Tuesday roundup: Haller gives Mahoney a holla

Worcester Magazine reported Monday that Worcester city councilor Barbara Haller has endorsed John Mahoney (D-Worcester) in the six-way Democratic primary for the 13th Worcester House seat. In addition to other attributes, Haller appreciates that "JOHN MAHONEY likes people, babies, and animals. JOHN MAHONEY also likes hard work, public service, and attention to detail."

In his Election.net column today, Shaun Sutner looks at the ethnic and religious backgrounds of the six Democrats, one Republican, and one unenrolled candidate in the race.

Elsewhere around the region...

Second Franklin House District
The four Democrats running for representative debated on WWLP-TV in Springfield.

First Middlesex House District
The Sentinel and Enterprise profiled Jane Morriss (D-Groton), Jesse Reich (D-Ayer), and Tony Saboliauskas (D-Pepperell), the three candidates for the Democratic nomination.

Sixth Worcester House District
The bill sponsored by Rep. Geraldo Alicea (D-Charlton) that bans novelty cigarette lighters was signed by Gov. Deval Patrick and will go into effect in November.

Worcester County Sheriff
William Frisch, former Deputy Sheriff and supporter of Scot Bove (D-Holden) criticized Tom Foley (D-Worcester) in the Telegram, saying Foley "was found to be 100 percent medically disabled and obviously unable to perform the essential function requirements of his position." Foley countered that Mr. Frisch is "uninformed and totally unaware of the pressures that surround the head of the state police in Massachusetts.”

Monday Roundup: Herr slow to report

The Milford Daily News reports that Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton) has missed a couple of campaign finance reporting deadlines in reference to his run for Congress in the Third District:

Republican congressional candidate Brian Herr of Hopkinton has sought more time to file a financial disclosure form due in May but appears to have already missed a final pre-primary deadline.


Herr said yesterday that his campaign needed more time to fill out the forms than initially thought, then misunderstood the rules governing extensions....

U.S. House candidates must file forms listing their incomes, liabilities and certain assets with the chamber clerk within 30 days of hitting the $5,000 mark for fundraising or spending, with May 15 the first day to do so.


Herr hit that mark early on, but the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct can grant extensions of up to 90 days, an accommodation Herr has requested. But the form must still be filed 30 days before the next election; the Sept. 14 primary, however, is less than three weeks away.

The article also looks at the financial statements of the other candidates in the race, if you are inclined to care how much each of them earned last year.
Incumbent Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) is the subject of a profile in the Boston Globe, which suggests that he is in one of the toughest campaigns of his career. For his part, McGovern says he will not change his politics because of the political climate:

“Just because Scott Brown won an election doesn’t mean I should change everything I believe in," he said. “It’s no secret that I’m a liberal; I didn’t poll any of this stuff, but I am who I am."

Elsewhere...
 
Worcester County Sheriff
The Worcester Business Journal looks at the fundraising efforts of the major-party candidates for Worcester County Sheriff.
 
Scot Bove (D-Holden) talks to the Telegram about his priorites for the Sheriff's Office, including reducing the Worcester County Jail's budget.
 
First Middlesex House District
Tony Saboliauskas (D-Pepperell) is finding that some voters are confusing him with his son Zach, who ran for the seat in 2008 as an unenrolled 21-year-old.
 
Sixth Worcester House District
The Southbridge Evening News notes that Rep. Geraldo Alicea (D-Charlton) has not yet officially announced his run for re-election. Alicea says that he is running, but is waiting to announce.
 
Twelfth Worcester House District
Rep. Harold Naughton (D-Clinton) touts his record from the recent house session, in a column in The Banner.

Weekend Roundup: Lazy days of summer

As one would expect after a lazy summer weekend, there were no big stories to break over the last couple of days. But there were a couple of things of note, here they are...

Sixth Worcester House District
Rep. Geraldo Alicea (D-Charlton) reports that progress is being made in the quest to bring a Registry of Motor Vehicles office back to Southbridge.

Challenger Peter Durant (R-Spencer) has called on Alicea to file Durant's bill to prohibit the state from breaking a lease similar to the former RMV lease in Sturbridge. The press release is a proof-readers nightmare. One hopes the bill is better written than the release.

11th Worcester House District
Kevin Byrne (D-Shrewsbury) announced recently that he plans to run for the Democratic nomination to replace Rep. Karyn Polito (R-Shrewsbury). Denis Leary (D-Shrewsbury) had been the only Democratic candidate to qualify for the ballot, but he recently pulled out due to health issues.

12th Worcester House District
Rep. Harold Naughton received the endorsement of The Gun Action Owners League of Massachusetts.

Challenger James Gettens (R-Sterling) was endorsed by Citizens for Limited Taxation.

37th Middlesex House District
Rep. Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) voted in favor of the sales-tax holiday. Her anti-tax opponent, Kurt Hayes (R-Boxborough), criticized her even though she voted the way he would have.

18th Worcester House District
Selectman Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) has been under fire for literature claiming he won an award that he did not win. He is challenging Rep. Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton).

13th Worcester District
City Councillor Joffrey Smith (D-Worcester) is balking at Worcester's newly proposed valet parking ordinance.

Second Franklin House District
Lee Chauvette (D-Athol) has been endorsed by the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts.

First Congressional District
Bill Gunn (R-Belchertown) brings his campaign to Leominster for a candidate forum Tuesday night at 7:00.