Martilli notes funding an issue in race against Neal

Date: 11/15/2022

WESTERN MASS. – It was a study in contrasts.

Incumbent Congressman Richard Neal, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, didn’t have the typical election night watch event.

His opponent, West Springfield businessman and resident Dean Martilli, had supporters gather at Collins Tavern in West Springfield for a traditional election night event. Boxes of pizza sat on a table and several television sets tuned to different news sources were playing.

In a conversation with Reminder Publishing in Longmeadow in front of the Community House that afternoon, Neal didn’t express any concerns about his race. Instead, he spoke about whether or not the Democrats would continue their control of the House.

He freely admitted he was worried.

Neal had spent much of election day supporting the reelection campaign for Rep. Annie Kuster in New Hampshire – she won – and a re-election campaign in Connecticut for incumbent Rep. Jahana Hayes, who appears to have beaten Republican George Logan in an extremely tight race.

At press time, there are still undecided races in the House, and the control of the House is still in question, as is the control of the Senate. Neal zeroed in on a variety of races from around the country as among the ones he was watching.

He explained that he recruits and helps fund Democratic candidates for the House.

Neal said that while many polls and surveys indicated that in many races Republicans might prevail, the accuracy of polling has changed. He noted polling in 2016 and 2020 “was not a high-water mark for pollsters.” The widespread use of cell phones makes polling more difficult and Neal noted he had been told that 0.4 percent of 100 calls to voters actually get the information needed to take the electorate’s temperature.

At Martilli’s event about 20 people gathered in front of those TV sets listening to results nationally, while others were working their cell phones to see how individual communities were reporting results. They called out numbers and communities that were added to a comprehensive list.

Republican candidate for Governor’s Council John Comerford was also in the room. When he was told he carried West Springfield, he said with a smile, “All I have to do is to win 99 more towns.”

Comerford lost to Democrat Tara Jacobs of North Adams.

Martilli reflected on his campaign and said, “From the beginning … people talked about change and leadership.” He believed the issues caused by inflation were top of mind for voters. He said, “Life is in a bit of a turmoil.”

He added, “People felt the government didn’t like them. They felt betrayed.”

Martilli noted that when appearing at the Van Sickle School on election day, Springfield police officers were giving him “thumbs-up” and turning on their sirens when they saw him.

He added Neal would not debate him and said, “We didn’t exist. He’s entitled to this position.”
Martilli identified funding as a “key factor” in the race.

When asked if he would consider running again, Martilli said, “I’m planning on winning.”
Ultimately, he lost to Neal and received 38 percent of the vote.