In tomorrow's primary, I will cast my vote for Deval Patrick to be the Democratic nominee for governor, and I urge you to join me in supporting his candidacy.I had been struggling to decide between Patrick and Chris Gabrieli, and did not settle upon Patrick until late last week. If Gabrieli were to win the nomination I would be comfortable supporting him, as he and Patrick share similar views on many of the issues, but there are a handful of reasons I am choosing Patrick:
1. Patrick has the personality and passion to lead the state in a time of crisis. When two candidates share similar platforms, leadership ability becomes magnified as a trait. I believe Patrick has it. Patrick has shown an ability to inspire his supporters, to articulate his vision for the state, and has brought a passion to the campaign that Gabrieli lacks.
2. Patrick is a Democrat and is not afraid to run as a Democrat. As the campaign has neared primary day, Gabrieli has determined that his best chance to win is to appeal to independents and conservative Democrats. His question at last Wednesday's debate asking Patrick whether or not he has taken positions in disagreement with the party platform was a disappointment. The candidates are running for the Democratic primary, and while Gabrieli and Tom Reilly emphasize their differences with the part, Patrick is unapologetic for his party affiliation and unafraid to run on Democratic values. If I wanted to elect a non-Democrat, I'd vote for Kerry Healey or Christy Mihos.
3. Patrick favors continuing in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants. I do not believe we should punish children for the choices of their parents. The state has a responsibility to provide for all of it's residents, and in order to help qualified immigrant children fulfill their potential and be contributing members of society, we should provide them with the same opportunity as their American-born peers. Gabrieli's opposition is ironic considering his reputation as an education guru of sorts, and it smacks of political opportunism.
4. Patrick is on the right side of the income tax debate. It has taken me all summer to warm to his position, as I am inclined to support an immediate income tax rollback because the voters approved the rollback as an initiative petition. While I think government by initiative petition is a bad way to do business, it is the law of the state. But I also believe that the state is not fiscally sound enough to absorb an immediate tax cut. It took all summer, but Patrick finally explained his position in terms I could agree with in the debate on Wednesday when he asked if residents would rather have $200 in your pocket, or save $500 in auto repairs because our roads and bridges are sound. He also explained that he supported the current law which provides for increases in personal exemptions and deductions before rolling back the income tax rate. Gabrieli's plan is clever, but vague.
For Lieutenant Governor, I will vote for Worcester mayor Tim Murray. Generally, I do not believe that the nominee for LG has much effect on the race, but Murray could bring enough support from Central Mass. to keep Healey from sweeping the region (60 of 61 towns in Worcester. County voted for Romney in 2002), and in a close race, that could be the difference. I also believe that Central Mass. could use a strong advocate in the executive branch. I would also be comfortable with Andrea Silbert if Murray were not to win the nomination.
Incumbent Bill Galvin will get my vote for Secretary of State. Challenger John Bonifaz is essentially a one-issue candidate, emphasizing the need for election reform. While election reform is a major issue nationwide it has rarely been a problem in our state, to Secretary Galvin's credit. I am disappointed that Galvin refused to debate his challenger, but not disappointed enough to change my vote.
I am reluctantly voting for Joe Early, Jr. for District Attorney. For nearly all of my adult life I have only voted for one republican in each election: whoever was running against retiring DA John Conte. Conte is a tired, reclusive, uncurious, uninterested, unaccountable old grump and should have retired decades ago.
I was hoping we'd have a better choice than the son of the quintessential congressional hack (Congressman Early nearly brought me to tears of laughter late one night when I caught him on C-Span defending himself against charges that he was involved in the congressional check-kiting scheme. He was pounding the lectern in the empty chamber, hollering in his Elmer Fudd affect "They'uh wunning like wats!" at his imaginary tormentors).
But it's either him or Dan Shea, a carpetbagger from Texas who came to Worcester a decade ago, made a name defending victims of the Catholic church abuse scandal, and decided to run for office. At least Early is local and has worked as Asst. DA and Asst. Attorney General.
For Governor's Council I will mark my ballot for Brian Buckley. I believe as Buckley does that lawyers should be evaluating and endorsing or rejecting the governor's choices for judgeships. That leaves two candidates: Buckley and Brian D'Andrea. D'Andrea was a protege of Matt Amorello's at the Turnpike Authority and is a hack's hack. He will not receive my vote.
I am voting for Kathleen Reynolds Daigneault for Register of Deeds. (And shouldn't that be Registrar of Deeds. Isn't the register the physical book or binder in which the deed is filed.) I do not believe this should even be an elected office, but since it is I'm voting for Daigneault. She has been a perpetual candidate in Leominster and lost in the 2004 primary race for state representative. In fact, her supporters have recycled the campaign signs form that race, and added stickers with "Register of Deeds" to the sign posts. I don't know if that is pitiful or a sign of perseverance, but it's enough to get my vote.
All of the other races are uncontested, and while I usually leave my ballot blank if a race is uncontested, I will cast a vote for incumbent State Rep. Jennifer Flanagan. She is facing a strong challenge from opportunistic former-Democrat Claire Freda in the general election and I believe it will be helpful for Flanagan to gauge the level of her support coming out of the primary.
Tags: Massachusetts Election 2006 Democrat Primary Deval Patrick Tim Murray
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