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Primary was a true race

Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan last week endorsed Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Deval Patrick after Tuesday's Primary election. Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs
News Analysis



By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



The 2006 primary election will go down in history as one which affirmed and defined political conventional wisdom.

Because of the announcement that State Senator Brian Lees was not seeking re-election, there was a ripple effect through western Massachusetts. What could have been a yawn-evoking election on the local level was suddenly a horse race with contests for both Republicans and Democrats in several positions

Locally voters sent some incumbents back to their posts and others simply packing. Statewide, Democrats rejected Tom Reilly, clearly the candidate of the party's establishment and Chris Gabrieli, seen by some as someone who was attempting to buy an election.

Although the early favorite and the candidate with the greatest number of endorsements from party leaders, Reilly based much of his latter campaign on his promise to lower the income tax from its present 5.3 percent to five percent. This action would have fulfilled a referendum that had been passed by the state's voters, but over-turned by the Legislature.

What Reilly didn't say was how he was going to convince the Legislature to go along with him. None of the members of the Legislature at events this reporter covered went on record of supporting the tax rollback. They supported Reilly, but not the tax rollback.

One wonders if Reilly understood the nature of this support.

And clearly getting endorsements from the likes of Congressman Richard Neal and Hampden County Michael Ashe was not enough for Reilly to even carry his hometown of Springfield.



***

A political miracle actually happened. The candidate without the old boy connections and without all of the money actually won through campaigning directly to the voters.

Deval Patrick appeared with Mayor Charles Ryan on Sept. 21 in Court Square to receive Ryan's endorsement and support.

Patrick told supporters and the media that he is going to beat Lt. Governor Kerry Healey the same way he achieved the nomination: through a well-organized grass roots effort.

"I don't think people in Massachusetts are interested in a candidate buying a race," Patrick said in response to a question about the funding Healey has at her disposal.

He said that his campaign raised what it needed and that would be the focus this time.

"The grass roots delivered the vote," he said.

When asked about the tag of "liberal" being applied to him as a negative, Patrick said, "You can't be a so-called 'flaming liberal' to sit on lead in two of the largest corporations on earth."

Patrick said that he is "not a label."

People who try to stick with a "liberal" designation are "denying the evidence of what we're doing."

Ryan said on the previous day he received a telephone call from Patrick in which Patrick said, "Mr. Mayor, I want to be your partner."

"That was music to my ears," Ryan said.

When asked if Patrick will "take the gloves off" in response to Healey attack ads, he said responding to them was "easy work," because Healey has a lot of negatives.

There is a debate scheduled in western Massachusetts on Oct. 3 and Patrick said that Healey has not yet committed to it.





***

The state senate seat vacated by Brian Lees will now be the object of campaigns run by State Representative Gale Candaras and Lees' aide Enrico "Jack" Villamaino.

On election night, Candaras said that the focus of her campaign would be on her record as a state representative.

"What distinguishes me from Jack is my experience and qualification. I have a proven record of accomplishments that have brought me to this moment tonight," she said.

Candaras faced a vigorous campaign from Longmeadow Selectman Brian Ashe, who believed the difference in spending was felt at the polls.

"Money did have an impact," Ashe said. "She out-spent me five to one, but I outworked her five to one."

Across from Ashe's Indian Orchard campaign office a Candaras billboard loomed.

Whether or not Ashe would consider a run in the future is something he could not talk about that night.

The other Democratic candidate, Springfield City Councilor Rosemarie Mazza-Moriarty, was on the ballot but did little campaigning.

For Villamaino, the question he is going to pose for voters is whether or not people want a senator willing to put the district's wishes over his or her own.

Although running as a Republican, Villamaino seemed to de-emphasize his party status, by saying he would be "an independent voice."

"Western Massachusetts needs a strong advocate," he added.

Villamaino was the winner of a Republican three-way primary that featured another former Lees aide, Kevin Corridan who like Villamaino sought to build coalitions, and Ronald Cutler, who described himself as the only candidate with true Republican values.



***

Although Lees did not run for re-election, his 11th hour announcement that he would try to get on the final ballot as the Republican nominee for Hampden County Clerk of Courts provided this election cycle with a big surprise.

At the Lees office, supporters were compiling votes from around the county.

"Eight votes from Chester," said one person and Lees repeated her with a broad smile.

Lees admitted, that even though his calculations had him at 9 p.m. with about 1,800 votes, he would be nervous until the final numbers were confirmed. He needed 1,000 votes to place him on the ballot and he accomplished that goal.

Rose Mazza, the incumbent clerk of courts and James Goodhines, the challenger, had fought a some-times bitter fight and Goodhines prevailed with a margin under 500 votes.

The day after the election, Goodhines said that he was happy to receive the nomination. Noting that Lees could enter the race with more funding, Goodhines said that would continue to raise money and have a "creative" effort to reach voters.