Two weeks ago Reilly launched his first real issues statement on education. His web site provides in detail his second issues statement outlining a new children’s crime initiative. For those who have been complaining about lack of programs and vision coming out of his campaign there is much to chew on. Interesting, in this campaign there are those such as candidate Healy who teaches criminal justice and has a degree in the subject and there are those who have actually have a record of accomplishments. There is no other candidate that can match Reilly’s record in crime.
From his web site:
“As Middlesex District Attorney and Massachusetts Attorney General, Reilly has an unmatched record of protecting the children of Massachusetts.
When Massachusetts was hit with a wave of youth violence in the 1990s, then-DA Reilly established his Community-based Justice (CBJ) initiative that brought together law enforcement, school officials, and social service providers to share information and identify potential problems at an early stage. Reilly personally headed the CBJ program and began his mornings in urban high schools four days a week â Cambridge, Somerville, Malden, and Everett. CBJ became a national model for preventing youth violence in communities and schools and the program still exists today.
As Attorney General, Reillyâs investigation and groundbreaking report on the sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Boston fully exposed how church leaders tolerated this abuse and protected molestors for six decades. Through his efforts, Reilly helped make significant changes â including a new law requiring the mandatory reporting of abuse by members of the Clergy â and firmly established the premise that nothing should come before the protection of a child.
Under Reillyâs leadership, his officers have literally taken hundreds of guns off the streets of Massachusetts and he has successfully prosecuted hundreds of drug crimes. As Attorney General, Reilly made Massachusetts the first state in the country to use consumer protection regulations to target handgun safety. He also expanded existing partnerships and created new alliances with local communities to reduce youth violence through the Attorney Generalâs Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.”
why the Reilly camp doesn’t talk about CBJ more often. Just like some Patrick supporters are baffled by his lack of reference to his time as a corporate lawyer, I pragmatic solutions like these can rbing together Dems of all shades, Independents, and Republicans who are sick of the all talk, no walk Healey model.
…the other night and the CBJ was in the stump. But my sense is it’s been scaled back to just one high scholl, probably becuase of W cuts in the community justice grants.
And decided to cover Reilly yourself, instead of just bitching that no one else was doing it. I told you a decent post would make it on the recommended list and it did.
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Reilly does have a good history of prosecuting and investigations. I just don’t understand how being good at this one aspect of public service makes him qualified for leadership at the corner office.
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Personally, I wish he’d stay AG. shrug He just doesn’t strike me as a strong leader, a good speaker (he isn’t), a political coalition-builder or even someone who wouldn’t just buckle every time the going gets tough. The only thing that stands out in my mind is that he came out for the Immigrant Tuition Bill, which looked like it might pass until the last minute. Would Reilly then allow the issue to be shelved and never touch it again? My sense is that he would. My idea of a good leader is someone who would take that issue and then work at it again, and again, using his powers of persuasion and his political capital to change minds and get the right thing done for Massachusetts, even in the face of opposition from your own party.