Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

The Alicea Race, An update

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It’s a tie!  Democrats involved in the recount had the goal of counting every vote. On Wednesday the judge ruled that the result was a tie while also stating that a voter was erroneously turned away.  It’s in the hands of a House panel at this time.  Action is expected quickly.

So it’s time to get to work.  I have had the good fortune of knowing Geraldo for a number of years.  We volunteered together in electing Democrats before there was an open seat and Gerlado decided to run.  He is a good solid progressive Democrat who votes his conscience.    

Geraldo has a strong record.  He has been a leader in public safety issues.  He authored the new law that prohibits the sale or manufacture of dangerous “novelty lighters” in the Commonwealth.

Geraldo has also been active in other areas.  He led the charge to return the Registry of Motor Vehicles to Southbridge.  He bas been active in education issues, including the Education Reform Bill.

When marriage equality was an issue, Geraldo took the time to talk to constituents and listen to their stories.   After studying the issue he voted to support the right to marry and was targeted because of that vote.  He won reelection in 2008.  

Now, Democrats across the state have the opportunity to ensure that he is re-elected to another term.  Special elections are a great way to get to know active Democrats from across the state.

Republicans will be putting on a full court press.  We need to do the same.

Plans are being made to start campaigning soon.. During the regular election cycle, we need to spend time in our own areas, but during specials we can have and impact in other areas.  I ask you to do two things:

1) You can sign up to be on the campaign’s e-mail list by sending an e-mail to ashley AT repalicea.com

2) Donate to Geraldo using the personal link I just created.  

Let’s use this election as an opportunity to get in fighting form for the 2012 elections.

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Comments

  1. Kate,

    <

    p>And I’m being serious here.  What makes you think there will actually be an election.  Representative Michael Moran (D-Boston), who chairs the 3 member panel that will make a recommendation to the House, has been very forthright that it is the House, and the House alone that has the final say.  If past performance is a predictor of future results, I strongly feel that there will not be an election.  A judge ordered a new election in the Wheatley – Patrick race in 2001 and the legislature ignored the judge.  Now Representative Moran is on record saying that Judge Tucker’s ruling is “just one piece of evidence” for Moran’s panel to consider.

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    p>So I ask the question Kate, what makes you think there will actually be an election?  Because I think there is a strong 50/50 possibility there won’t.  

    <

    p>Rob

    • Is that like a “definite maybe”?

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      p>I don’t know what the circumstances of the Patrick race were, but if the race is an exact tie it seems like a do-over is in order, unless there is a constitutional provision for the House to break the tie.

      • is they can seat whomever they want in a situation like this, or call an election. It is their perogative, upheld by a 2003 SJC ruling.  There is a good overview of the Patrick – Wheatley race here.

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        p>

        Eight years ago, another disputed election led to a months-long drama in the courts and in the House.

        In 2002, one-term incumbent Rep. Matthew Patrick, a Falmouth Democrat, appeared to best Republican challenger Larry Wheatley by 17 votes, a tight race that led to a protracted court battle as Wheatley alleged voting irregularities. When Richard Connon, a Barnstable Superior Court judge, ordered a new election, House Speaker Thomas Finneran balked. Finneran assembled a committee that included then-House Majority Leader Salvatore DiMasi, Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty (D-Chelsea) and Rep. George Peterson (R-Grafton) to determine whether the House could seat Patrick without a new election.

        For nearly three months, Patrick continued to attend sessions, vote and collect pay while the fight over the election results played out in court. His supporters cited Article 64 of the constitution, which permits lawmakers to remain in office until a successor is sworn in. Eventually, the special House panel voted 2-1 along party lines to seat Patrick, arguing that the State Constitution gives the House exclusive jurisdiction “to be the judge of returns, elections, and qualifications of its own members.”

        • It does appear the House was on firmer ground in that instance as they ultimately seated the person who officially won by 17 votes.  This time the official result is an exact tie, so while they have the right to seat without election, I really don’t think they should.

    • Rob, in both your post here and on RMG you left out the part where Moran said he thought an election was “the strongest option” (Boston Globe).  He also said that “evidence we have just heard from the judicial branch is going to be very strong evidence for us to consider” (Telegram).  The story’s not complete without those quotes.

      • but he is equivocating enough to make me very suspicious.  If there is a new election I’m more than thrilled.  But I’ll believe it when I see it.  

                1. Invading Iraq unnecessarily and basing that invasion on lies and distortions
                2. No planning for the invasion because it might undercut the politics
                3. Dismantling of the Iraqi army
                4. Allowing chaos in Iraq after the invasion that destroyed important parts of the infra-structure
                5. Not keeping track of billions of dollars in Iraq
                6. Appointing unqualified Republican operatives to run the Provisional Authority
                7. Mismanaging the many  contractors in Iraq: drinking water for troops, shoddy construction
                8. Not providing armor for our troops
                9. Conducting counter-insurgency in a counter-productive manner with too few Arab speakers and too much bombing
                10. Allowing the abuses at Abu Ghraib and then not handling it in a manner consistent with international law and allowing it to destroy the goodwill Iraqis originally had for the U.S.
                11. Mismanaging our relationships with our allies
                12. Lying about Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch
                13. Letting Osama bin Laden get away
                14. Permitting Afghanistan to sink into chaos again
                15. Neglecting of Arab-Israeli conflict
                16. Lying about no child left behind
                17. Willfully neglecting mine safety for the sake of the mine owners
                18. Ignoring food safety, e.g., problems with salmonella and the pet food poisonings
                19. Ignoring regulatory problems in the mortgage market
                20. Raising the allowable arsenic levels in water
                21. Politicizing the Justice Department
                22. Lying about social security, e.g., saying that private accounts would make the system solvent when they would make the system lesssolvent
                23. Destruction of EPA libraries
                24. Giving Iran and North Korea an incentive to arm
                25. Green light on India’s nuclear ambitions
                26. Violating FISA
                27. Abrogating FISA
                28. Pushing irresponsible tax cuts and running up gigantic deficits
                29. Filling FEMA with incompetent Republican operatives so that it was incapable of responding when Katrina hit New Orleans
                30. Using terror warning levels for political reasons
                31. Using of terrorism prosecutions for political reasons
                32. Holding innocents at Guantanamo and elsewhere without applying due process
                33. Torturing prisoners at Guantanamo and elsewhere

              • Has Galvin certfied the election as a tie?

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                p>The judge says so, but AFAIK the Secretary is silent.

                <

                p>That was a factor in the justification in the Wheatley election – another piece of evidence, as it were – that the Secretary had not certified pending the legal challanges.  

                <

                p>HAS Galvin certified the tie per the decision?  Because unless he does, it remains the Speaker’s choice.

    • But it would be my guess that it is more than a 50% chance that there will be a new election.  So, we need to get to work.

  2.    Lets get a couple of facts straight here shall we?
      Geraldo defied the wishes of his constituents by voting for gay marriage in exchange for $500,000 for Southbridge. They’re still waiting for the money.
      The Southbridge RMV office closed under his reign. Yep, a sure sign of his INeffectiveness.
      Wow, so I have to buy my novelty lighter to set off my sparklers purchased in CT for July 4th. CT is a half mile away down Rt. 131. Way to drive businesss out of state. AGAIN!
      Is that your best effort Kate? Thank you very much for the Peter Durant endorsement!
      We Republicans are putting on a full court press too. We have had enough corruption. It must begin to end here.

    • Although one of your facts is certainly “straight”, they certainly don’t appear to be valid…

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      p>

      Geraldo defied the wishes of his constituents by voting for gay marriage in exchange for $500,000 for Southbridge. They’re still waiting for the money.

      <

      p>If his constituents were so against his 2007 vote on gay marriage, why did they re-elect him in 2008?

      <

      p>

      The Southbridge RMV office closed under his reign. Yep, a sure sign of his INeffectiveness.

      <

      p>If he’s so “innefective”, why did the RMV open a new Southbridge location in 2010?

      <

      p>

      Wow, so I have to buy my novelty lighter to set off my sparklers purchased in CT for July 4th. CT is a half mile away down Rt. 131. Way to drive businesss out of state.

      <

      p>If you had to drive to Connecticut in the first place to get your 1800 to 3000°F stick of fire , why not buy the lighter while you’re there? When I need a lighter, I go to Tedeschi’s and buy a lighter that doesn’t look like a child’s toy, but that’s just me I guess.

      <

      p>Got anything else? I hope you realize by promoting Rep. Alicea’s vote on gay marriage you are simply providing more incentive for BMGers to contribute, right? I just sent him $25.

      •    You’re missing simple facts in your blind display of partisanship.
          Alicea sold out his constituents for PROMISE of $500,000. The issue doesn’t matter. Southbridge never got the money. Ineffective.
          Regaining what his district lost? Again ineffective. By the way, the RMV website doesn’t show it. That is what I went by. Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot. Democrats lie.
          The voters of the 6th district voted him out of office.
          Lets see: The Southbridge town clerk is related to Alicea. All of the issues in the entire district happened in ONE precinct in Southbridge. Hmmm. I smell stink.

  3.    i apoligize for the statement about the website. Anybody know where exactly it is now?
      How about the Turnpike in Charlton office closing? Yes, i know, that was a bad idea from the beginning. I personally like going to the Southbridge branch. No waiting.

    • It’s a waste of time to argue with your fantasies. That’s outside the realm of reality where there are no rules of evidence.

      <

      p>Come back when you have some provable facts.

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