this endorsement for Reilly which includes Mennino, and Cohen from lilly liberal Newton, is very significent. Kudos to Cohen for showing some stones for a change.
I am interested to see the comments from this blog considering the extreme analysis and interest of the Capuano endorsement of Patrick. There really is a world beyond Somerville and Cambridge. Reilly will pick up huge field support from those Mayors. Also interesting …. the Mayors discounted Tom’s support of the tax rollback, as not a “litmus “test for their support.
Please share widely!
With the exception of the Menino political machince, Reilly’s collection of mayors means very little for his campaign because mayors do not bring the town. Endorsements are a balancing act and mayors help but look at the other elected officials from the towns as well as the community groups.
<
p>
Reilly may get a mayor in Medford or Fall River, but if the State Rep goes with Deval and the town’s board goes with Deval then really what good is that mayor. As a political stunt this is great news for Reilly, he gets to announce that people like Menino, who’s been with him for months, support his candidacy for governor. Yet, the real battle the one Reilly is losing on a daily basis is the one for the hearts and votes of those lunch-pail democrats from towns like Winthrop and Fall River.
<
p>
Mayors help get your foot in the door but if you are just going to then stick your foot in your mouth — you’re in no better position than if you stayed home…
If Deval got 15 mayors I’d be jumping up and down for joy…
<
p>
I’m not surprised that Mayor Cohen endorsed Reilly at all, I would be surprised if he actively campaigns for him throughout Newton.
I think Deval would be more excited by committed voters than mayors. He’s got mayors supporting him, he just doesn’t post it to the front page of the globe.
<
p>
The Patrick Campaign is focusing on motivating the actual voters not a group of self-important mayors.
Please! If Deval had half these endorsements he’d be broadcasting it all over the place. I mean just the other day he was trying to pimp out his lone congressional endorsement now you try to act like he’s about that. Get real.
Capuano is not Deval’s “only congressional endorsement.” McGovern has endorsed him as well (as has Barack Obama, if we’re going out of state). I believe Meehan and Neal have endorsed Reilly, though I could be wrong about the latter one.
If a single mayor endorsed, we could judge it mainly based on how many votes that mayor could bring. And you’re right, Menino is significant in that regard: if he works, he will turn out a lot of votes for Reilly.
<
p>
But if 15 mayors endorse all together, and the Reilly campaign does a good job using that, it has implications for message. Message can affect the whole dynamic of a race, and voters in far-flung parts of the state who aren’t directly connected to the mayors in question. This is an opportunity for Reilly, let’s see if and how he uses it.
Is there a full list of the 15 mayors somewhere? I was interested to see in the Globe story that Northampton was mentioned, meaning Mayor Mary Claire Higgins. I looked at Reilly’s website and couldn’t find a list.
The Globe story says:
<
p>
Patrick’s campaign sent out a dueling list of endorsements yesterday that included the mayors of a few cities, including those of Somerville, Salem, and Northampton.
<
p>
So it appears that Mayor Higgins of Northampton has endorsed Patrick, which makes more sense.
<
p>
In fact she is on this list of endorsements on the Patrick campaign site.
Huh, that endorsements list doesn’t have Ken Reeves, mayor of Cambridge. I think I heard him endorse Deval Patrick. At the very least I’m pretty sure I personally heard him say he supports Deval, maybe he hasn’t made an official endorsement yet but I thought he had…
Report here.
Hmm… that report lists the mayor of Cambridge as endorsing Patrick’s municipal revitalization plan — it doesn’t directly say he endorses Patrick for governor. Isn’t the mayor of Cambridge just the chair of the City Council, or have they changed that?
Reeves introduced Patrick very warmly at a Cambridge Dem Town Committee meeting last year; they know each other. I would be shocked if Reeves didn’t endorse Patrick.
According to The Republican, Reilly’s 15 mayoral endorsements included five from Western Mass., including Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen, Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonette, Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan, North Adams Mayor John Barrett and Westfield Mayor Richard Sullivan. Higgins, as you said, DaveMB, endorsed Patrick, along with Pittsfield mayor James Ruberto.
eeeenteresting
<
p>
Remember when the mayor of North Adams announced he was withdrawing his support of Reilly? Sounds like he’s back.
Despite the mayoral endorsements on both sides, there are a number of major cities where the mayor is not now or won’t be a factor in the Democratic gov’s race:
<
p>
Springfield — I take it Mayor Ryan is on neither list;
<
p>
Worcester — Tim Murray’s running for Lt. Gov
<
p>
Lawrence – Republican
<
p>
Lowell – City-Council/Mayor form of govt
<
p>
New Bedford — Scott Lang has not endorsed and I thought I read somewhere will not endorse.
<
p>
So in a number of the larger cities, the chief executive is not a factor.
<
p>
It’s such a poor city.
No, I haven’t seen anything on a Ryan endorsement. Springfield’s Mayor Charlie Ryan is a figure who’s hard to peg, politically. His story line is that he came out of retirement to save the troubled city and drive the rats out. He’s gotten applause from people on both sides of the aisle for his integrity. It wouldn’t surprise me if he weren’t interested in endorsing a candidate for governor. But it would definitely interest me if he did.
What’s up with all you conservative Dems making ominous noises about liberal blathering and then going silent? rightmiddleleft just had a dozen liberals tell him Reilly endorsements didn’t mean doodley, is he going to stand for that?
<
p>
But seriously…to those who occasionally allude to a liberal tone to this blog that they find disagreeable and out of touch … instead of mumbled complaints, let’s see you stand up and argue til you’re blue in the face – it’s what a blog is for!
The comment was posted with this somewhat important tag (end of 1st p), which got lost in http-land:
<
p>
What’s up with all you conservative Dems making ominous noises about liberal blathering and then going silent? rightmiddleleft just had a dozen liberals tell him Reilly endorsements didn’t mean doodley, is he going to stand for that? [open carrot]/tongue in cheek[close carrot]
But seriously…to those who occasionally allude to a liberal tone to this blog that they find disagreeable and out of touch … instead of mumbled complaints, let’s see you stand up and argue til you’re blue in the face – it’s what a blog is for!
where the mayor usually has a political field apparatus. Of course, people don’t vote in lock step for the mayor ,but many people will work for the candidate with whom the Mayor supports and the cities have the largest numbers of voters to get out when the time comes.I’d rather have them for me than against me.
Much of the recent conservative-dem vitriol about “liberal blather” has been directed at me. And I’m definitely liberal. Yet the one comment I posted here is, on balance, supportive of the significance of these endorsements. I was disagreeing with someone else’s comment that they don’t mean anything, and pointing out one way they could mean something that he hadn’t considered.