SHNS reports that Bill Galvin no-showed at what was supposed to be a quasi-debate between him and Secretary of State candidate John Bonifaz. Reportedly, Galvin begged off at the last minute because he was “stuck in New Bedford.”
I’ll readily acknowledge that I haven’t been exactly banging the drum for Bonifaz, and that I’ve expressed doubts about some of his statements. But look, this is getting ridiculous. Galvin finally agrees, after months of requests, to appear together with Bonifaz in a televised event – to the point where a bunch of people actually show up at Medford city hall – and then he’s “stuck in New Bedford”??
That’s pathetic. Come on, Galvin. You’re the Secretary of State, fer chrissakes – you’re supposed to be into elections. At least make a show of caring about your own.
Supposedly, Galvin and Bonifaz (along with Jill Stein, the Green party’s SoS candidate) are appearing together in Worcester tonight at 6 pm. Bets on whether Galvin shows?
UPDATE: In the comments, a representative of Galvin’s campaign (Kara) says that Galvin had never actually committed to attend the Medford forum. I have left messages for the folks in Medford who put this thing together, and hopefully they’ll get back to me. Meanwhile, we anxiously await news of what is (or isn’t) happening in Worcester!
I’m trying to find out what the reason he was “stuck” was. I called Galvin’s office and got a volunteer who, admittedly, said she was just a volunteer and wasn’t sure she knew. Her impression: Galvin never actually said he’d be there, and was at a Victory ’06 event he’d had booked a long time before.
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You can see how seriously they take this at the Galvin office, if his volunteers aren’t even aware that he just missed the first forum with Bonifaz that he’d ever accepted an invitation to.
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Anyway, they have my name & number, and I’m waiting for a call back…
it certainly won’t help Bill Galvin to behave like his re-election is a God given right.
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I’m not so sure all of Bonifaz’s ideas are great ones, but it will be hard for me to vote for a guy who (a) isn’t running on what he wants to do (instead highlighting punch card ballots in the past) and (b) doesn’t seem genuinely interested in participating in an election in the first place.
So long as:
(1) the Democratic Party is willing to put up with such antics,
(2) the mainstream press takes no note of Galvin’s failure to appear (nothing on the Globe or Herald sites),
(3) the progressive blogosphere refuses to opine on the SoS race (which, I believe, is the second most important race this fall, and the most if you care about electoral issues), and
(4) you have a party chairman who is willing to take potshots at “outside” challengers (such as Phil Johnston did to John Bonifaz earlier this year)
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why shouldn’t Bill Galvin feel so cavalier? Unless he is given a reason to believe his failure to show up will affect him at the polls, he surely feels he is better off creating the impression that he is in control and the better candidate by being in absentia, rather than facing Bonifaz and risking this impression. Clearly he is one of many politicians who abide by the saying “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Until the electorate demands the chance to determine who’s fool and who isn’t, this will remain good, albeit undemocratic, advice.
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Alas, should Galvin win the primary, how many folks on this list who are Bonifaz supporters, or at least neutral, would actively support Jill Stein, whether in support of her candidacy or in protest of Galvin’s actions? If the answer is few or none, then Galvin will have no reason to show up anywhere but at friendly events and avoid discussion of the issues that Bonifaz and Stein are raising.
I’ve been very supportive of Bonifaz on my blog and I “strongly support” him. While there hasn’t been as strong a backing of Bonifaz as Deval Patrick on the Bay State lefty blogosphere, he still is getting real support from a lot of us. I for one already voted for Bonifaz and am very happy in that decision.
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However, I will never vote for a green candidate, unless I see serious reform in that party. After what happened in Florida in 2000, then Nader’s continued ambivalance (heck, he ran again!), why should I? And the problem is systemic! Just look at Pennsylvania right now, we’re the green party has fully embraced Republican Rick Santorum – about the sleeziest Republican in the Senate – in order to get them on the ballot. I could never vote for that.
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Sadly, most Green voters I’ve met tend to be very angry progressives, but not very knowledgable in general. One such person, who I did a play with, didn’t even hear about Deval Patrick and that wasn’t very long ago, yet marched around town handing out green-party fliers and doing all sorts of other stuff. If you’re going to be politically active, you ought to try to be political knowledgable – and I’ve seen waaaay to many green voters like that too. She seemed very systemic, to the extent that I would say it seems beyond anecdotal.
Hi there, my name is Kara and for full disclosure, I work for Secretary Bill Galvins campaign.
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Let me set this story straight.
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Secretary Galvin NEVER agreed to appear in Medford, nor Worcester as falsely reported by his opponents website and furthered discussed in this blog.
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Let me also note, Secretary Galvin has shared the podium with his opponent ten times since the beginning of this year. Most recently, both Galvin and Bonifaz appeared in Falmouth for an event just last Sunday.
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Once again, the Bonifaz campaign is full of mis-statements regarding not only Secretary Galvins record, but now his scheduled appearances. This clearly demonstrates further evidence of dishonesty from the Bonifaz campaign.
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I hope this clarifies any misunderstandings.
That you never wanted to debate in the first place? Wow… And don’t give me “they’ve shared the microphone before,” because there has been no debate.
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Well, the people of Medford SURE THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO BE THERE, so it isn’t just a slip of Bonifaz’s campaign.
Galvin’s comin’ by for corn on the cob, then we’re gonna watch Project Runway, (Kayne’s going down next week). He hasn’t said he’ll come by, but I think I have a right to schedule the secretary of state when it’s convenient for me. If he doesn’t show, I’ll be sure to get upset.
Nice way not to contribute to the discussion at all. Hope you’re having fun trolling around at BMG.
Sabutai has a good track record here, Ryan.
Maybe it was the crack about Kayne. Ryan, I think Kayne is a good designer, but rather given over to being excessive. He’s probably better than Vincent or even Laura, but Vincent is just too hilarious to watch for me to want him to go home.
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Final three: Jeffrey, Michael, Laura.
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Michael wins.
Her “jet set” outfit was a bit odd, but generally her stuff is really great. Michael is awesome.
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Final 3: Michael, Uli, Laura.
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And I agree: Michael wins.
Until I saw David had already spent some time replying. This was a personal attack hence forbidden. The other comment, while perhaps upsetting to Ryepower12, was not a personal attack, so it was fine. (I also personally thought it was funny: Keane “the joke” should do down!).
Pointing out someone wasn’t contributing in a reply is a personal attack?
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Here I thought that would be lobbing F bombs or whatnot. But pointing out the fact that he wasn’t contributing? I’m sorry, I call em like I see em and if people would rather discuss project runway as opposed to discuss the issues at hand, it’s rather off topic and therefore saying they are – in fact – off topic certainly can’t be construed as a personal attack imho.
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Then again, it’s your website, but one would think you’d want a website that moderated towards bringing in more contributors and not less.
was the “troll” part. Out of line, and clearly not true for someone like sabutai who’s been contributing regularly for months.
your post is a bit anemic on the details.
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1. If Secretary Galvin never agreed to the event, then why, according the SHNS article linked in the post, was he “expected to attend the open forum”? I’m assuming that SHNS and the Medford Democratic committees don’t get their info exclusively from BMG and the Bonifaz web site.
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2. What were the events where Secretary Galvin and Mr. Bonifaz appeared together? The recent discussions have focused on debates or candidate forums. SHNS once again says “The forum would have marked the first time the two Democratic candidates appeared together.” I’d like to be sure that Galvin’s campaign isn’t including events like the Convention when it lists places where they’ve shared the podium.
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3. Why hasn’t the Secretary agreed to appear in Medford or Worcester with Mr. Bonifaz? Will he participate in a debate or forum before the primary?
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For the record, I am not yet committed to either candidate. I have respect for the job Secretary Galvin has done, but I’m remarkably turned off by the tone of his campaign. The closest affiliation I have with anyone is that I used a Bonifaz sign to cover my head in the rain after the convention.
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Thank you, Kara, for your willingness to participate in this exchange.
On Tuesday morning, we got an email from the Medford Democrats who organized this forum, stating that Galvin had committed to appear at the forum. On Wednesday evening, when John Bonifaz arrived, they were still expecting Galvin to show up. When they learned that Galvin was not coming, they sure seemed surprised.
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Now you’re telling us that Galvin never agreed to come in the first place?
Aside from that being a lame excuse from a candidate who has rejected every opportunity to face Bonifaz directly in a forum or debate all year, it also doesn’t add up. Why were the Medford candidates night organizers under the impression that Galvin had committed, and so surprised when he cancelled? Did your campaign truly never let them think Galvin would be there?
The previous comment featured the official blogger of the Bonifaz campaign.
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Given the number of new users in the forum lately, figured they may benefit from knowing who’s working for who, since it isn’t anywhere in this thread.
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I’m not trying to discredit you, Cos, but you really should be more clear about your offiical affiliation.
about disclosing his affiliation with Bonifaz. Among other things, if you click on his name, it’s front and center.
Actually, although I don’t always mention it in comments, in this comment it would’ve been helpful to clarify who I meant by “we” in the first sentence: the Bonifaz campaign. Sorry for neglecting that.
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I take great care to always disclose my affiliation in any user post I make that mentions Bonifaz or Galvin, and I also put that information in my user profile because I won’t always remember to mention it in comments.
i think that was kinda clear by Cos using “we” to refer to the Bonifaz campaign…
Just FYI, though, it’s not just the blogs that had a different impression. From State House News:
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that Galvin’s refusal to debate or acknowledge his opponent in any meaningful way is insulting and disrespectful to voters, right? Your candidates unwillingness to engage in a debate on the issues is completely unacceptable. Galvin is not a crowned Secretary of the Commonwealth; he’s an elected official who is dependent upon votes by people like me. You people need to get a grip.
Also, Galvin had plenty of opportunity to freaking clear it up, didn’t he? I mean, we’ve only been talking about this “debate/forum” for a week or more now.
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If the Medford Dems got the impression he was coming, how did they get it? If Galvin knew he had another (frankly, less important) event that night, why didn’t he say so…months/weeks ago??? Obviously, it appears the candidate doesn’t care about his own election. Maybe that’s not the case, but in politics, perception is 99% of the battle, isn’t it?
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Shameful, that it wasn’t clear that he wasn’t going to go. Shameful even more that he has NOT debated Bonifaz. I have been oscillating back and forth on who to vote for, because I think both candidates have strengths and weaknesses. However, this lack of care by Galvin is definitely turning me in another direction now. I might even endorse his opponant.
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Yes, I’m angry…I’m a voter, and we are being ignored.
Apparently, Secretary Galvin never promised to debate (or “quasi-debate”) last night or tonight. I am noticing a trend here. I found this story in one of the local papers up here on the northshore (the Daily Item of Lynn) about the local Representative, Mark Falzone, not debating his opponent, Sean Grant because there was no third party willing to sponsor a debate. It just struck me as odd and sad for the voters. When did all these politicians become so insecure about their abilities and positions? I know the conventional wisdom and the consultants tell them not to debate, but we really need to do something about that.
But I am started to like Galvin less than Bonifaz. I voted for Galvin at the Convention but I don’t think I will be doing that again. I think that Galvin needs to start listening to the electorate or at least remembering that we put him in power and by ingoring us, he is one step closer to losing his job.
One of the knocks on Bonifaz is that he’s running more on his “progressive”-ness than his capacity to be secretary of state. Hackery is hackery whether it’s giving your brother-in-law a job because you like his taste in women or electing a politician to a state-level office because you like his view of the Iraq war. Doing the job you’re supposed to do has to come first.
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But Galvin’s inability or unwillingness to have a simple debate with his opponent is really starting to concern me. It seems to me that part of the job is defending your positions against honest criticism. If Galvin can’t or won’t do that, then he’s not getting the job done either. And if it’s just a choice between two hacks, I kind of like Bonifaz’s view of the Iraq war.
John Bonifaz is one of the most knowledgeable people on election law, election process, and what actually happens in the administration of elections, in the country. He is also brilliant. I first met him last summer at a political event and discussed election reform with him, something I’ve been very active on for several years. I was very very impressed, and hoped he would decide to run for Secretary (he said he was thinking about it).
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Bonifaz is running to get things done. He’s not asking for your vote because he’s more progressive, he’s asking for your vote because he wants us to have election day voter registration in Massachusetts, because he wants to advocate for and then implement a new clean elections law, because he wants Massachusetts to support its cities and towns in making voting accessible to minorities before the Federal DOJ has to threaten to sue, because he wants to create a small business task force… because he wants to lead on all the things Galvin has spent years doing nothing about, while Bonifaz has taken action. He can be more effective as Secretary, than as an independent lawyer, in making real improvements.
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But voters, such as you, mostly don’t know that. They don’t know why he’s running or what he wants to do, because he’s getting very little press. The whole race is getting very little press. And a large part of the reason for that, is that Galvin simply isn’t participating in this election campaign at all. Galvin wants to win through having voters compare him to Bonifaz and decide they want him; Galvin wants to win on the strength of a large number of uninformed voters who pick they name they’re familiar with instead of the name they don’t know about, when they see them on the ballot.
and what I wrote on my most recent blog about this issue.
Obviously, I meant to write,
My biggest concern with Bonifaz is that the SecState job is so much more than election law and such. And on a lot of things, Galvin has really done a good job. But…I’m sensing a watershed moment for bloggers and blog readers here. None of us like the arrogance of an incumbant refusing to debate his opponant. It makes you wonder what ELSE he’s been missing in his capacity as SecState.
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And I KNOW Bonifaz will definitely work for better elections, and do a good job at that, whether or not he’s prepared for all the other aspects (and I know Bonifaz is a smart guy so I’m not THAT worried). That might be good enough for me.
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I’m still thinking about it, but seriously, what a lapse in judgement by Galvin.
I hear that Bonifaz and Stein are up there answering questions, and Galvin is not present, as of 7pm (the event was scheduled for 6-8pm).
You heard me (I mean read me)
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Show me the invite
Show me the acceptance.
if by phone, then who accepted for him? Who took the call?
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Why is it always about you?
No contract without consideration!
If he agreed to be there then the hosts relied on that to their detriment. Galvin would be liable.
As most of you could deduce, I’m decided on the Gov. and Lt. Gov races. My House and Senate races I am also very sure of. But…
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I met Bonifaz waaaay back at the Fanuiel Hall rally for Deval. He seemed like a good guy, but my primary concern was his breadth of understanding involving issues. No doubt, he is the elections rights candidate, but that isn’t all the Sec of State does.
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I honestly expected Galvin to tear him apart, and when he did I honestly expected to vote for Galvin. However, Galvin’s unwillingness to even delve into the issues with him is really disturbing. No offense to Greens/Independants/Rainbows/Etc…But Bonifaz got his 15 percent at the Democratic Convention more handily and honestly than did Gabrieli. He’s no rogue candidate.
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I’ll be honest, I’ve liked the guy for awhile. But liking and such are how I choose my friends, not my elected officials. If Galvin gave Bonifaz one serious debate and tore him apart, I would know where my vote was. The issue is that Galvin doesn’t seem to appreciate the democratic process, and as he its greatest guardian in the Commonwealth I find this deeply disturbing.
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Unless he stops pulling the Lieberman Ignore The Opponent approach, I think he may find himself needing to pull the How Dare You Question Me approach. Either way, unless he participates in a real discussion with any willing opponents, you can count me officially as a Bonifaz voter.
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Sorry it had to be this way, Bill…