CMassPolitics.com Interview with Rep. Jim McGovern

Interview with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester), candidate for reelection to U.S. Congress in the Third Congressional District.

Lamb discusses bankruptcy, challenges McGovern to limit spending

Marty Lamb (R-Holliston) filed bankruptcy a decade ago because of nearly a quarter-million dollars in credit card debt, a report in yesterday's Telegram revealed. Lamb, who is a favorite of the Tea Party and is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility, told the Telegram he ran up the debt while trying to save his law practice:

Martin A. Lamb of Holliston, the GOP candidate for Congress promoting fiscal responsibility, filed for personal bankruptcy in 1999 and was cleared of more than $226,000 in credit card debt....

An opponent of government bailouts for private institutions, he has called for major cuts in federal spending and says the country should be paying off the national debt.

In an interview, the 53-year-old said he amassed significant debt while trying to keep his fledgling law firm afloat. He said he started a law practice with a partner 15 years ago. The business struggled, so Mr. Lamb poured more money into it — more money than he had.

“Most people, when they start a business, it's a failure,” he said. “Sometimes it goes bust. I'm a business creator. I understand the hardships and the pitfalls, the good and bad — unlike Jim McGovern, who's never created jobs and doesn't understand.”

Coincidentally, Lamb and the third candidate in the race, Patrick Barron (U-Worcester), each proposed measures Thursday to limit campaign spending. In a press release, Lamb challenged Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester) to keep spending under $300,000:

"If Congressman McGovern wants to pretend that he is not the incumbent in an attempt to hide from his record, then why not give up his war chest too," challenged Lamb. "Let's go message to message."

Lamb is proposing a $300,000 spending cap for the General Election. That figure will give candidates roughly $1 per voter to spend.

"Does he believe enough in his message to accept my challenge? As the incumbent, he has more name ID so this is more than a fair offer," said Lamb.

The most recent campaign finance reports indicate that McGovern has nearly $1 million in cash on hand and holds roughly a 100-to-1 edge in that category over Lamb, who reported $9,500 to spend.

For his part, Barron called on both candidates to sign a pledge eschewing donations from "Special Interests" and asked them to return any unspent special interest money. It reads, in part:

I pledge to never take any special interest money from any corporation, union, any other political action group or representative thereof. I will not take any special interest money for any position I may seek, any candidacy I may have or any position I currently hold.

If I have previously received special interest money for a position I have sought or now hold, if this money is available and not clearly and verifiably committed it will be immediately returned from the largest donor first to the smallest.

Although Lamb has received support from Political Action Committees, the pledge is clearly aimed at McGovern, who has a 400-to-1 edge in available cash on the unenrolled Barron.

Press Release: McGovern announces bid for reelection

The following press release was sent by Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester), incumbent candidate for representative from the Third Congressional District.

McGovern announces bid for reelection

Congressman Jim McGovern formally announced today his bid for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives in Massachusetts’ 3rd Congressional District at JimMcGovern.com/announce.

“Today, I’m proud to officially announce my candidacy for Congress because I’m anxious to keep fighting: to grow jobs, to help small businesses, to increase renewable energy, and to expand biotechnology.”

“I’m impatient. I’m impatient to get things done -- to cut through bureaucratic red tape to get people back to work and to see our economy flourish. I’ve heard a lot of rhetoric about what some people are ‘against.’ Instead, my focus is on progress, growth, development, and the future.”

In a web-only video released today announcing his candidacy, McGovern stated his strong desire to see private sector expansion in the United States, rather than overseas.

McGovern said that his agenda for the upcoming term would be aggressively focused on bringing economic security and growth to the 3rd Congressional District. “We need to invest in infrastructure, and we need to invest in education. And to the extent we skimp on education, we’re going to lose our competitive edge.”
McGovern’s announcement video also features interviews with Hopkinton businessman Dan Brown and Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives head Kevin O’Sullivan, who discuss McGovern’s work to develop new jobs.

“With Jim McGovern’s help, what we’ve been able to demonstrate so far is job growth,” said Brown.

“I’m very proud of our team in Massachusetts, and I’m also proud that we were able to bring these jobs back from overseas because this helps us in the economy.”

McGovern said he would build on his legacy of working with private companies, developers, and investors throughout the 3rd Congressional District to stimulate growth.

McGovern also pledged to continue to be a leader in the fight to bring our troops home safely from Afghanistan. “I’m tired of nation-building over there; it’s time we do some nation building here in the 3rd Congressional District.”

Congressional Roundup: Democrats "slightly ahead" in fundraising by huge margins

Congressional fundraising reports were due last week and now that the numbers are in, it looks like the Republicans running for Congress will have their work cut out for them. We start in the Fifth Congressional District, where the Sentinel and Enterprise headline writer says "Tsongas slightly ahead":

BOSTON -- Sluggish fundraising from the four Republican candidates running in the 5th Congressional District could put the winner of the primary election, now less than two weeks away, at a marked disadvantage against U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, who out-raised all of her opponents combined over the past two months....

Tsongas raised $121,323 in July and August, leaving her with about $517,000 on hand as she prepares to enter the general election campaign. Though she has far surpassed her opponents' fundraising efforts, her less-than-sizable war chest could force her campaign to make decisions down the stretch about where they want to spend and where they can cut back.

The cash-on-hand tally, according to the Sentinel:
Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell): $517,000
Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle): $77,600
Sam Meas (R-Haverhill): $28,600
Bob Shapiro (R-Andover): $3,300
Tom Weaver (R-Westford): Did not report

Pretty tough news cycle when your six-and-a-half to one money advantage is considered a "slightly ahead"...

Third Congressional District
According to the Telegram and Gazette, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester) has a slightly better than slight lead--as in a 64-fold advantage--over his opponents:

With nearly $1 million in the bank, U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern is easily winning the fundraising battle against his six challengers.

Five Republicans and one independent candidate are also running for the 3rd district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission this week, the best financed Republican in the race, Brian J. Herr of Hopkinton, has $14,603 on hand, compared to Mr. McGovern's $964,303.

The Telegram's cash-on-hand tally:
James McGovern (D-Worcester): $964,303
Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton): $14,603
Marty Lamb (R-Holliston): $9,505
Michael Stopa (R-Holliston): $7,544
Bob Delle (R-Paxton): $4,600
Patrick Barron (U-Worcester): $2,500
Robert Chipman (R-Plainville): "almost nothing"

Yesterday, McGovern was the keynote speaker at the Labor Day breakfast in Worcester. According to the Telegram, he told the audience that he was tired of Republican criticism on the economy. "The people who drove us into this ditch shouldn’t be complaining about the size of the tow truck to get us out of the ditch," he said.

Late last week, McGovern visited a factory in Fall River that makes camouflage material for military uniforms. McGovern also appeared on WICN-FM Radio to talk about the issue of global hunger. Visitor's to McGovern's website can sign up before tomorrow to get a special web-only video announcement.

Lamb was also on the airwaves over the weekend, appearing with Rachel Miselman on the BlogTalkRadio.com network.

Not to be outdone, Delle has released his first radio ad.

Second Congressional District
Finally, Jay Fleitman (R-Nothampton) spoke out against the Democrats' handing of the economy at a Republican candidates' forum in South Hadley late last week.

Thursday Roundup: Out of Afghanistan

Third Congressional District Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) was in Attleboro yesterday, where he  served ice cream and called for President Barack Obama to end the war in Afghanistan. From the Sun-Chronicle:

The congressman said the Afghan government is corrupt, that it stuffed ballot boxes during the last election and that Americans should not die to prop it up.

The billions of dollars being spent on nation building in Afghanistan could be put to better use domestically, he said.

"We need to bring this war to an end and start investing in jobs at home," he said.

Roads, bridges and schools are being built in Afghanistan with American taxpayer money, he said. McGovern said America can better protect itself by striking at al-Qaeda throughout the world with a "lean, mean, fighting machine," rather than by occupying Afghanistan.

Challenger Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton) unveiled his second radio ad of the cycle, touting himself as the best person to "put the brakes" on Washington spending. No word on if the sound of brakes in the background was recorded while he was jaywalking in a recent Web video.

Elsewhere...
 
Fifth Congressional District
Fallout from the revelation that Jon Golnik was arrested for DUI following an AC/DC concert nine years ago continued. The Eagle-Tribune suveyed local political analysts who believe that Golnik's record of not voting for eight-and-a-half years may have more of an effect on his campaign than his old arrest. 
 
Jim Peters, brother-in-law of Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell), checks in from the campaign trail with a post at RichardHowe.com.
 
First Congressional District
John Olver (D-Amherst) outlined the biggest difference between his approach to economic recovery and those of his opponents in an interview with the Berkshire Eagle:

"Tax-cutting is the least efficient way of to have an impact upon the economy," he said. "The things that have the greatest impact are those which are immediately spent like food stamps ... and unemployment compensation."

Olver also predicted Democrats will keep control of both houses of Congress in the November election.

Third Congressional District roundup: Herr gets a slap on the wrist

For a couple of days, the stories from the Third Congressional District have centered on Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton) and his failure to file campaign finance reports in a timely manner. The House ethics committee has weighed in and Herr will be fined a grand total of...two hundred dollars! From the Sun Chronicle:

Congressional candidate Brian Herr said he expects to be fined $200 for being late to file a personal financial disclosure statement with the U.S. House of Representatives.

Herr, a Hopkinton Republican, said the deadline for filing the information was May 15, and he did not make the deadline....

"It dropped between the cracks. The bottom line is we were late," he said. He said he finally sent the statement to Washington Monday.

Herr said he is unsure what caused his organization to fail to meet the deadline, but believes everyone has been so busy with the campaign that it must have been an oversight.

Herr was again criticized by the McGovern campaing for not taking the issue seriously. But one wonders how serious the violation is when the fine is less than dinner for four at a fine restauarant.

While he will likely not be fined for it, Herr is clearly jaywalking across rte. 135 in his latest web ad.

Incunbent Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester) has been everywhere in the last couple of days. Yesterday, he joined Second Congressional District Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) in Bellingham to announce a $300,000 EPA grant to deal with water runoff into the Charles River.

McGovern also spent time talking with Hank Stolz of Charter TV3 and releasing a web video, which included the support of a prominent Hopkinton developer.

Marty Lamb is on the air with a new radio commercial geared toward "Republicans, independents, and Tea Party patriots." In a press release, Lamb says the ad buy includes the Howie Carr Show and Peter Blute Show on WCRN-AM.

Finally, the Telegram reports that Patrick Barron (U-Worcester) has filed enough signatures to qualify for the general election ballot in November.

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.

Congressional Roundup: GOP candidates on their own

The Sentinel and Enterprise reports today that despite Republican optimism inside the Fifth Congressional District, the National Republican Congressional Committee is not planning on spending any money to oppose Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell):

BOSTON -- The national Republican Party, eyeing a possible takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives this fall, has not been fully sold on the chances of Bay State congressional GOP candidates to tap into the Scott Brown magic.


In the 5th District, that could mean another election cycle that the Republican nominee will have to go it alone against a better-funded U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, who is seeking a second full term after her special election victory in 2007.

Despite the insistence that Tsongas could be vulnerable this fall, national Republicans are not yet willing to commit any resources to a race in Massachusetts still considered a reliable Democratic stronghold, even after U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's upset victory in January over Attorney General Martha Coakley.

The article discusses the chances of either Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) or Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) to upset Tsongas. Tom Weaver (R-Westford) and Bob Shapiro (R-Andover) are relegated to the dreaded "also running" status.
 
That hasn't stopped Weaver, who took a shot across Golnik's bow with a press release calling news of Golink's eight-and-a-half year voting hiatus as a distraction and asserting that only Weaver's "resume" was strong enough to defeat Tsongas.
 
The Boston Herald looks at WTKK-FM radio host Lawrence “Huggy” Bergman, who doubles as a "campaign operative" for Meas. Bergman insists that there is no conflict of interest.
 
Meas continues to garner national recognition for the story of his emigration from Cambodia, this time in the Wall Street Journal.
 
In a post at Blue Mass Group, Tsongas uses the 90th anniversary of women's suffrage to argue for her re-election.
 
Third Congressional District
Three of the five contestants for the Republican nomination squared off in a televised debate in Hopkinton. Michael Stopa (R-Holliston), Robert Delle (R-Paxton), and Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton) differed on the size of the federal workforce and the acceptance of Race to the Top education funding. Video of the forum is available on the HCAM-TV website.
 
Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) visited Somerset to discuss future development possibilities on the town's waterfront.
 
Marty Lamb (R-Holliston) continues to get mileage out of his barf bag gimmick, with coverage on WCVB-TV and in the Attleboro Sun-Chronicle.

Wednesday roundup: Deadline day

Today marked two important deadlines in the candidates' quest for their parties' nominations. First, today marked the last day a voter could register to vote or declare their enrollment in a political party. Secondly, August 25 also marked the last day candidates can receive campaign contributions and count them toward the July-August reporting period. The Telegram looks at the second:

In the 3rd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, has raised an estimated $250,000 since July 1, said campaign manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. Combined with money raised earlier in the year, the campaign will have nearly $1 million on hand, Mr. Augustus said.

As of June 30, Mr. McGovern had raised more than $1 million — far more than the Republicans challenging him had raised — and had nearly $823,000 on hand....

Mr. [Brian] Herr [of Hopkinton] and Mr. [Marty] Lamb [of Holliston] were the only Republican opponents to submit FEC reports for the reporting period that ended June 30. In that period, Mr. Herr had raised more than $66,000 with about $23,000 left on hand, and Mr. Lamb of Holliston had raised nearly $49,000 with about $21,000 on hand.

The other candidates, Robert J. Chipman of Plainville; Robert A. Delle, formerly of Westboro, who now lives in Paxton; and Michael P. Stopa of Holliston, lag in fundraising. They have yet to submit any financial reports.

Chipman, Delle, and Stopa also get the treatment from the liberal alt-weekly Boston Phoenix, which looks at right-wing candidates running for Congress and refers to the three candidates as part of "a swarm of dubious characters, with little experience in politics, whose questionable beliefs are only just beginning to come to light."

Lamb has been getting some mileage out of his Congressional barf bags. He gets a mention from Michelle Malkin, which is a pretty big get. (Perhaps just as surprising is the news that Malkin's staff follows Worcester Mag's Jeremy Shulkin).

Four of the five candidates are scheduled to debate in Hopkinton tomorrow night.

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) spoke out against a proposal to move the caseload from Marlborough District Court to facilities in Ayer and Concord.
 
Eldridge, who strongly opposes casino gambling, told the Lowell Sun that the failure to pass casino legislation will be a plus for Gov. Deval Patrick's reelection campaign.
 
Second Franklin House District
David Roulston (D-Greenfield) announced that he has received the endorsement of Sheriff Frederick McDonald.

Congressional Roundup: Golnik's DNV

In basketball, a player who suits up but does not appear in the game is shown in the box score as a "DNP" (Did Not Play). According to a report this weekend in the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, Third Congressional District candidate Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) has been quite the bench warmer, as he did not vote at all from November, 2008 to March, 2009:

"It's one of those things you're certainly not proud of and wish you could change," Golnik said of his voting record. "I fell into a trap and I got disillusioned. I got frustrated...."

"I was an activist. And then I stopped," Golnik wrote on his campaign website under the header "My Political Journey." "What happened to a young activist like me and a lot of others after 2000 that made me make the active decision not to vote? It wasn't because I didn't care. I felt that I upheld my end and that my party didn't uphold its end. I felt betrayed. I believe Republicans lost their way after Bush's 2000 election."

Not only is Golnik being criticized for his DNV (Did Not Vote), an area blogger and strong supporter of Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) is suggesting that the fire that destroyed Golnik's headquarters may have been started by the candidate (or one of his supporters). The Lowell Sun reports:

Mike Farquhar, who writes on the blog rabidrepublicanblog.com, asked "Could this be a narcissist's criminal bid for attention?"

"Maybe it's just my suspicious nature, but with three honorable candidates in this race, and one proven liar ... could this be a self-inflicted wound?" Farquhar wrote.

The Golnik camp was appalled.

"Thirty-six hours after the fire that destroyed the Golnik office, we are fully functional and not focused on ridiculous accusations from anonymous people and blogs," said campaign spokeswoman Alicia Preston.

As you can imagine, Meas has distanced himself from Farquhar, saying he "doesn't condone anything Mike has said."

Elsewhere in the races for Congress...

Third Congressional District
Michael Stopa (R-Holliston) gets the full treatment from the Telegram today. To sum up:

“I am frustrated by the condescending stubbornness of the Obama administration, and I am scared by the complete cluelessness of what to do about it,” he says bluntly.

Martin Lamb (R-Holliston) got to be part of The Hark Stolz Experience. Unfortunately you won't be able to get the full experience, as only the first segment of the show has been published.

Audio of Brian Herr's (R-Hopkinton) radio ad has also been posted to You Tube.

In talking about the effort to restore cuts to food stamp programs, Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) said "Let's not rob Peter to pay Paul." Any old saying that reminds me of former Red Sox G.M. Lou Gorman warms my heart.

McGovern also attended the reopening of a Jiffy Lube in Westborough to laud the company's charitable efforts. He was joined by current Selectmen Timothy Dodd (D-Westborough), who is running in the Ninth Worcester House District, and George Thompson (R-Westborough), who is campaigning for the Middlesex and Worcester Senate seat.

First Congressional District
Bill Gunn (R-Ware) will be out of the district and in Washington, DC this week to fulfill his community service obligations. According to a press release, Gunn was arrested on March 21 and charged with disruption of congress for yelling "Kill the Bill" from the House gallery during debate on the Affordable Care Act. Gunn was subsequently sentenced to 40 hours of community service, to be completed this week at the Greater Capital Area Food Bank.

Last week, Gunn appeared on the "Politically Speaking" show on Fitchburg Access Television.

Michael Engel (U-Southampton) announced that he has accepted an invitation to debate Gunn at a Tea Party event in the coming weeks. No definitive date has been set.

Thursday Congressional Roundup: Immigration dominates debate

Four of the five challengers for the Third Congressional District seat held by Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) squared off last night in a Shrewsbury debate. The forum, sponsored by the Shrewsbury League of Women Voters, gave Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton), Michael Stopa (R-Holliston), Martin Lamb (R-Holliston), and Robert Delle (R-Paxton) a chance to differentiate themselves from each other, however slightly. One area where there was both some consensus and disagreement was on immigration policy, as reported in the Telegram:

Though they all oppose amnesty, the candidates differed somewhat in their views on illegal immigration. Mr. Herr and Mr. Lamb both said the borders need to be secured, with the help of the U.S. military. They said existing laws need to be enforced to make the country unattractive to illegal immigrants.

Mr. Lamb went a step further, saying employers should be fined or charged for hiring illegal immigrants. He also believes citizenship should not be a birthright for children born to illegal immigrants.

Mr. Stopa voiced strong support for Arizona's new immigration law and said other states should be allowed to pass such laws. “I think we should send 12 million illegal aliens back to their home countries,” he said.

As a lawyer, Mr. Delle said, he has represented hundreds of illegal immigrants.

He said the illegal immigration problem has been overstated, and that people who live in the country illegally are not stealing jobs that citizens and legal residents would want.

Delle, who has lived in Westboro, Wayland, and now Paxton in the last year, also remarked that he was the best candidate because he doesn't "need a GPS to get around here." The article doesn't mention if the remark was serious or self-deprecating, but if he was joking about his frequent moves...well, that's funny.

While the Republicans were slugging it out, McGovern was discussing food stamp policy and other subjects on the Callie Crossley show on WGBH-FM.
 
Fifth Congressional District
The four Republicans hoping to replace Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) faced off in a debate Tuesday in Chelmsford.
 
Just hours after the Tuesday debate, the campaign headquarters of Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) were destroyed in a Westford blaze. Golnik told The Boston Globe that the fire will not slow down his campaign. In fact, Congressional Quarterly reported yesterday that Golnik has turned the loss into a fundraising pitch.
 
First Congressional District
Michael Engel (U-Southampton) asks on his blog if anyone has seen Rep. John Olver (D-Amherst) recently, illustrating his query with a photoshop of the incumbent on the side of a milk carton.

Wednesday Congressional Roundup: Out like a Lamb

Tuesday was a busy day on the campaign trail in the Third Congressional District, with many of the candidates out on the campaign trail. Michael Lamb (R-Holliston) made a stop in Fall River, where he criticized Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) for allowing the federal deficit to rise. From the Herald News:

“Each taxpayer in this country now owes $118,000 to pay off the national debt,” Lamb said.

“Unfortunately, that figure is growing every day. For more than a decade our incumbent has failed to control spending....”
 
“If your income is cut by 20 percent what do you do? You cut your spending by 20 percent,” Lamb said. “That’s what government needs to do and they’re not doing it. As a father of two daughters, I want to make sure we don’t leave a mountain of debt to the next generation.”

McGovern was in Marlborough, where he toured local businesses with leaders from the civic and business communities.

Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton) announced that he has cut a radio ad. According to the campaign, the ad will air locally on WCRN-AM during the Peter Blute and Howie Carr shows.

The four candidates for the Republican nomination were scheduled to debate earlier this evening in Shrewsbury.

Fifth Congressional District
A fire tore through the campaign headquarters of Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle). No word yet on the cause of the blaze. Earlier this afternoon, Golnik posted a YouTube update of the damage.

Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) spoke with Callie Crossley of WGBH-FM radio Monday about the campaign.

The Boston Globe looks at "wacky, jarring, and sometimes tasteless videos for the Web," including the decidedly not tasteless offering from Tom Weaver (R-Westford).

Second Congressional District
The Reminder profiles Jay Fleitman (R-Northampton). He called the Affordable Care Act "a jobs bill for China and India."

Columnist Maureen Turner of The Valley Advocate analyzes the campaign of Tom Wesley (R-Hopedale).

Tuesday Roundup: Harrington's new idea

This week, sister publications Lowell Sun and Sentinel and Enterprise are profiling candidates for the First Middlesex House seat being vacated by Robert Hargraves (R-Groton). Two Republicans are vying for the nomination, and one of them, Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) is advancing a proposal that I've not seen before:

GROTON -- For many workers, landing a competitive job in Massachusetts means they may not be able to work in the same field, should they ever resign or get laid off.

That's because, says Sheila Harrington, many employers ask workers to sign a contract that prohibits them from seeking a similar job elsewhere or starting a business in which the skills and knowledge they acquired on the job might come in handy. The Bay State court is known for enforcing the contractual agreement -- so much so that skilled professionals are afraid to use their talents outside the corporate shadows, Harrington says.

Harrington believes limiting the scope the non-compete clause and the range of workers to whom such contracts may be applied is crucial to creating more jobs in Massachusetts.

"If you want to stimulate more jobs in Massachusetts, you have to be more creative" than simply rolling back the sales tax, Harrington says.

I'm skeptical that there are that many people still out of work because of non-compete clauses. Even so, it's refreshing to see a candidate talk about something different than taxes, casinos, and immigration for a change.

While I don't think reporter Hiroko Sato meant the profiles of Harrington and Connie Sullivan (R-Ayer) to be contrasting pieces, it looks like Harrington is taking a veiled shot at Sullivan when the profiles are read one after the other:

AYER -- Discouraging Massachusetts consumers from crossing the state border is one of Cornelius "Connie" Sullivan's economic stimulus strategies.

Lowering the sales tax would help create many more jobs in the state, and that's evident from how stores were hiring people for the tax-free weekend, Sullivan says....

He supports rolling back the sales tax to 5 percent -- or as low as 3 percent if voters are willing to. That would require the state to scale back on spending, but the state government has "plenty of fat" to trim anyway, he says...

Presumably, the Sun and Sentinel will be looking at the Democratic candidates on the days to come.

On to other things...

Second Franklin House District
The four candidates for the Democratic nomination will face off in a forum at 6:00 pm at the Greenfield Community Television studios. GCT is pretty good about posting their events online, and we will post a link on CMassPolitics.com once it becomes available.

Lee Chauvette (D-Athol) was interviewed by Athol author James Joseph Brown.

Second Congressional District
Jay Fleitman (R-Northampton) tells the Telegram that the federal stimulus was "a disaster," the Gulf oil spill was "handled horribly," and that Afghanistan is "an abject mess."
 
Fifth Congressional District
Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) gave a wide-ranging interview to the Haverhill Gazette. He said the number one reason he is running is:

First, there is a huge lack of choice in Massachusetts. There is one dominant party, and many are running unopposed. It is the antithesis to democracy. We've spent $1 trillion on two wars trying to give them the freedom of choice, but we do not have it here. To me, that's important. If Republicans were the dominant party, I'd say the same thing.

Third Congressional District
The Boston Globe reports that James McGovern (D-Worcester) co-authored a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking her to protect food stamp funding in a proposed child nutrition bill.

Weekend roundup: I've been everywhere, man

It's awfully difficult for a challenger to dominate the media cycle against an well-financed, high-ranking incumbent, but Tom Wesley (R-Hopedale) managed to do just that Friday in his Second Congressional District race against Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield). We'll start with the Telegram, where Wesley was the feature of Friday's candidate profile:

Mr. Wesley explained that these are tough economic times and that people have to be careful with their finances. He quickly added, however, that this election is about more than raising money.

“I see it as my patriotic duty,” he said when asked why he was running. “I'm fighting for unborn generations.” termed a lynchpin election, which means in his opinion the American way of life is at stake and people are angry with what has been happening on Capitol Hill.

In addition, Wesley was all over the radio, appearing on Springfield's WAQY-FM and WHYN-AM. He has also continued videotaping while driving.
 
For his part, Neal has received praise from the unlikeliest of sources. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has endorsed Neal's bill to provide for automatic enrollment in IRAs for employees of small businesses:

The Automatic IRA is a conservative, market-oriented solution to help address our retirement savings crisis. It would increase the proportion of Americans who can save for retirement at work from 50 percent to 90 percent, make it simple for small business owners to offer IRAs to their employees, and create low-cost accounts that an employee can understand and use without having to be a financial expert.

Neal's proposal has also been endorsed by the more liberal Brookings Institution.

Elsewhere...

Third Congressional District
Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) continues to keep the pressure on Congress and the Obama administration over the cut in food stamp aid that was part of the $26 billion jobs bill:

"President Obama pledged to end childhood hunger by 2015," McGovern pointed out. "It's hard to see how you do that while you're cutting food stamps.''

Fifth Congressional District
In the Sentinel, columnist Peter Lucas calls Tom Weaver (R-Westford) "the most qualified candidate you never heard of."

Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) was in Harvard to tout federal funding for a 220-kilowatt solar power facility at Carlson Orchards.

First Middlesex District
Tony Saboliauskas (D-Pepperell) is part of a group trying to get permission to erect a "Support our Troops" sign on town land in Pepperell.

Second Franklin House District
Earlier this week, David Roulston (D-Greenfield) became the latest candidate to criticize the proposed biomass plant in Greenfield.

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
The communications director for Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) is taking time off during the fall recess to work for the campaign of Ninth District Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston).

Worcester County Sheriff
Lew Evangelidis (R-Holden) recently visited the Hampden County Sheriff to get some tips on programs for inmates.

Wednesday Roundup: Money is on its way

Topping the news today are the reports that Congress passed the jobs bill, meaning $655 million will be coming to Massachusetts. In the Telegram, John Monahan reports that the money will be used to fully fund Chapter 70 education aid and to restore funding to a number of social programs threatened in the FY2011 budget passed late last month. Third District Congressman James McGovern (D-Worcester) spoke in favor of the bill on the House floor:

“At a time when states like Massachusetts are starting to see unemployment rates decrease, now is not the time to pull the rug out from under them,” Mr. McGovern said. “If we were to fail our states and not enact this extension, 2,400 teaching, police and firefighter jobs in Massachusetts would be at risk.”

However, McGovern wasn't completely happy with the final bill. In order to make the $26 billion package deficit-neutral, the House offset some of the spending by including cuts to food stamp programs. According to The Hill, McGovern has pledged to restore the food stamp funds and find another way to offset the spending.

For his part, McGovern has been stimulating the local economy not with food stamps, but with food service. Shaun Sutner reports (second item) that McGovern has rolled up large tabs at a number of restaurants in the Third District. Among those listed in the report was a nearly $20,000 bill at a restaurant in Swansea.

Fifth Congressional District
The Lowell Sun gives Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) credit (or blame, if you prefer) for "push[ing] through an emergency $26 billion jobs bill." Tsongas outlined how the funding would help Massachusetts:

Tsongas explained that the Recovery Act included increased federal support to states to maintain the Medicaid program, due to the fact that as unemployment went up during the recession, more people were qualifying for the low-income health insurance program and states were facing a diminished tax base with which to meet that need.

"Those Medicaid funds are scheduled to run out at the end of this calendar year even though the economy is still on shaky ground and states have not started to see a significant increase in their revenues," Tsongas said.

In other news, Tsongas is also worried that plans to widen I-93 from Andover to New Hampshire may squash plans to build a new interchange that would service businesses in the area.

Tsongas is also touting the endorsement of Veterans and Military Families for Progress.

Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) continues to get national recognition for his compelling personal story, this time in a Richmond Times-Dispatch profile. Meas lived in Richmond for a time as a teenager.

In a column in the Billerica Townie News, Tom Weaver (R-Westford) outlines his plan to cut $596 billion from the federal budget.

Worcester and Middlesex Senate District
The jobs bill could have a trickle down effect on the state legislature. Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) told the Sentinel and Enterprise that she doubts the legislature will be called back into session to debate the appropriations coming from Congress. If the legislature did reconvene in a special seesion, it could also choose to reconsider the casino bill, which Flanagan believes is dead.

11th Worcester House District
Sutner looks at the race between the seventysomething Kevin Byrne (D-Shrewsbury) and the thirtysomething Matthew Beaton (R-Shrewsbury), and explains how Byrne will make the November ballot despite being left off the primary slate (third item).

Sutner also looks at the unconventional approach of Daniel Dubrule (R-Ashburnham), who is refusing to speak to area rod and gun clubs despite being "a gun owner and professed Second Amendment supporter."

Second Congressional District
Rep. Richard Neal gave a wide-ranging interview with WAMC Northeast Public Radio. The interview ran in three parts earlier this week. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Governor's Council
Fran Ford (D-Paxton) took a populist tone against the propsed closing of courthouses in Leominster and Westborough, anguing in a Telegram op-ed that "it is past the time when we in Central and Western Massachusetts need to tell Boston that 'enough is enough.'"

Finally, look for a major announcement about the future of this site tomorrow.

Monday roundup: "No record of doing anything well"

The most interesting developments this weekend were in the Fifth Congressional District, where candidate/minstrel Tom Weaver (R-Westford) attacked Rep Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) with a song. But there were other developments as well...

Third Congressional District
The Telegram profiled Robert Chipman (R-Plainville) this morning. According to the profile, the mortgage consultant is against the Affordable Care Act, against financial regulation, against the portion of the 14th amendment that guarantees citizenship to U.S.-born children, and against pretty much everything else congress has done in the past 221 years:

“Congress has no record of doing anything well,” he said in a recent interview.

One other note on the profile...reporter Priyanka Dayal wrote "After quietly disapproving of President Barack Obama for years, the always-active voter has also decided to speak up."  While conservatives like Chipman might feel like they've been fighting the President for years, he's only been president for 19 months. Still between 29 and 77 months to go...

Dayal also took a brief look at the race between Rep. James McGovern, Chipman, and the other four Republican contenders.

Second Franklin House District
Candidates continue to weigh in on the biomass plant proposed for Greenfield. Denise Andrews (D-Orange) has made public her comments to the Department of Energy Resources:

...large scale wood burning electrical generating plants, like the 47 megawatt plant proposed in Greenfield, are not good investments or direction for our communities.

There are two fundamental reasons for this conclusion, first, the scientific analysis and second, the desires and will of the people have been made clear. Scientific perspectives and data shared from the Manomet study team, area health care professionals, forestry professionals, and area researchers were consistent, compelling and conclusive. As for the will and desires of the people, Lennie Weeks, from Greenfield, shared beautifully at this forum that the people have spoken and that the will of the people must be respected and supported. The recent Greenfield Biomass vote (8:2 vote) was compelling and clear that the people do not believe the proposed biomass plant or current direction is best for their community.

In a press release (no link available), Lee Chauvette (D-Athol) called on the town of Greenfield and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs to conduct an enhanced review of the proposal:

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a strict policy entitled the Environmental Justice Policy which mandates enhanced public participation as well as enhanced review of such projects by the Executive Office for communities that fall under this particular program. Greenfield does in fact according to the policy website have a neighborhood that is an Environmental Justice Policy neighborhood....

The Environmental Justice Program is designed to give residents enhanced participation in projects that may cause harm to their neighborhoods...I urge local officials to review this issue.

Second Congressional District
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) is poised to introduce legislation requiring employers without a retirement plan to offer an IRA option.

Neal has also pledged to fight for federal funds to restore an historic house in Springfield.

Ninth Worcester House District
13th Worcester House District
Shaun Sutner of the Telegram looks at the explosion of candidates from Central Mass. Included are Timothy Dodd (D-Westboro) challenging George Peterson (R-Grafton) in the Ninth District and Paul Franco (R-Worcester) running for the open seat in the 13th District.

Saturday roundup: McGovern keeps up the pressure on Afghanistan

Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) continued his anti-war advocacy with a column in Friday's Telegram. The congressman explained his vote against the $33 billion war appropriations bill:

I voted in 2001 to go to war in Afghanistan — to hunt down al-Qaida and eliminate their threat. I would cast that same vote today — in a heartbeat. Al-Qaida remains a threat, and we must redouble our efforts to destroy them wherever they are — in Pakistan, in Yemen, in Somalia, and elsewhere around the world.

But what we are doing in Afghanistan today is far beyond that original authorization. We are engaged in extensive, expensive “nation-building” in a very complicated, dangerous part of the world.

And frankly, given the level of unemployment and the severe economic situation we face in the United States, I’d rather do a little more “nation-building” here at home.

Speaking to the Attleboro Sun-Chronicle, McGovern laid out his support for allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire on families making over $250,000. "I'm sorry, if Donald Trump doesn't get a tax break it's not the end of the world," he said.

Elsewhere in the Third Congressional District, Robert Delle (R-Westboro) is calling for a boycott of New York City over the planned mosque and Islamic Cutural Center a couple of blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center. I can think of a dozen or more reasons to stay away from New York, but that wouldn't be one of them.

Fifth Congressional District
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) gave a detailed explanation of her vote against the Afghanistan military authorization.
 
Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) gets his second national profile in a week, as The Weekly Standard checks in on the campaign. Meas characterizes Tsongas as "so convoluted, she’s so out of touch."

13th Worcester House District
Margot Barnet (D-Worcester) introduces herself to the community at Blue Mass Group. She also revvealed that she is a longtime BMG member with a paper trail.

Ronal Madnick (U-Worcester) will be hosting a debate next week between the four candidates for sheriff. Shaun Sutner of the Telegram wonders if having a candidate in one race moderate a debate in another is a "possible election-season conflict of interest."
 
Second Franklin House District
For what it's worth, Madnick won't be the first rep candidate this cycle to moderate a debate for another office. David Roulston (D-Greenfield) hosted a debate between the Northwestern District Attorney candidates earlier this week.
 
First Middlesex House District
In his role as a member of Ayer's Finance Committee, Jesse Reich (D-Ayer) defended the agenda of the upcoming meeting of finance committees across the region.
 
Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) announced some upcoming events. She will be hosting a night of billiards in Ayer later this week, and giving away ice cream in Dunstable and Groton next month.

Thursday roundup: Looking for order in the courts

Wednesday brought the Court Relocation Committee to Worcester, where a hearing was held on proposals to close a handful of district courts, including facilities in Leominster and Westboro. Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) testified in opposition to the plan:

"We don't have the rail, we don't have the subway, we don't have the trolleys and we don't have the short cab rides," she said. "This is going to hit hard in the city of Leominster."

The Telegram noted that "dozens of people" testified against the proposal, including a number of elected representatives. Congressman James McGovern (D-Worcester) and Rep. George Peterson (R-Grafton) were among those testifying.
Elsewhere...
 
Third Congressional District
McGovern has been busy in the district the last couple of days. In addition to appearing with Rep. Harold Naughton (D-Clinton) in announcing a $250,000 grant to repair a road in Clinton, McGovern also announced a series of visits to local businesses, and checked out another road in need of repair in Holliston.

First Worcester Senate District
Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) explained her vote in favor of "racinos." Despite her claim last week that she would vote against any bill that included the slot machine facilities, Chandler voted in favor of the final bill, which included the possibility of two racinos. She said she believed that the licensing commission would refuse to issue slot licenses because the governor opposes them.
 
Second Worcester House District
Rich Bastien (R-Gardner) attended last weekend's rally with Congressional candidate Bill Gunn (R-Belchertown) and spoke with DaTechGuy.
 
Worcester County Sheriff
Shaun Sutner of the Telegram looks at the wardrobe choices of the candidates for Sheriff.

Weekend roundup: Senate stays on 15, dares Governor to take hit

As the State Legislature wound down the session Saturday, the big news was not that the House and Senate both passed the compromise Casino bill, but that the margin in the Senate was again 25-15, two votes shy of a veto-proof majority. So, if the Governor vetoes the bill as he has promised and if Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) calls a special session to consider the veto, gambling supporters need to get two opposing senators to switch their votes.

Locally, it appears that each of the representatives and senators up for reelection voted the same way they did when the issue came up earlier this session. Interestingly, that included Sen. Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) who voted for the three casino, two racino proposal despite her insistance last week that she would not vote for a bill that included slot parlors for racetracks. As of this evening, Chandler has not publicly discussed her change of heart.

Elsewhere...

Third Congressional District
Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) was vocal in his support for the House bill that strengthens oversight of offshore dirlling. "If you want to apologize for Big Oil, go right ahead, but the American people are not on your side on this one," he said.

Martin Lamb (R-Holliston) unveiled an economic package of tax cuts, including "putting a six-month moratorium on payroll taxes such as Social Security." He could not tell the Attleboro Sun-Chronicle how he would pay for the tax cuts.

Lamb claims he is winning the Facebook primary. According to statistics provided by Lamb and published in the Telegram, Lamb has nearly triple the number of Facebook friends as Brian Herr (D-Hopkinton), his closest competition for the Republican nomination. That and $1.99 will get him a coffee an Dunks.

First Congressional District
The House of Representatives is apparently so upset with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan that it refused to fund his travel budget. While John Olver (D-Amherst) opposed the measure, he did so tepidly and did not block it from coming out of his committee.

Fifth Congressional District
Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) has no use for the legal decision striking down parts of Arizona's immigration law.

Sam Meas (R-Haverhill)  took a spin on syndicated radio's The Roger Hedgecock show.

Second Congressional District
Barron's has dubbed the provision Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) has proposed to close tax loopholes for foreign insurance comanies "Hurricane Neal" for it's potential impact on the re-insurance industry.

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) was criticized by Glenn Beck, of all people, for his leadership on the bill to apportion Massachusetts's electoral votes based on the winner of the popular vote.

18th Worcester House District
Shaun Sutner of the Telegram suggests that Rep. Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton) is operating under a double standard when it comes to lobbying and campaign finance issues.

11th Worcester House District
Matthew Beaton (R-Shrewsbury) was photographed on a golf course with President Geroge H. W. Bush and a Beaton for Representative bumper sticker. This earned a "President Bush throws support behind Beaton" headline from Daily Westborough.

Worcester County Sheriff
The Telegram looks at the four candidates for Sheriff.

Thursday roundup: Tsongas tried to keep Schilling's company in Mass.?

Wednesday was slow with a capital "S", so in keeping with the media's tradition of headlining a Red Sox story when nothing else is going on, we start with former Red Sox hero and current businessman/blowhard Curt Schilling. In a discussion with WEEI Radio about Rhode Island's decision to offer Schilling's video game company 38 Studios a $75 million guarantee to move the business to the Ocean State, Schilling mentioned that he'd only received help from one Massachusetts politician:

Although Schilling “absolutely” wished Massachusetts had offered incentives to keep 38 Studios in the Bay State, only U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., made a significant effort to explore the possibility, he said.

“We made every effort to make that happen, and it was not going to happen,” he said. Officials in Massachusetts have said the state would never provide as large a guarantee as $75 million to a single company.

I'm not sure what pull Tsongas (D-Lowell) would have since the state would have made the decision, but Schilling's company is located in Maynard for the time being and Maynard is in her Fifth Congressional district, so perhaps she just saw it as good constituent relations.

In a completely unrelated item, challenger Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) got the Lowell Sun to publish a story about his call for Tsongas to call for House Ways and Means Committee chairman Charlie Rangel to step down:

"Instead of supporting partisan friendships, Nancy Pelosi, Niki Tsongas and the rest of our elected officials in Washington need to stand up for what is right and demand for their colleague's resignation. People are cynical because once again, members of Congress are above the law," Golnik said in a statement....

"If his colleagues feel he is too unethical too keep his money, then he is too unethical to spend ours," Golnik said.

Tsongas probably has less pull with Rangel than she does with some state development authority, but at least Golnik got an article out of it.

Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) came out against the expiration of last decade's deficit-building tax cuts.

Elsewhere....

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
Rep. Jamie Eldridge told the Lowell Sun that Schilling never asked him for any help. Maynard is part of the Middlesex and Worcester District.

Third Congressional District
Not only has Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) been all over the news as a leader of the anti-war effort, he has also drafted a letter (along with Democratic Rep. Jan Schankowsky of Illinois) urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call for investigations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.