Berkshires for Progressive Change, the local chapter of the Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, has endorsed the following candidates in the September 19 Democratic Primary.
Governor: Deval Patrick
Lieutenant Governor: Andrea Silbert
Secretary of the Commonwealth: John Bonifaz
Governor’s Council: Peter Vickery
State Senator: Margie Ware
District Attorney: Judy Knight
State Rep (4th Berkshire): no endorsement
cross-posted from mfw’s blog
Please share widely!
Some of these candidates have applied for Democracy for America’s national endorsement (and one, Deval Patrick, already got it).
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Deval Patrick: http://dfalink.com/c…
John Bonifaz: http://dfalink.com/c…
Margaret Ware: http://dfalink.com/c…
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B4PC members with DFA-Link accounts, please log on and recommend your favored candidates! It’s very easy to do and takes less than a minute to note your support for a candidate on DFA-Link.
I’m curious about the Margaret Ware endorsement. With all the time I spend out in that part of the state, I got curious about this race early on, and looked into the candidates, and Ware was one of the ones who looked good, as was Chris Hodgkins. Some friends of mine who have worked on several campaigns for some of the best progressive candidates I’ve seen in Massachusetts, were supporting Hodgkins. I offerred to do his web site, chrishodgkins.com, and he contracted me to do it (at a pretty low rate, because I only do web sites for candidates I like & support). More recently, the Mass Alliance endorsed him (disclosure: I did their web site too). It seems to me, based on his record, that Chris Hodgkins is sort of the Joe Mackey of this particular race… except that there’s no Pat Jehlen parallel in the mix. So, I’m curious how it ended up that B4PC went with Ware?
As I’m not at all involved in B4PC’s endorsement process, I can’t say exactly how they come to the decisions they have and do–but I can say that I’ve almost never been disappointed by their selection.
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What I do know is that a rigorous examination is done before any final decision is reached–and the task of this for the B4PC has been made all the more challenging by the fact that, in recent history, almost all candidates running for office in the county are or have been “progressives.” In fact, by God, I hasily think I can recall even the GOPer using the appellation a few times during the race so far…
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But to your question of why the B4PC hasn’t immitated other organization’s and their endorsement trends in this race–I have to just answer by saying I don’t think such a method of gauging is the most effective. The criteria used by various organizations can sometimes be dramatically different.
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Conventional wisdom around here is that the deciding factor for many organizations in deciding whom to endorse was whether the candidate had previous state legislative experience. In a way, such a criterion is like the logical fallacy many individual voters make: the “appeal to authority” argument.
I wrote a little bit about how I came to support Chris Hodkins.
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I asked what reasons B4PC had for their choice.
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I’m puzzled by the implications of your comment, though. Take my question at face value, rather than reading between the lines (to the wrong conclusions)?
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And to clarify, it’s not the process I’d like to know about, it’s the substance.
Tim should probably disclose that he is one of Marge Ware’s operatives.
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I am happy to disclose that my brother, Ben Downing, is probably going to win (uber disclosures implied).
The good news is that no matter who wins, the Berkshires will be well represented in Boston. Provided, of course, that the County Democrats unite behind the Primary winner.
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There is, as you know, a very credible Repuglican candidate.
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You have my solemn word that if your brother wins the Primary, I will work like hell to get him elected. He’s a good guy, and eminently qualified to be our next State Senator.
Thanks for getting the information out in this forum.
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I have some thoughts on the process, but perhaps they are best left to another time. Suffice to say that I too look forward to supporting the Democratic candidate on Sep 20th, and I know B4PC will be right there with me.
I felt compelled to give Tim a “6” to offset it, although quite “frank”ly it isn’t a post that is out of the ordinary.
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Tim did his best to respond to Cos’s query, and admitted to not knowing how our group actually made the decision, and given his status (not a member of the group), I thought he gave a reasonable opinion. How is it that you dis this?
…OK it was Latin. I just had to agree with Cos…he didn’t answer Cos’ question. I think the answer to your question of why I thought it was worth a three is found in your post. Cos asked a question to folks in the organization as to how they reached a decision and, as you pointed out…he “admitted to not knowing how our group actually made the decision”. Yet he decided to answer the question, therefore my rating. Kinda straight forward to me.
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But I don’t mean to jump into the middle of Berkshire County Democratic politics here.
My guess is that Hodgkins’ subsequent professional work outside of his State House career affected the endorsement decision by the local group. Before the field for the Senate seat took its current shape, Berkshire environmental activists let it be known that they were recruiting a candidate. I had assumed they would be with Chris and I was told that he had lost them when he became the owner/front man for a company that was part of the water privatization juggernaut.
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People are also looking at who else is supporting each candidate, and sizing up who is part of the perceived “old boy network” that dominates some aspects of Berkshire politics. Chris also has a strong personality. If he has lost his temper with you, you don’t forget it.
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I haven’t made up my mind 100% in the Senate race (I think people know that I am focused on the Patrick campaign this time around). I will always give Chris credit for his impassioned speech against the death penalty when the House debated that a few years ago and, as a legislator, I thought his environmental work was outstanding.
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Margie Ware has spoken eloquently at Dem State Committee meetings; she would bring to the legislature a huge amount of insight into the problems with the health care system and senior issues. She will always be sensitive to the needs of local officials because she has been in the thankless job of Selectwoman. I feel comfortable that Margie will not be co-opted by the position, and start caring more about what the Senate leadership wants instead of what the people of the BH&F district want.
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I would like some better insights on, or reassurance about, her support for public schools.
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I like Helen Sharron, but her message seems to be that she has private sector experience and that she will listen. I’m not sure this is enough to reach the voters in a four-person race. She is starting from a tough spot living in a small town in Hampshire County, since the primary media market and the vast majority of the votes are in Berkshire County.
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Ben Downing is pushing his youth and energy as an asset. He draws on the large block of votes associated with the Catholic School system (his aunt is the Principal of the high school) and St. Joe’s church. His family name is well-known and respected. I have heard B4PC members say that his positions on the issues are good, as far as they are concerned. The contest for the District Attorney race may help Downing, as many voters who care about that race will remember Ben’s dad and give a vote to Ben while they are filling out their ballots.
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There was a rumor last week that a poll showed Downing in the lead, with Hodgkins not far behind, Ware third and Sharron fourth. We have one candidate from Hampshire County, and one each from south, central and north counties. Downing may be benefitting from geography (he is from Pittsfield).
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Still an very interesting race to watch!
Great summary of where things stand shack.
That was very very helpful.
Cos et al,
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Sorry for the delayed response, but I’ve been out on the Deval Patrick campaign trail almost continuously since I posted this nugget.
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Thanks to all, especially Shack, for the comments and questions.
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Tim K. is right — we have an embarrassment of riches here in the Berkshires. Every one of the candidates running for the Senate Seat can genuinely claim progressive credentials.
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Shack called it a four-way race, but technically there are five candidates. John Zelazo, who has been frank about his “low key” race, will likely end up with the fewest votes, is my guess.
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All of the four candidates mentioned in Shack’s post had their advocates within our group. In fact, there was general agreement that it was good to see newcomers Helen Sharron and Ben Downing, and that, win or lose, we would like to see them stay involved in Berkshire politics.
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In the end, the group reached consensus around Margie Ware because of the positive personal experiences of many of the members of the group, who were very persuasive advocates for her candidacy. Margie has been an activist within the Berkshire community for many years, and several people told very positive stories of her work on the Clean Elections issue, her active involvement at the statewide level as a member of the Democratic State Committee, and, more recently, her diligent work on behalf of Berkshire elders in assisting them wade through the Medicare morass.
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This endorsement should in no way be seen as a negative commentary on any of the other candidates, all of whom have much to recommend them.