has only served to embolden the converted and provide the Keating folks with more ammo; recent e-mails from the Keating campaign gleefully point out that the former chief was himself a co-defendant in the court cases resulting from the Flanagan incidents.

This is tiresome, guys. Really. This negativity is making both candidates look like a word I can’t print here in a family newspaper.

***

Now, here’s a surprising and related bit of news: last week the five Congressional candidates met in Plymouth and debated (read: Perry and Keating sniped at each other), and the candidate who came out on top in a subsequent straw poll was unenrolled candidate MaryAnne Lewis.

WATD, which sponsored the event, held the poll following a Friday rebroadcast of the debate, and Ms. Lewis – who, as you might have noticed, is profiled this week – came out on top with a whopping 76 percent support. Rep. Perry came in second (16 percent) and Mr. Keating (eight percent).

Ms. Lewis apparently scored major points when, at last Thursday’s debate, she remarked to the two party candidates that people were sick of listening to them slap each other around (I know I am). Whether she can successfully parlay voter irritation at both the current status quo and at Perry and Keating’s carping has yet to be seen, but she has become a much more interesting and potentially dangerous candidate.

***

Back to Scandalville and its growing population. Suzanne M. Bump, Democratic candidate for auditor, is defending (read: rationalizing) her decision to claim two big tax breaks in Great Barrington, which she calls home, and in Boston where she owns a condo.

Ms. Bump — a lawyer, mind you — insisted she was not doing anything illegal, but the Massachusetts Department of Revenue begged to differ: the DOR said residents cannot claim two primary residences in Massachusetts to get two sets of property tax breaks.

Despite her adamant belief she was getting the tax breaks legally, she last week ponied up $5,875 to reimburse the City of Boston for the taxes she didn’t pay. The city then reviewed the situation and confirmed that yes, she was not entitled to both perks.

And this is the woman who wants to be the person who ensures our tax money is used properly. Lovely.

***

From the world of weird endorsements: James A. Sheets, one of the three unenrolled candidates for Congress, recently announced that he’d received an endorsement from Peter Boylston Adams, a descendant of President John Quincy Adams.

And that’s all he’s got: he’s related to someone famous and influential in shaping the United States. Whoop-de-do.

***

And now, a nice endorsement: for Daniel A. Wolf, Democratic candidate for State Senator of the Cape and Islands District, from environmental groups the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action.

***

On Friday, October 29 starting at 6 PM, there will be a multi-candidate Republican rally at the Hemisphere Restaurant in Sandwich. On the roster of attendees: Rep. Perry; Thomas F. Keyes, Republican candidate for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District; F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for State Representative for the Fifth Barnstable District; Michael D. O’Keefe, the Cape and Islands’ district attorney (who is unopposed this year); and James Killion, who is running for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.

***

This week’s event reminders:

Rep. Perry is the guest of honor at a reception at the Flying Bridge in Falmouth on Sunday. That runs from 5 to 7 PM.

That same day Mr. Keyes will hold a fundraiser at the Aqua Grille in Sandwich beginning at 4 PM.

Next Friday, October 22, the Committee to Elect Therese Murray and Olive and Dave Chase will host a fundraiser for Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) at the Sandwich Glass Museum from 6 to 7:30 PM. Suggested donation for both events is $50 per person.

Mr. Hunt is holding his final campaign fundraiser on Saturday, October 23 at the East Sandwich Grange Hall. The Tony Lujan Quintet will perform.

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

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The Week In Politics

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Greetings, readers, and welcome to my extra laugh-filled edition of the column. I figured with how nasty and serious the campaign trail is getting, a little light touch would be appreciated.

To start: What’s the difference between the governor’s council and my appendix? My appendix doesn’t cost taxpayers $400,000 a year.

***

Last week I noted that unenrolled gubernatorial candidate Timothy P. Cahill had lost a key staffer, and remarked that it was no big deal.

It is, however, a very big deal when your  running mate bails out on you.

Paul Loscocco, a former Republican state rep, made what I regard as the utterly gutless move to abandon Mr. Cahill, renounce his lieutenant governor candidacy, and formally endorse Republican Charles D. Baker Jr. for governor.

“I cannot sit idly by as my friends and supporters cast their votes for my ticket, knowing that the best chance to defeat Governor Patrick is with Charlie Baker,” Mr. Loscocco told the media. “I cannot and will not let my ego get in the way of doing what is right for Massachusetts. So while this is a tough decision for me today personally, it is the right decision to put the future of our state ahead of my own self-interest.”

Now, make no mistake: by all measures Mr. Cahill indeed cannot win this race. He’s behind in fundraising, he’s way behind in the polls – there is nothing to suggest that his message has clicked with voters.

For Loscocco to abandon the race because he knows he won’t be part of the winning team is cowardly and absolutely self-serving. For him to pass off his party loyalty as somehow a benevolent act in the name of promoting the greater good for Massachusetts residents is absolutely slimy.

Unfortunately for Mr. Cahill, he’s not making things any better for himself by espousing conspiracy theories that this is all part of the GOP plot to crush his campaign (not that the Republican Party hasn’t been trying really hard to defuse Mr. Cahill’s spoiler potential, but let’s not go all Oliver Stone here).

***

As you may have heard, Daniel A. Wolf has stepped down as president of Cape Air, the company he founded, to focus on his State Senate campaign. He remains the company’s CEO. I know nothing about big business, but I assume this is actually kind of a big deal.

And hey, if the senate thing falls through, I bet Dan knows someone who could get him that president gig back…

***

Knock knock. Who’s there? Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates who? Oh, you don’t know anything about them either, huh?

***

James P. McKenna may have already bumbled his momentum coming out of his historic write-in victory in the primary race for Massachusetts Attorney General. During a televised debate with incumbent Martha Coakley, Mr. McKenna avoided answering some questions and gave stumbling answers to others.

He’s also not doing great in fundraising; he has about $13,000 on-hand, compared to AG Coakley, who has about $50,000 according to her latest campaign finance report.

***

This week’s event reminders:

F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, is holding “Pizza & Politics with Pizzazz” at Two Brothers Pizza & Mexican in Sandwich on Monday at 5:30 PM.

David T. Vieira, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Third Barnstable District, invites the public to a “meet the candidate” at the Pocasset Golf Club on Wednesday. Dutch and Addie Drolette are hosting the event, which runs from 4 to 6 PM. RSVP by calling 508-540-6727.

State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich), candidate for Congress, is the guest of honor at a reception at the Flying Bridge in Falmouth on October 17. That runs from 5 to 7 PM.

That same day Thomas F. Keyes, Republican candidate for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, will hold a fundraiser at the Aqua Grille in Sandwich beginning at 4 PM.

On October 22 the Committee to Elect Therese Murray and Olive and Dave Chase will host a fundraiser for Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) at the Sandwich Glass Museum from 6 to 7:30 PM. Suggested donation for both events is $50 per person.

Also, there are several debates and candidates’ forums coming up, including Tuesday’s Bourne candidates’ night at the First Baptist Church of Pocasset, starting at 7 PM; and Thursday’s debate at Cape Cod Community College, featuring all the Congressional and Cape and Islands State Senator candidates. That begins at 6:30 PM and is open to the public.

***

In closing: How many members of the Tea Party does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just Sarah Palin, and all she does is hold the light bulb up while the world revolves around her.

Thank you, you’ve been a great audience!

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

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An interview with Jennifer Nassour

Friday, October 1st, 2010

(The following feature ran in this week’s Region section and is re-produced here in full.)

When Jennifer A. Nassour, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, looks into the future to Election Day 2010, she sees the promise of a major change in the complexion of the state Legislature.

“There are plenty of candidates, so if everyone won (their races), we actually turn the tide a lot and change the course” of state government, Ms. Nassour said. “I feel optimistic about everything right now.”

Ms. Nassour was on the Cape Monday to accompany David T. Vieira of Falmouth, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Third Barnstable District, as he met with residents and business owners in Mashpee.

“We’re doing this for candidates here and there,” Ms. Nassour said of her trip to the Cape, part of a statewide effort to give select candidates an extra boost through personal appearances. “I wish I had time to hit everyone.”

Preventing that wish from coming true: a lack of time and, for the first time in several years, an abundance of candidates.

Mr. Vieira is one of eight Cape Cod Republicans running for legislative seats this year, and according to Ms. Nassour one of 109 Republicans running for the Massachusetts Legislature — “Twice as many as in 2008,” she noted — making this the most active field of GOP candidates since the ill-fated “Romney Reform Team” initiative of 2004.

That effort, which assembled 131 Republicans to challenge Democratic incumbents, ended with the GOP experiencing a net loss of two seats in the Legislature. Critics speculated that the initiative failed because of the aggressively negative tone of many of the races, coupled with the fact that many candidates were not established residents of the districts in which they ran.

Dr. Gail B. Lese and Timothy E. Duncan, Romney Reform Team candidates for the region’s two Senate seats in 2004, were not full-time Cape residents; Dr. Lese moved to the area two months before announcing her candidacy, and Mr. Duncan owned a summer home in Falmouth but claimed Cambridge as his permanent residence.

Ms. Nassour said the Romney Reform Team recruits “might not have had their finger to the pulse” of their adopted districts, while many of this year’s hopefuls “were locally elected officials that now stepped it up and are running for state rep, state senate” in their districts. “They have a base, they know their neighborhoods, they know their districts, they know the people that are in there, they understand the on-the-ground issues.”

Ms. Nassour said she felt extremely confident in this year’s crop of candidates, calling it “the best team that we’ve had in two decades,” and believed that lingering voter dissatisfaction with the status quo of state government would propel many of these legislative hopefuls to wins next month over their incumbent opponents.

“There’s a lot of anger and frustration out there” over the thin job market, the still-weakened economy, and a series of tax hikes championed by the Democratic legislative majority and Governor Deval L. Patrick, Ms. Nassour said. “There are candidates on the ballot that won’t put that they’re incumbents. They don’t want anyone to know they’ve been up there making the wrong decisions.”

She added that there are across the state several open seats – eight in the state Senate, 20 in the House – and she said many of those are due to incumbents who stepped down because “they didn’t want to face challengers.”

“Many Opportunities” On Cape

This year there are two open seats within the Cape delegation, one of them being State Senator of the Cape and Islands District; State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable) opted not to run for re-election to instead focus on his ultimately unsuccessful Congressional run.

Republican James H. Crocker Jr. of Osterville and Democrat Daniel A. Wolf of Harwich have emerged as the two contenders for that seat, and Ms. Nassour said Mr. Crocker stands an excellent chance of reclaiming a post that, until Sen. O’Leary’s election to the Senate in 2000, had been held by Republicans for 140 years.

“Jim Crocker – amazing candidate,” she said, “and I think that no matter how much money his opponent has, it doesn’t make a difference because at the end of the day voters are looking for someone that they can connect with. They’re not looking for the richest guy on the road to buy an election.”

Ms. Nassour identified F. Randal Hunt of Sandwich as another local candidate in a prime position to win a race for an open seat — in this case the race for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District.

“He has so many opportunities there, I think that’s a great one for us,” she said, noting that Mr. Hunt hails from the same town as State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich), who has served the district since 2002.

She described another Sandwich Republican, Thomas F. Keyes, as “an amazing candidate” and a “very viable alternative” to Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth). “He just kind of understands what people are going through right now in trying to raise a family and trying to make a buck.”

Although Sen. Murray holds one of the most powerful positions in state government and boasts an imposing campaign war chest, Ms. Nassour said Mr. Keyes holds an advantage in that he is not part of the entrenched State House establishment. To overcome Sen. Murray, Ms. Nassour said Mr. Keyes needs to focus on “showing that he’s a viable alternative to someone who has spent way too long on Beacon Hill, who can be very affected by special interests.”

“I think that he has something that voters are actually looking for, and we will see him pick up steam,” she said.

The state GOP is also keeping a very close eye on the hotly contested race for US Representative of the 10th Congressional District. Rep. Perry emerged from this month’s primary as the party’s standard bearer in that race, and will face Democrat William R. Keating, and three unenrolled candidates: Maryanne Lewis, James Sheets, and Joseph van Nes.

Ms. Nassour called that contest “a fantastic opportunity for the Republican Party to pick up a seat again” in the US House of Representatives. “Jeff Perry is a quality candidate. He’s been a great state rep, he’s known and loved down here for all the work that he does and for kind of being the outspoken voice on Beacon Hill, and I’m sure he’ll do the same on Capitol Hill.”

The Massachusetts US House delegation consists entirely of Democrats. Eight of the returning incumbents have Republican challengers.

The other big race for the party is for the Corner Office, as Charles D. Baker Jr. attempts to unseat incumbent Deval L. Patrick, and Ms. Nassour dismissed the idea that Mr. Baker’s campaign has failed to effectively capitalize on Gov. Patrick’s lagging approval ratings.

“Charlie has absolutely hit his stride,” she said, adding that Mr. Baker’s poll numbers are following the same track Gov. Patrick’s 2006 campaign followed. “Charlie has actually all along been on pace with where Deval was in 2006 when he was running against Kerry Healey,” at the time the state’s lieutenant governor under W. Mitt Romney. “Same exact numbers.”

She said this week’s Boston Globe poll, which had the governor and Mr. Baker in a virtual dead heat, was “the telling sign…if you take out (unenrolled candidate) Tim Cahill and put those voters where they’re supposed to be, with Baker, Baker is far ahead of where Deval is.”

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The Week In Politics

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

The countdown has begun to the November 2 primaries, but first, a quick look back at the primary races that will shape the ballot.

Of the relatively few primary contests from last week, there were only two surprises to my mind, the first of which was Eric R. Steinhilber’s loss to James H. Crocker Jr. in the Republican primary for State Senator of the Cape and Islands District.

Mr. Steinhilber was an active candidate, he had a decent platform, he presented himself very well in interviews and debates, and had the support of several well-known Cape Republicans…so what happened?

Simply put, I think name recognition played into this race. Mr. Crocker has been around for a while and, especially in Barnstable, is very well-known, whereas Mr. Steinhilber is a relative newcomer.

That factor I think is a non-issue now, since Mr. Crocker’s Democratic opponent is Daniel A. Wolf, who is well-known in his own right. Their race will come down to which candidate’s platforms better resonate with Cape voters, now that what each candidate will stand in clearer contrast to the other.

Surprise the second was State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry’s (R – Sandwich) win over Joseph D. Malone in the Congressional race – which is to say, his victory was not a surprise, but how badly he crushed Malone was. I was never especially impressed by Malone, as regular readers well know, but I thought the contest would be a LOT closer than it was.

The results are not just a result of Rep. Perry’s aggressive campaigning, they are not just the result of a guy who has been in the game for the past eight years running against a guy who has been out of the game for the past 11; I firmly believe that Malone’s negative campaigning backfired in a big way.

I’m not here to slog through the merits of any of the accusations that have been tossed at Rep. Perry by Malone, the media, or a handful of bloggers with an anti-Perry bug up their collective butts. I’m only pointing out that there’s a standing theory of Massachusetts politics that Malone ignored to his peril, and indeed in his loss provided further supporting evidence: negative campaigning doesn’t work.

I wonder if William R. Keating, the Democratic candidate, will embrace that message? I somehow suspect he will not; in his victory speech he alluded to Rep. Perry’s past controversies, stating, “You stood five steps away as your partner sexually assaulted a young girl. If you couldn’t see something so despicable right under your nose, how can we depend on you in Washington?”

If Keating cannot stick to the issues and keep the mudslinging to a minimum, if not avoid it altogether, you can put good money down right now that we will in seven weeks be saying “Congressman-elect Jeff Perry.”

***

A surprise of a different sort from last week: James P. McKenna’s write-in campaign was a success, and he is now the official Republican candidate for Massachusetts Attorney General. I’m curious to see whether he can mount a successful formal campaign against Martha Coakley, who has a very solid record in that office – and he January special US Senate election loss is far enough in the background that it is unlikely to haunt her (not that the GOP won’t try, mind you).

***

Back to Mr. Keating for a moment. His campaign announced this week the candidate had been named to the “Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) highly competitive Red to Blue program by surpassing demanding fund raising goals and skillfully demonstrating to voters that he will work to create jobs and stand up for the middle class.”

This appears to be the Democrats’ answer to the GOP’s “Young Guns” initiative, to which Rep. Perry has been named.

***

Obviously the Democrats in Massachusetts, who are currently running the show, want to stay in power, and are now trying to rally supporters to keep any kind of Republican takeover from occurring — not likely, considering not enough Republicans are running for the Legislature to take away the Dem’s majority stake, but they’re still a-tryin’.

Governor Deval L. Patrick sent a strong message to his party colleagues last week, telling the Democratic Party to “grow a backbone” and take a stand against the GOP.

Now, while I’m not a fan of any one party holding all the cards and would love to see true balance in the State House, kudos to Gov. Patrick for telling the Dems to stop acting like such wimps.

***

Speaking of the governor’s race, Gov. Patrick continues to hold a slim margin over Republican Charles D. Baker Jr. in the latest Rasmussen poll: 45 percent to 42 percent. Timothy P. Cahill continues to fade into the distance, earning only five percent support from those surveyed. Another five percent supported “some other candidate” (wow, Dr. Jill E. Stein still doesn’t even merit a mention by name), and two percent were undecided.

***

Event reminders for this week:

F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, is holding a pasta supper fundraiser at the American Legion Hall in Sandwich on Saturday, September 25 starting at 6 PM; a golf tourney fundraiser at Holly Ridge on Sunday, October 3 starting at 8:20 AM; and “Pizza & Politics with Pizzazz” at Two Brothers Pizza & Mexican in Sandwich on Monday, October 11 at 5:30 PM.

Thomas F. Keyes, Republican candidate for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, is the guest of honor at a reception at the Beachmoor Inn in Bourne Wednesday starting at 6 PM.

David T. Vieira, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Third Barnstable District, invites the public to a “meet the candidate” night at the Pocasset Golf Club on Wednesday, October 13. Dutch and Addie Drolette are hosting the event, which runs from 4 to 6 PM. RSVP by calling 508-540-6727.

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

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The Week In Politics

Friday, September 17th, 2010

One election down, one to go!

Check www.capenews.net for the lowdown on who won what (I put this thing together on Tuesdays, hence the lack of results here), but this week marks the beginning of the election season in earnest, because all those candidates who had no primary opponents have to now wake up and start campaigning.

A precious few get to kick back and relax as they have no opponents whatsoever – Barnstable County Sheriff James M. Cummings, Cape & Islands DA Michael D. O’Keefe, and State Representative Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket) – but everyone else has to do at least a little legwork.

There are some solid local races here, but also a few that I’m expecting to be rather uninspiring affairs. I look first to State Representative Susan D. Williams Gifford (R – Wareham), whose Democratic challenger David A. Smith of Wareham is thus far striking me as another in a long line of lackluster opponents for Rep. Gifford.

Turning my gaze northeastward, I see an uphill battle for Thomas F. Keyes, who is challenging Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth). Sen. Murray holds a major power position in the Legislature, has crazy cash in her campaign war chest, and – perhaps most importantly – has successfully spearheaded health care and economic development reforms in the past two years, so one cannot accuse her of having a do-nothing term in her rearview mirror.

***

Governor Deval L. Patrick’s firing up his re-election campaign and has opened several “regional coordinated campaign offices” across the state, including four on Cape Cod. If you’re looking for information on The Guv, check out the local offices at 359 Main Street in Falmouth and 4 Merchants Square in Sandwich.

The governor, by the way, received an endorsement last week from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Mayor Menino called Gov. Patrick “whuh rhl leddeh en Mussashuztz” (translated for those who don’t speak Mumble: “a real leader in Massachusetts”).

***

Dr. Jill E. Stein is hopping mad that she’s being overlooked by the Boston media.

Dr. Stein, the Green-Rainbow Party candidate, was not invited to participate in a radio debate in Boston this week, and she initially was not invited to participate in a televised debate scheduled for Tuesday – in the latter case, because her campaign war chest was about $31,000 short of meeting a minimum $100,000 threshold.

She is now going to participate in next week’s televised debate, but still got shafted from this week’s radio debate on WBZ.

The Boston Herald’s Margery Eagan opined this week that Dr. Stein should not be so catered to, and in fact should not be in the race, citing her inability to raise money on the same level as her rivals and her history of failed campaigns (governor in 2002, state representative in 2004, secretary of the Commonwealth in 2006).

Eagan rationalized that she has a snowball’s chance of winning the election, so why should the media waste time on her when that time could go to Gov. Patrick, Charles D. Baker Jr., and Timothy P. Cahill.

This arrogant attitude – “I don’t think this person can win, so I think he/she should just drop out now” – is part of what’s wrong with contemporary politics. The media adopt their darlings early on, the candidates they determine to be “viable,” and leave all others out in the cold, in the process do the voting public a grave disservice by burying the “weak” candidates under a ton of coverage for the “strong” contenders.

In the gubernatorial race it’s Dr. Stein. In the Congressional race Republicans Raymond Kasperowicz, the first guy to declare his candidacy, and Robert E. Hayden III were largely ignored in favor of State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) and Joseph D. Malone. In 2008 Jeffrey K. Beatty’s challenge to US Senator John F. Kerry (D) was barely acknowledged, even after the media’s chosen sweetheart Jim Ogonowski tanked hard by failing to collect enough signatures to earn a spot on the primary ballot.

The decision whether to run for any elected seat – and whether to continue running when “they” say it’s futile – belongs first and foremost to the candidates themselves, and then to the voters, not the media. Ever.

***

State Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D – Falmouth) has added Virginia Ryan to his re-election campaign team. Ms. Ryan recently left her post of several years as the Housing Assistance Corporation’s assistant to the CEO/director of special projects.

***

Upcoming campaign events:

Rep. Gifford is hosting a fundraiser for Rep. Perry on Monday. That’ll be held at the Mezza Luna restaurant in Bourne from 5:30 PM to 7 PM.

Sen. Murray is the guest of honor at a September 26 fundraiser in East Sandwich. Betsy and Bill Lehrer will host that event at their home from 4 to 6 PM. For more information, e-mail Bet6453@aol.com or call 508-888-2016.

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

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The Week In Politics

Friday, August 13th, 2010

We lead off this week with a quick public service announcement. For the benefit of voters, the Enterprise Newspapers has established an online archive of this year’s political profiles. New profiles will be posted as they appear in the print editions of the paper.

You can access the archives through the menu on the left of this page.

***

Has Governor Deval L. Patrick slit his own throat – politically speaking – over the casino bill?

After apparently reaching a compromise on the issue of whether to allow slot machines in Massachusetts as part of the state’s expanded gaming bill, Gov. Patrick backpedaled last week and vetoed that provision – over the very vocal protestations of House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D – Winthrop) and Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth).

The governor explained his turnaround on the fact that slot machine contracts would be issued on a no-bid basis, and wagged a finger at the Legislature for being unwilling to compromise and for dragging its collective feet on putting a bill together in the first place.

Gov. Patrick’s supporters are portraying this as political courage, but it’s more like political folly. In one fell swoop Gov. Patrick has cheesed off two of his most powerful allies, and many other lawmakers who worked on the bill in good faith. He needs a united front and now he’s created a State House divided.

I should remind you, readers, that Gov. Patrick two years ago had a chance to plead his case before the House as it was considering an earlier iteration of the bill, but instead nipped off to New York City to negotiate a book deal.

Then there’s one of the strongest lobbies in the state, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, which is staunchly pro-casino. It often endorses the Democratic candidate in gubernatorial races, but will Gov. Patrick’s deathblow to the casino bill cause the AFL-CIO to withhold its stamp of approval?

***

Elsewhere in the governor’s race, Dr. Jill E. Stein announced last week that her campaign had successfully collected enough signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot (as a member of the Green-Rainbow Party, which is considered a “political designation” in Massachusetts, she had a longer time period in which to collect signatures).

So we officially have a four-way race for the corner office, but the question now is whether the media will give Dr. Stein any attention, or will continue to treat her as a non-entity.

***

A reader contacted me last week to ask me what was going on with the race for State Representative of the Third Barnstable District – by which I mean she had no idea that State Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D – Falmouth) had an opponent.

That’s a bad sign for Republican David T. Vieira of Falmouth, who is challenging Rep. Patrick. Granted, neither gent has a primary race and are likely saving the good stuff for the November general election, but Mr. Vieira has been a little too quite for his own good, it would seem.

But wait! He does in fact have something cooking, so to speak. Frank and Andrea Keohane of East Falmouth are hosting a barbecue fundraiser for Mr. Vieira. That’s next week, August 19 from 5 to 7 PM at the Keohane house. Go to www.votevieira.com for details.

***

Democrat Lance W. Lambros has also been on the quiet side in his campaign for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, but this week he announced a number of upcoming campaign events.

On Monday, August 16 he’ll hold a meet-and-greet starting at 7:30 AM at Liberty Hall in Marstons Mills; on Saturday, August 28 he’ll meet with voters from 4 to 7 PM at Merchants Square, at the Sandwich Democratic Headquarters annual barbecue; and on Monday, August 30 he’ll attend  from 3 to 5 PM a senior citizens forum at the Barnstable Senior Center.

Mr. Lambros will also apparently start up a local public access cable segment to discuss the pressing issues of the day, so more on that once I get the details.

***

State Representative Susan D. William Gifford (R – Wareham) has scheduled her annual clambake fundraiser. It’s happening Thursday, August 26 beginning at 6 PM. It’ll be held at Zecco Marine in Wareham. Go to www.susangifford.com for details.

***

Daniel A. Wolf, Democratic candidate for State Senator of the Cape and Islands District, has rescheduled a planned meet-and-greet in Mashpee. That’s now set for Sunday, August 22, from 4 to 6 PM at Starfish Restaurant at South Cape Village in Mashpee.

***

Mr. Wolf’s rival in the primary race, Sheila R. Lyons, is holding a fundraiser at the Anchor Inn in Hyannis on Tuesday, August 31 starting at 7 PM. Go to http://sheilalyons2010.com for more info.

***

Thomas F. Keyes, Republican candidate for State Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, is holding a pasta dinner fundraiser at the Pocasset Community Club on Wednesday, August 18 starting at 6 PM. Go to www.votekeyes.com for details.

***

State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable) has picked up a big endorsement in his quest for Congress, from the Massachusetts Teachers Association last week gave Sen. O’Leary the nod.

“Massachusetts has the best schools in America, and Rob O’Leary’s leadership has made him a great partner for our members and for parents and students in making that success happen,” MTA President Paul Toner said in a press release. “We’re excited to endorse Rob O’Leary because, as a teacher himself for 34 years and a long-time leader on education issues, he’ll make education a priority in Congress.”

Now, interestingly, Sen. O’Leary’s rival in the primaries, William R. Keating, earlier in the campaign picked up an endorsement from the American Federation of Teachers – Massachusetts chapter. I guess these organizations don’t compare notes at all…

Also, Sen. O’Leary has launched what is, at least on the Democratic side, the first TV ad of the campaign. Check it out online at www.olearyforcongress.com/getout.

***

State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) has picked up another big local endorsement, this one from Michael D. O’Keefe, the Cape and Islands’ district attorney.

DA O’Keefe gave Rep. Perry the official thumb’s up last week at a fundraiser for the latter hosted by the former. Rep. Perry also picked up what seems to be his biennial endorsement from the Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL).

Rep. Perry’s next local fundraiser will be held at the Aqua Grille in Sandwich on Sunday, August 22. That runs from 4 to 6 PM and is hosted by Eileen DiBuono and Patricia Markoff. After that, on Sunday, August 29 is an end-of-summer lobster and clam bake at the Sandwich American Legion Hall. That runs from 1 to 3 PM.

Go to www.jeffperryforcongress.com for more info and to make any necessary reservations.

***

This week’s event reminders:

Joseph D. Malone, Republican Congressional candidate, will be at the Courtyard Restaurant and Pub in Cataumet on Sunday, August 15 from 4 to 6 PM.

Mr. Wolf will be at house party fundraisers in Mashpee on Monday, August 16; in Marstons Mills on Thursday, August 26; in Osterville on Friday, August 27; and in Hyannis on Sunday, August 29. Check out his official website at www.danwolfforsenate.com for more information.

F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, is holding a meet-and-greet at Lakewood Hills on Tuesday, August 17 at 5 PM; a golf tourney fundraiser at Holly Ridge on Sunday, October 3 starting at 8:20 AM; a pasta supper fundraiser at the American Legion Hall in Sandwich on Saturday, September 25 starting at 6 PM; and “Pizza & Politics with Pizzazz” at Two Brothers Pizza & Mexican in Sandwich on Monday, October 11 at 5:30 PM.

The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and the Cape Cod Young Professionals are co-hosting a pre-primary candidates’ night on Friday, September 10 at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis. WXTK-FM’s news director Matt Pitta moderates the forum involving candidates in the US Representative of the 10th Congressional District and the State Senator of the Cape and Islands District races.

***

Finally, from the Better Late Than Never File: two previously uncontested races now have contests…sort of.

Keith Davis of Holyoke is running a write-in campaign for lieutenant governor. What party? He apparently doesn’t care. According to his website (www.writeinkeithdavis.com) you can throw his name in wherever you’d like (though he thinks a write-in campaign would be “most effective” on the Republican ballot).

And then there’s Republican James P. McKenna, who for whatever reason didn’t go the normal route of getting a formal position on the ballot and is also running a write-in campaign for Massachusetts Attorney General. His website is at http://jimforag.com.

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

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