So my wife and I walked in two parades over the holiday with Chris Gabrieli: Randolph on Monday night, and Chelmsford on Tuesday morning. Chris also walked in Norwood Tuesday evening, but we were ready for some family time by then (and that all-American activity of watching Italy play Germany in the World Cup). Gotta love a Fourth of July parade: veterans, fire trucks, motorcycle cops, young marching bands, old brass bands, bagpipers, business associations, pirate ships, karate schools, historical re-enactors, lawn chairs, block parties, squirt guns, firecrackers, and … candidates. We had a pretty big contingent: a banner; Chris with a couple of his kids, and some local supporters from the town in question; a sound-and-sign pickup truck, dozens of t-shirt-wearing sign-holders, Tootsie Rolls, balloons, kids, a couple of fiddlers, a beautiful husky dog in a Gabrieli t-shirt, and the campaign RV. The weather was great, if a bit hot on Tuesday, and everyone had a good time. We also ran into some friends and family on the Randolph route.
We were near Deb Goldberg and Reed Hillman in both; Sen. Brian Joyce was big in Randolph, and D.A. candidate Gerry Leone in Chelmsford; small groups of Deval volunteers were nearby, but I didn’t see any Reilly folks. I heard that Reilly did do some parades, but that Deval took some time off from the campaign trail and didn’t do any. Can anyone confirm this? Does anyone think it matters? How important are these kind of events?
On top of all the fun, the parades gave thousands the chance to see, and even meet, some candidates, in a friendly, apolitical environment. The response was very positive. Lots of people thanked Chris for coming to their town’s parade and wished him well in the election. In a primary in which the policy differences between the candidates are not huge, do these interactions have as much impact as any other in-person appearances, especially given that they don’t select for people who already support the candidate?
I too marched with Chris. I marched with him in the Norwood parade. In addition to Chris, the other statewide candidates that I saw marching were Hillman, Reilly and Goldberg. Similar to the parades previously mentioned, Chris marched behind a banner, one of his daughters marched with him along with 3 or 4 other children and about 25 local supporters. The Gabrieli for Governor balloons that the campaign passed out were a big hit and blanketed the parade route. Being somewhat of veteran of campaigns and campaign field events, I was very impressed with the response Chris received in Norwood. At many intervals, their was loud applause for Chris. People were calling him over to them for a chance to shake his hand and wish him good luck in the campaign. I heard a woman yell out a variation on a phrase from his commercials…”I can’t wait for YOU to get started.” Another man yelled out here is our next governor. The parade goers response to Chris was uplifting for both the candidate and his supporters. More importantly, field activities are an important support to a campaign. I feel that marching in parades is helpful to a campaign because it gives the campaign visibility to the average voter. The parade goers get to see the candidate up close and personal as well as see some of the local people who are supporting the campaign. Additionally, a campaign can receive local press coverage. If there is a good showing by the candidate and his campaign and a good response from the crowd, it shows that a campaign has momentum. Based on the Norwood parade goers response to Chris, I certainly felt that the Gabrieli campaign has momentum.
Chris got a lot of the kinds of responses you describe in the two parades I went to, and I felt the same way as you about what this indicates. It seemed like he was very popular and also was winning a lot of new votes. It may be early in the campaign, but when you combine these events with continuing ads and talk show appearances, etc., a strong connection is achieved; the in-person interaction, especially at a fun event, makes the media presence much more real.
I can confirm that Deval met and shook hands with hundreds of voters as he stood with the Mayor of Pittsfield outside Wahconah Park for more than an hour.
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Hundreds more drove into the parking lot to see some kids holding a banner so large that they could just barely see over it.
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On the way from their cars, they passed a couple of dozen more sign-holders, then were greeted with brochures and enthusiastic supporters as they filed into the Park for an all-American evening of baseball and fireworks.
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Deval was introduced to a packed stadium by Mayor Ruberto and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
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So I guess this is what a grassroots candidate does on his “time off” — connects with average voters where they live. Maybe it wasn’t the headline-grabber that his appearance here last week was (when we got front-page coverage in the Berkshire Eagle), but my hunch is he won over just as many voters.
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I heard the AG was in Maynard. I know he was noticeably missing from Springfield-area events, despite his promise not to forget his hometown.
Nice pics. But I can assure you the Gabrieli campaign also had cute kids and big signs!
Yeah, that’s probably what’s going to decide this election! (I hope not!)
why the shot at Tom Reilly for not being in Springfield? There are 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts and Tom Reilly marched in three of them on Tuesday, which seems to be at least as much, if not more, than the other candidates.
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Did Deval Patrick march in the South Side of Chicago? Did he march in Milton or Richmond, MA? Does it matter?
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Tom Reilly launched his campaign from Springfield and has said that he will spend his first day in office in Springfield. His love for the city is pretty clear – as long as you’re open to seeing it.
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In any event, here are some pics from the Norwood parade, courtesy of tomreilly.org (not nearly as cool as if I had taken them myself, but I don’t even own a digital camera):
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Most importantly, THANK YOU to the women and men of our Armed Services. God bless you, all!
I should have brought my camera to the parades! MFW and MavDem have totally upstaged my post! I swear we had kids just as cute as these marching for Gabrieli, you’ll just have to believe me.
I vote based on who I see in pictures with cuter kids. As good a mode of analysis as any, no?
2 of those cute kids were mine!
I thought that you were a Gabrieli supporter, greencape! Better post some pictures of your kids with him if you want me to support him…
I apologize. Just reflecting some local sentiment.
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But you’re right, a person can only be in 5 places at once!
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But, tell me, what do the “women and men of our Armed Services” have to do with July 4th? I think you may be confusing the holiday with Veterans’ Day.
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If you read the Declaration of Independence (and thanks to David for posting it), a lot of the complaints have to do with the (mis)use of armed forces.
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I realize that Tom Reilly is a big supporter of the war on Iraq, and maybe that’s one of the things that attracts you to him, but I don’t share that sentiment. Again, with all due respect.
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Indeed, that seems to be the main reason that Joe Lieberman is in such big trouble. Most polls show that an overwhelming majority (like ~80%) of Dems are opposed to our occupation of Iraq, yet Joe has been an ardent supporter.
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One could argue that our Iraq policy (or foreign policy in general) is beyond the purview of the Guv, but I based on the questions I’ve heard asked the candidates, that doesn’t stop people from wondering what they think about national issues. Witness the latest flurry of articles on the immigration issue.
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So, I don’t mean to make too much of the linkage, but I’m just curious as to why you think military issues are the “most important” element of our independence celebration. To me, it’s quite the opposite.
An odd question, MFW. One obvious answer: there would be no independence to celebrate on Independence Day were it not for General, later President, George Washington, and the troops that he commanded.
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Independence Day is in large part about freedom. And the price of freedom, said another great American of General Washington’s era, is eternal vigilance. The armed forces are one of our principal means of exercising that vigilance. To be sure, there are disagreements about how the armed forces have been used in recent years, and whether the Iraq war in particular was an effective way of being vigilant about our freedoms. But let’s not pretend that the armed forces have nothing to do with July 4th.
I was just sitting here, dumbfounded, wondering why in the world I was being asked to justify my words of gratitude to those who serve our country in the armed services. Personally, I wish I did it more often.
I was at the Wakefield parade yesterday, which I’d always heard is the largest 4th of July parade in the state and was surprised to see none of the statewide Democratic candidates marching. Healey was there, as was Congressman Tierney, but none of the Democratic candidates for Gov, LG or SS. Four years ago, almost everyone was there.
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Why would all eight candidates skip the largest parade in the state? Anyone?
I understand the Wakefield parade committee charges candidates $500 to march. Is that an increase from previous years? They also don’t allow marchers to hand out stuff to the crowd like buttons, stickers, and literature. The decision to go elsewhere was probably better use of the candidates’ time.
…the neglected part of the state.
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He was in Chelmsford for a very well-received Town Hall event 2 weeks ago, so it’s no surprise he didn’t march in Chelmsford’s parade. I told the crowd as much when asked.
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I marched with the Deval people. We didn’t have a million baloons or all the fancy trailer money could buy, just us with some flyers and smiles, and frankly, I was shocked that Gabrieli didn’t have more people with him – if Deval had actually marched in Chelmsford, there would have been a minimum of 50 volunteers on hand. At least as many as in the Pride parade (more, probably, given that the weather at the Pride parade did keep lots of people I know from joining us – we were soaked!).
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As it was, the Chelmsford crew were exhausted from planning the town hall so I’m not surprised it was just a few of us. Also, Deval volunteers were the ONLY ones to have a candidate’s booth in the town fair the night before and the day of the parade. I hear they did very well talking to voters from all over the area there.
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I mean, if we’re comparing notes from the campaign trail and all.
I do enjoy reading details from the campaign trail on BMG; they make a nice complement to policy discussion and horse-race banter.
was the ONLY gubernortorial candidate who had a booth at the Braintree 4th of July fair this past Saturday and the only governor’s candidate to march in Randolph. All candidates have a limited amount of time and therefore scheduling decisions are tough. A candidate and his or her staff have to make decisions regarding which events to attend and hope that he or she makes the right ones.
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With respect to your jab about “millions of ballons or all of the fancy trailers money can buy,” balloons don’t cost much and I think parents are most appreciative that they do not have to spend 10 bucks buying a balloon from a vendor. Regarding your snide comment about Chris’ trailer, why doesn’t Deval have a fancy trailer? He’s a MILLIONAIRE and can certainly afford one. He CHOOSES not to buy one. That’s fine, it is his perogative. It’s just another one of those decisions that candidates have to make. But are you seriously blaming the Chelmsford Town Hall event that occurred 2 WEEKS AGO for causing so much exhaustion to the Deval supporters that they could not show up yesterday to march in a 1.5 mile parade????? That claim seems like a bit of a stretch.
I watched fireworks from my roof in Dorchester. 5 spelled out Devals name, 4 spelled out Reilly’s, and another four spelled out Gabrielli’s. My housemate, a Gabrielli supporter, pointed out that Chris’ longer name makes this more impressive.
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Note that these were all being set off by folks in the neighborhood–too far to see the ones on the river. So it’s clearly a grassroots indication of the campaigns.
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Grace Ross also set off an impressive green rainbow of fireworks, which I later learned were made of non-carbon-producing envirnomentally-friendly explosives.
I marched, along with 3 brave souls, in Kerry Healey’s hometown parade (the parade is in Beverly Farms, not even Beverly proper). We had a Mini Cooper decked out with Deval signs and gave out tons of balloons and literature (hint: have charming 10 year old give out the lit, a lot harder to refuse). We didn’t get the press that the “Billionaires for Healey” did, but you know those billionaires, flooding the election with money, buying up the air waves, trying (again) to buy yet another elected office, oh, wait a minute, I was talking about Kerry Healey, wasn’t I? đŸ˜‰ It was good to make a foray in to the enemy’s territory. It was even better to see the great reception we got.
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We had a much bigger contingent in the July 3rd Gloucster Horribles Parade (50-60 people ranging in age from 3-80 something). Again, gave out tons of literature, bumper stickers, etc. Got a great reception. Kerry Healey had a pathetic 10 people marching with her. No other gubernatorial candidate had an entry in the parade. Let’s remember folks, the candidate can’t be everywhere.
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Manchester’s 4th Parade had a Deval group too. Again, the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate with an entry in the parade. Reports back indicate that a good time was had by all. And, again, the reception was great.