We interrupt our wall-to-wall John Roberts coverage to remind you (and ourselves) that other important stories continue to percolate along.
The field in the Second Middlesex Senate race has narrowed considerably. What looked for a while like a free-for-all is now down to four major Democratic candidates, Rep. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville), ex-Rep. Joe Mackey (D-Somerville), Rep. Paul Casey (D-Winchester), and Governor’s Councillor Michael J. Callahan (D-Medford), along with Bob Publicover about whom I know nothing. Today’s Globe has this interesting piece on Mackey’s innovative use of technology – a CD containing a brief movie about him – in his campaign. Also on the technology beat, Mackey and Pat Jehlen both have set up spiffy websites; Casey and Callahan have not, though Casey told the Globe he’s planning to (Callahan was mum on his technology plans).
It’s shaping up to be a very interesting race. Jehlen, of course, has lined up a slew of endorsements from "progressive" interest groups, liberal-ish unions like SEIU and the Teachers’ Union, and left-leaning individuals, and is clearly banking on that crowd’s ability to get out the lefty vote. Mackey has also positioned himself as a "progressive" candidate, though he hasn’t had the success with obtaining endorsements that Jehlen has, perhaps relying instead on a combination of his fancy CDs and shoe-leather. At the opposite end of the spectrum appears to be Callahan, who is taking the more traditional Democratic approach – lining up endorsements from conservative-ish unions like the police and NAGE, and local elected officials like Medford’s popular and long-serving Mayor Michael J. McGlynn and Woburn Mayor John Curran. Callahan, too, will no doubt be hitting the bricks this summer.
Of course, everyone recognizes that a special election campaign like this one is all about turnout. And it seems fair to say that both the "progressive" Dem crowd and the "traditional" Dem crowd are well represented in Somerville, Medford, Woburn, and Winchester. In a totally unscientific survey of a small corner of Medford, I saw a smattering of Callahan lawn signs, along with a couple of Mackeys and Jehlens (in case you’re wondering, a "smattering" is more than a "couple"). But there are plenty of voters out there for all of these candidates. Who can get them to show up on August 30?
I was polled on this race and they asked no follow-ups after I named the candidate I was supporting (Pat Jehlen). Is this standard for polling at this level, or does this mean one of the other candidates was polling specifically to distinguish himself from one of the other men and didn’t need to ask follow-up questions of a Jehlen supporter?
Sounds like an ID call to me, where the candidate is finding out who their voters are going to be. If they didn’t identify themselves as calling from a specific campaign then they probably hired someone to make the calls… looks like someone’s short on volunteers.
Interesting, did not occur to me. Thanks.
I haven’t seen Casey get off his ass in this one. Callahan is working, and knows how to work. There are no surprises in Jehlen’s endorsements and your comments about her. Mackey is going to grab many of her votes plus he had supporterts from years ago and good Somerrville roots. I see Callahan winning it. May change, but I think he will get his vote out and non progressives are willing to vote for him or Casey, and since casey is looking weak they will give their vote to Callahan.
So far, I’ve gotten a couple of mailings from Casey, and none from Callahan. For what it’s worth. I know Callahan’s been doing a lot of other stuff. I’ve also gotten a couple of calls from the Jehlen campaign in addition to the anonymous survey I cited above, and no other calls. Just one frequent voter in Somerville…
Well, not that he was going to make a huge impact in the race, but Bob Publicover announced his withdrawal today. http://somervillenews.typepad.com/the_somerville_news/2005/07/publicover_with.html