He didn’t ever really seem to be in, but nonetheless, it’s official today. According to State House News Service and the AP, Peter Koutoujian will not run for Middlesex DA, but instead will seek reelection to his House seat. Two other Democrats (Rhonda Bourne and Toby Fisher) had already announced that they would run for Koutoujian’s House seat – they must be rather annoyed today. It’ll be interesting to see if they stay in the race.
No Republican has yet announced a candidacy for Middlesex DA.
Please share widely!
I think that I have been rather consistent on this one — Barrios is running a campaign that seems to be smart, even though he is the most inexperienced person in this race. He has never prosecuted a case. He is a very progressive lawmaker, but he has to split the progressive vote with Mike Festa, who has more experience and less money than he does. It certainly doesn’t help Barrios’ campaign that he has had two campaign managers leave so far…
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Leone is not a policy guy, he’s just a prosecutor… which is refreshing except that a DA does a lot of crime prevention policy work that I’m not sure he’ll be up to the challenge on. Barrios is one end of the spectrum, Leone is the other.
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Koutoujian’s exit leaves the door wide open to Mike Festa, the progressive State Rep from Melrose. He is the only balanced candidate in this race because he was an assistant DA, like Leone, and is a progressive legislative leader like Barrios. I think we’ll see him emerging and raising more money than he has in the past — substantially more.
I don’t know that much about the policy work the DA does, but if you ask me, Martha Coakley and Tom Reilly were both fantastic DA’s who were prosecutors, not legislators before being elected. Besides, Leone’s website talks about the work he did on prevention programs as a prosecutor. Seems to me, your assertion is a bit off-base. Just callin’ it like I see it…
I don’t think Festa has much of a chance against Leone and Barrios…he hasn’t been a presence in the district and he’ll need to raise a bunch more money to be considered a viable candidate. Unfortunately, politic races have been more and more about the money raising, which buys media presence. What I find to be totally off the wall is the fact that Festa did a freakin’ reading at Barrios’ wedding and then decided to run against him…what’s up with that?
Speaking of money: I’m going to restate a point that I made early; two big Republican fundraisers are doing yeoman’s work for Leone….Joe O’Donnell and Richard Egan (btw: wasn’t he Ambassidor to Ireland or considered for the post under Bush?..I apologize for the shakey factoids; I’m a domestic policy kinda girl. And let’s not forget that Mr. Leone was appointed by Bush to his position: not to mention that he’s pro death penalty and was a point guy on the Patriot Act. Walks a Republican, looks like a Republican, acts like a Republican…hmmmmm. As for Barrios’ prosecutorian experience…didn’t he receive the Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year award for his pro bono work? Let’s be honest, a good DA is as good as his staff. It’s about the leadership one provides, the skills one has as a negotiator and fairness. I don’t mean to oversimplify. Barrios has worked on the anti-gang violence legislation, elder-abuse laws and is more inclined to support proactive rather than reactive measures. You’ve got a big district with a wide range of needs; I think the common ground will be found and individual needs assessed and addressed with Barrios’ experience.Oh,one more thing: OCPF records indicate that there is alot of Reilly money going to Leone, including his own max out….hmmmm, doesn’t sound too independent on Leone’s part, does it?
that Leone was not directly appointed by Bush. The US Attorney, Mike Sullivan, is a Bush appointee (and an ex-Republican state rep), and I believe (but I could be wrong) that Sullivan then hired the staff including Leone.
I’m sorry but I think there needs to be some clarification here in reference to attacking Democrats:
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http://vps28478.inmotionhosting.com/~bluema24/showDiary.do?diaryId=1161#4229
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I think you may want to inform Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Kerry, Cong. Markey, Meehan, Lynch, Capuano and the countless other statewide Democrats about the âCARDINALEâ rule of Fundraising in reference to your comments about Richard Eganâs and Joe OâDonnellâs donations to the Leone campaign. Or maybe you should do some research in the future before you start making accusations about whoâs really a Democrat.
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Iâm a longtime Democrat, who has and will continue to support Sen. Barrios, heâs a great legislature, but the DAâs race isnât for him. Your comments are exactly what the Democratic Party doesnât need, mud slinging against other Democrats. I for one am proud of the selection of great candidates that we have to choose for District Attorney and am pleased that such a qualified candidate such as Leone is a Democrat!
Gee, Richard Eagn donated Hundreds of Thousand of Dollars to Bush and then gets appointed Ambassidor to Ireland. I am sure GW did made this appointment because Eagan is a good Massachusetts Democrat.
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Can you tell me how long Gerry Leone has been a registered Democrat?
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Based on reading his explanation of the Caucus process on his web site, I don’t think he has ever been to a caucus, because he certainly doesn’t know when on how they are being run this year.
Thanks, David! I did mispeak and I appreciate the clarification. The loss of two campaign managers seems to be happenstance. Both Frias and Rosenberg left for personal reasons….just a fluke…There were three managers during the Senate race…none was a day at the beach…particularly Avi Green. But, he got his, didn’t he?