CMassPolitics.com Interview: Sheila Harrington, 1st Middlesex House District

CMassPolitics.com spoke with Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) about her campaign for state representative in the First Middlesex House District.

Weekend Roundup: Margo Barnet on the move

Margo Barnet (D-Worcester) has gained some major support over the last couple of weeks in her attempt to win the Democratic nomination for the State House in the 13th Worcester District. Shaun Sutner of the Telegram reports that she has been getting help from outside organizations:

Three deep-pocketed unions have flooded the 13th Worcester District with mailings for Margot Barnet, the most liberal of the six Democrats in the race to succeed state Rep. Bob Spellane and the chosen candidate of Worcester Mayor Joe O'Brien.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Massachusetts Nurses Association and SEIU Local 1199 have all chipped in for Barnet.

Barnet also picked up the endorsement of the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters earlier today.

Speaking of endorsements, Paul Franco (R-Worcester) continues to get mileage out of the withdrawal and subsequent endorsement of Bruce Card (U-Worcester).  Franco and Card appeared together on the Hank Stolz Experience on WCRN-AM and Charter TV3, and Franco also took a turn on the Jim Polito Show on WTAG-AM.

18th Worcester House District
Sutner also reports that some supporters of Rep. Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton), including two Uxbridge selectmen, are retracting their endorsement of a letter Callahan published last month calling challenger Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) a liar.

Ms. Callahan wrote letters that appeared in four Blackstone Valley community newspapers in which she attacked Fattman for allegedly purveying a series of lies about her and rebutting each one.

The letter had 16 co-signers. Callahan also listed Sutton Town Administrator James Smith and planning director Jennifer Hager as contacts.

Now, though, two Uxbridge selectmen have distanced themselves from Callahan's letter, and Smith says he and Hager have nothing to do with any conflict between the candidates.

Here is Callahan's original letter, as published in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle.

First Middlesex House District
All five candidates appeared at a forum sponsored by the Pepperell Business Association last night. Earlier, Republicans Connie Sullivan (R-Ayer) and Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) squared off in a televised session on Groton Community Television. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

Second Franklin House District
Video of Wednesday's debate in Greenfield has been posted to the Greenfield Community Television Web site.

Legislative roundup: One candidate in, one candidate out

A couple of unenrolled candidates for the State House lead the round up of legislative campaign news today. One candidate in the 13th Worcester District bowed out of the race today, while a candidate in the Second Franklin District jumped back into the ring after dropping out a couple of weeks ago.

13th Worcester House District
First, to Worcester, where Worcester Magazine reports that Bruce Card (U-Worcester) is ending his campaign and endorsing Paul Franco (R-Worcester):

At a press conference today, [Card] added that he’s endorsing Paul Franco, the race’s lone Republican. Card said Franco’s attention to fiscal responsibility, intentions of “restoring integrity to Beacon Hill” and “goals of reviving the economy” mirrored his own platforms.

Franco has posted video of the event, held in a local restaurant. The maudlin music accompanying Card's speech gives new meaning to the term "swan song."

Second Franklin House District
Genevieve Fraser (U-Orange), who had dropped out of the race last month due to health issues, posted a note to her supporters that she has re-thought that position and will continue her campaign after all:

After months of heavy campaigning, including one session that lasted for over 12 hours in direct sunlight, I experienced a variety of symptoms that sent me scrambling to doctors for tests. Since then, the symptoms have cleared...but I now observe the warning and cover-up, and limit exposure to sunlight.

I look forward to resuming campaign activities and providing an independent voice regarding the many issues that face voters in the district.

Fraser had previously endorsed Roxanne Wedegartner (D-Greenfield) when she withdrew from the race.

Worcester and Middlesex Senate District
The Boston Globe suggests that Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) is an example of a Democrat who is "tacking to the right" this election cycle. Their reasoning? Flanagan attended a Tea Party Forum in June.

Flanagan's bill to closely track prescription use to keep patients from shopping for doctors who will give them painkillers was signed Friday by Gov. Deval Patrick.

Ninth Worcester House District
Timothy Dodd (D-Westborough) attended the reopening of a Jiffy Lube in town. He was joined by fellow Selectman (and Middlesex and Worcester Senate candidate) George Thompson (R-Westborough) as well as Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Worcester).

Shaun Sutner of the Telegram continues his look at the voting patterns of challengers. Today he notes that Dodd was a Republican until July 2009, voting in every Republican primary this decade except for the Special Election ballot last December.

Rep. George Peterson (R-Grafton) accepted a copy of the U.S. Constitution from the Constitution Ride Across America.

Second Worcester House District
Rich Bastien (R-Gardner) posted an item to Red Mass Group criticizing Gov. Patrick for not signing the casino bill and allowing Wonderland Park to close.

Patrick Gerry (D-Gardner) won the endorsement of the MassEquality Political Action Committee.

Sixth Worcester House District
Peter Durant (R-Spencer) released a new web video calling for voters to send the state "in a new direction."

37th Middlesex House District
Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker stumped for Kurt Hayes (R-Boxboro) at a gathering of GOP women in Lunenburg.

First Middlesex House District
The Pepperell Republican Town Committee wants everyone to know that whoever was campaigning for Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) in the PRTC's name was doing so without its permission.

NARAL has posted it's list of endorsed candidates. Jesse Reich (D-Ayer) is the only Central Mass. candidate in a contested primary to receive an endorsement.

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.

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.