Gerry Leone on the other hand has so much experience, that it makes the race look lopsided. He’s had a long and distinguished career hunting down and prosecuting some of the most dangerous criminals this state has ever seen. (ie; the Shoe Bomber.)
Mr. Barrios, your a legislator, and from what I’ve seen a very good one. Stick to what your good at. Let the Police and Gerry Leone, hunt down and prosecute the criminals. After all, I don’t see him wanting to a Legislator!
Please share widely!
Is taking a lot of flack on this blog lately. That’s ok — it’s certainly part of the election process. I do think, though, that it’s important to remember that the DA’s office does not merely prosecute cases; the DA is also involved with creating large anti-crime programs and working to reduce crime on a county level, not just punish it. On that score, Barrios has credibility, given his work in the Senate on the gang bill and his role as chair of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. Being a legislator also helps one see the broad trends going on communities and understand the political maneuvering necessary to obtain state-level help for county-level anticrime plans. Leone certainly has good credentials as well, but to say that Barrios is not qualified is to ignore the broader role of the DA’s office.
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Another criticism of Barrios is that he is media-hungry — but aren’t most successful politicians? As a commenter in another post (I think it was Caro24 or Lynne, but I could be wrong) pointed out, the Middlesex DA tends to be a stepping stone to higher office (Harshbarger, Reilly, Coakley) and I would love to see Barrios in higher office someday, so that is also a factor in my support of Barrios. To be sure, I am a Middlesex County resident (though I’m away at college right now) and I want the best DA we can have, but given the political role that the office often has, it’s hard to ignore that element in making a decision, and I do want strong progressives like Barrios staying in MA politics.
hunger is so obvious and his glutony ways of satisfying it are comical at times. Especially when his ability to sucessfully work with other legislators in the past has been questioned.
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I know, no unsubstantiated assertions here. So check out the quotes from Rep. Murphy, I think. One of the Lowell reps said this about Barrios last year in the Lowell Sun. I believe the blog linked to it.
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Regardless of what one’s personal opinions are of Barrios, you cannot deny that there is a segment out there, including other legislators, that really really do not like him. It has nothing to do with his sexual orientation or his progressive politics. These same people also have no problem telling there constituents in private, if not very public, that Leone is a better choice.
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Bye Bye Barrios. After next September no one will be kissing your ass. Your so-called supporters will be bad mouthing you for running for D.A. in the first place. Also bitching about running a bad campaign. You watch Jarrett. Most of these people around you aren’t your real friends. Watch them run like rats after September, if not sooner. I mean, the cracks in the foundation are growing larger everyday. You are getting “no”s from people whom you expected to automatically be with you.
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Your real education Jarrett begins after September when you come to a crushing defeat. Then you will really learn about people.
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Shame Shame Shame
Hubris
Senator Jarrett Barrios takes a lot of flack in the media, because he gives them reason to give him a lot of flack in the media. The man simply IS NOT qualified for the job he’s seeking. To date he’s never argued a case. In fact, I SINCERELY doubt he’s ever seen the inside of a court room! And your right, prosecuting criminals is only part of the job of a District Attorney… THE MAIN PART! It would be like hiring some one to teach a class of third graders, who writes beautiful lesson plans, and is really good at creating programs for the kids to help them learn, yet not only has never taught a class, but has never seen the inside of a classroom!
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And if he is using the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Race as a stepping stone to higher office without being qualified for it. Then that would be both reprehensible and obscene! The people of Middlesex County deserve a District Attorney who’s innovative, yes, but also both QUALIFIED and most important of all COMMITTED. QUALIFIED to prosecute the dangerous criminals that we seem to get in this state, and Committed to ensuring the safety of the Citizens of Middlesex County. And not some one who’s going to sit around and start a bunch of anti-crime social programs and then leave. And that man IS NOT Senator Jarret Barrios.
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It is Gerry Leone, a man with a proven track record, Who I might add has also started many anti-crime programs. A fact I have noticed his detractor seem to be good at ignoring. Like I said Senator Barrios, your a Legislator, and from all accounts a really good one. If you want to use a political office as a stepping stone to a higher office, try the one your in. Stick to what your good at and let Gerry Leone, and the Authorities catch and prosecute the criminals.
…but can you name me one current District Attorney who stepped into a court room as the District Attorney? Sure Reilly and Coakley have been in a courtroom–alot. But as DAs? This “he hasn’t stepped into the courtroom” meme is getting tired awful quick–and I leans towards Leine (but I’m not in the County and, like I said above, don’t ahve a horse in this race.)
Tom Reilly handled the Eddie O’Brien case personally. As I recall, he was criticized for being a publicity seeker. Nonetheless, it can happen. I don’t think Coakley or Harshbarger tried any cases as DA. Look, people who have never tried a case can do the job. That having been said,I far prefer that the DA have deep experience in the courtroom informing their judgment about how to run the office.
If my memory serves me right Harshbarger wasn’t a prosecutor before becoming D.A. and he did, by all accounts, a great job. As has been pointed out Barrios does have great experience, in crime prevention, in passing the anti-gang bill written about here. No one can argue Leone doesn’t have experience, but it’s a very different kind and from a different perspective than Barrios’. I think it’s a matter of what experience voters think matters most. And that’s up to voters to decide.
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No Ernie Boch, progressivedem, etc…you can beat up on me because I simply mentioned Barrios in a post but give me a break I’m just trying to make what I deem to be an important point.
I may be wrong, but I thought Harshbarger worked in the Middlesex D.A.s office before being elected D.A.
Running a D.A.’s office helps if you have been an assisatnt d.a or tried a case, civil or criminal, or did criminal defense work.
Barrios is not qualified on any level.
He managed the Blue Jays after Buck Martinez was fired. Tosca was fired also, and replaced by their current Coach, John Gibbons.
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I had thought Jim Tracy of the Dodgers didn’t either, but I was wrong, he had two seasons with the Cubs.
I’m not sure the “never threw a ball” thing is a perfect analogy, since presumably Barrios did pick up a few things in law school and through his political experience as Rep and Senator (and chair of the Public Safety Committee).
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Thanks to Rob Neyer @ ESPN:
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Ed Barrow 1903-1920 310-320
Hugo Bezdek 1917-1919 166-187
Judge Fuchs 1929 56- 98
Ted Turner 1977 0- 1
John Boles 1996-2001 205-241
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Now, granted none of these guys seems to have done especially well, but their records don’t seem to be ridiculously worse than average (managers who did play professional baseball) either. (Small sample size caveat here, of course.)
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The point being, assuming a basic familiarity with the mechanisms of the “game” (be it baseball or the DA’s spot), I don’t think that a lack of playing experience is necessarily a disadvantage. The guy just brings different tools to the position.
Very few good ballplayers become good managers (or coaches of any sport — football, basketball, hockey, soccer — for that matter). The skill sets are simply and obviously very different.
Barios has no idea what goes on in the day to day life of a district or superior criminal court room.
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We asking him to manage a game he has never seen played before. There is nothing on his resume that makes him remotely qualified for this job.
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By the way. It is not a requirement that one must be an attorney to be the District Attorney.
I don’t think anyone missed the point you were trying to make. I think that they were questioning the validity of your premise. Is it necessarily the case that a seasoned prosecutor makes a better DA? It’s certainly a question that should be asked, and I don’t pretend to know the answer. But let’s not assume that only good prosecutors make good DAs.
“Is it necessarily the case that a seasoned prosecutor makes a better DA?”
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NO.
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No a perosn with some experience as a prosecutor and/or criminal defense attorney would be qualified.
A person who understands the variety of crimes and the variety of criminals and non criminals that go through Middlesex County by the thousands everyday.
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A person who spent one year as a prosecutor or a criminal defense attorney (bar advocate) would be a thousand times more qualified than Barrios.
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A person who understands the real cases from the crap.
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A person who understands the role of the police and the role of the prosecutor.
The police are merely witnesses. The D.A. does not work for them. A person with criminal court experience knows that some cops aren’t always completely honest and have to be treated that way.
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Barrios has sold out to cops.
Much like Dan Conly in Suffolk County.
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Question. Why would anyone want to cooperate with the Suffolk D.A. s office when
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1. A Boston police officer shoots a gun at a car fleeing down a Dorcester side street. The car was heading away from the scene and not towards anyone. (It may have been stolen) A teenage girl is hit in the back of the head and dies. The D.A.s office clears the cop. It does not even call for an inquest. In a law school criminal law exam question or a Bar Exam question the cop would be charged with manslaughter. Deadly force was not for anyoneâs protection.
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2.The final report on the world series riot where the girl was killed by the police detailed an incident witnessed and confirmed by numerous people present of a Boston cop repeatedly shooting a student with the paint ball bullets as he pleaded for help. He first approached the officer asking for medical help and then was repeatedly shot at close range. The D.A. did not bring any charges against that cop. Even though law school exam question says that is assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
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These are the more publicized examples.
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So Eury, there is a danger with prosecutors who also drink the Kool Aid and don’t protect the citizens from the bad-good guys also.
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All in all, Barrios is clueless to be D.A. and Leone has more than enough experience to understand the wants and needs of the D.A.s office.
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We just have to hope he hasn’t drunk the police Kool Aid like Dan Conley and now Barrios.
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As for my premise, I stand by it. Barrios is as much clueless of the inner workings of the criminal court system as is a person who is clueless of baseball and has never seen a baseball game played or touched or seen the instruments of the game.
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I disagree that Barrios has taken a beating in the media. The Globe can’t give the guy any more good press. Remember when the Globe recently did a profile on his HOUSE!?!?! The mainstream media had nothing to say about his wayward staffer sending misrepresentative email from Senator Moore’s office. Senator Barrios gets a free ride from the media, though that may change as we get closer to the primary.
Ok… Maybe he’s got a couple of newspapers in his pocket Or maybe He’s in theirs… Whatever. That still does not change the fact that the man is grossly unqualified for the office he’s seeking. He’s trying to treat the DA’s Office like it’s just another political office, there’s only one flaw in his logic… It’s not. Nor should it be. Remember,it’s called the District ATTORNEY’S Office. Not the District POLITICIAN’S Office.
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The name District Attorney implies that one has been to Law School… And graduated. Does Senator Barrios have a Law Degree? Has he even been to Law School? Oh, wait, he can’t answer that in the affirmative because it would imply that he has a law degree.
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Senator Barrios,(And this is according to everything I’ve read and seen on the news, not to mention your own website.) your not only a great politician, but an incredible legislator as well. With all due respect sir, you need to stick to what your good at, and let people like Gerry Leone catch and prosecute the criminals.
Ok… Maybe he’s got a couple of newspapers in his pocket Or maybe He’s in theirs… Whatever. That still does not change the fact that the man is grossly unqualified for the office he’s seeking. He’s trying to treat the DA’s Office like it’s just another political office, there’s only one flaw in his logic… It’s not. Nor should it be. Remember,it’s called the District ATTORNEY’S Office. Not the District POLITICIAN’S Office.
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The name District Attorney implies that one has been to Law School… And graduated. Does Senator Barrios have a Law Degree? Has he even been to Law School? Oh, wait, he can’t answer that in the affirmative because it would imply that he has a law degree.
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Senator Barrios,(And this is according to everything I’ve read and seen on the news, not to mention your own website.) your not only a great politician, but an incredible legislator as well. With all due respect sir, you need to stick to what your good at, and let people like Gerry Leone catch and prosecute the criminals.
I disgree that Barrios has been taking a beating on the blogs lately. I think the majority of the posts have been quite pro-Barrios and up until recently have misrepresented Leone’s positions in an attempt to discredit him with progressives. As a progressive Democrat, I resent that.
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I respect Barrios as a legislator, but he simply does not have adequate qualifications for the job. He is not completely unqualified, but Leone’s credentials are far superior. He has the overwhelming edge in terms of courtroom experience. He has a slightly less overwhelming edge in creating crime prevention programs. He has an overwhelming advantage in terms of administering crime prevention programs. He has an overwhelming edge in terms of leading large staffs and administering a budget. And he has an overwhelming edge in terms of local experience working with and in the local cities and towns that make up Middlesex County.
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I am most frustrated by the stepping stone appeal made by Barrios supporters. I find the “Vote Barrios because this will help him advance to a higher office” denigrates the important work done by the Middlesex DA. Perhaps the campaign slogan should be “Vote Barrios: Middlesex County touches six congressional districts” or “Barrios: Because Senator Kerry may not run for reelection.” This election needs to be about who is the most qualified candidate for the job. As I have stated before, Gerry Leone has earned the support of this progressive, and I expect he will earn the support of many others between now and the September primary.
Then he deserves to take a beating. He isn’t qualified for this position plain and simple and in addition to that, his people have been bashing Gerry Leone’s abilities left and right and not supporting their claims with evidence. Well here is some evidence for all you Barrios supporters. Your candidate has never argued a case…EVER Gerry Leone has been serving his State and his Country excellently and I would love to see him as the Attorney General of as a US House Rep one day because we need more progressives like him that don’t fall back on old liberal or conservative biases which exist in Massachusetts. He has the qualifications, he has the support of most of the major MA political figures and he will fight to make Middlesex County better.
Senator Barrios hasn’t taken too much flack in the press, compared to the amount of positive coverage he has received. The problem is that the idea of Barrios — a progressive, activist, intelligent, committed, Latino, gay leader in the Democratic party — is a lot better than the reality of Barrios — a man who treats people worse and worse the longer he knows them, is more concerned with good media than good outcomes, and a person who is ambivalent about doing good and focused solely on reaching the highest possible office in the shortest possible time.
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The reasons Barrios wants to leave the legislature are clear: he’s bored, he can’t accomplish much because he’s alienated too many of his colleagues through his relentless self-promotion, and he wants desperately to move up to a higher office, on his way to higher office still.
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I don’t know Gerry Leone from Adam, but I have known Barrios well for 8 years, and felt badly burned by him. That’s why Leone has my vote.
Greenline’s story is consistent with so many out there.
That is Barrios’s problem. Not his politics or gayness.