All right, I’ve dithered on this for too long now, and last week’s forum with Lieutenant Governor candidates Andrea Silbert and Tim Murray really didn’t make the choice clear. But it’s decision time. And I’m going with Silbert. This is my personal endorsement — Bob is for Andrea, and David hasn’t decided yet, as far as I know.
Let me just say first off that in spite of her available millions for November, I can’t really get with Deb Goldberg. The convention film; the ad with the Boston — not Brookline — fireman saying “only Deb could do that”; the lack of support in her hometown paper; the sketchy experience … too many reservations. She’s still a smart, progressive person with many strengths, so if she wins the nomination, terrific. I’ll roll with that.
Between Silbert and Murray, this is a real apples vs. oranges choice. Since the LG’s role is so vague to begin with, what qualifications are required? Who knows? Do you want a hard-working, passionate “social entrepreneur”, or do you want a thoughtful, effective manager with geographical balance? There’s a bold choice, and there’s a safer choice. Both are justifiable.
What the hell. Gimme bold.
Andrea is dynamic. (At times, I’ve thought she was even a little too much so, although I did find at our forum that she does know how to smooth out the rough edges in presentation.) No one will do more with the amorphous office of LG than her. Wouldn’t it be good to have kind of a “constituent service” person for small business in the LG’s office? Deval Patrick — who I fully expect will win the nomination at this point, barring disaster — has talked about removing obstacles for business. Mightn’t it be good to have the input of someone who has experience doing exactly that? Massachusetts is chock-full of hard-working, brilliant people who would love to strike out on their own and create jobs, bucks and opportunity. That’s where the real regional prosperity will come from — not just from the Novartises and Bristol-Myers-Squibbs. And let’s not forget the personal satisfaction and quality-of-life aspect of running a business according to one’s own values.
In addition, she has a long record of being a person of compassion and action. She supports Cape Wind. I also have to say that the idea of someone coming from outside politics is appealing: a real citizen representative.
Again, Tim Murray comes off extremely well; I love his focus on working with the strengths we have, like brownfields development and expanding public transit. The only thing I can knock him for is his indecision on Cape Wind. That solidifies my impression of him as somewhat more retiring than Silbert. There’s a time to study and consider, and there’s a time for action. September would have been a good time to come out with a position on that critical issue. I do regret that if Silbert wins, we won’t get the chance to possibly move a few more Worcester County votes. Bottom line: If Murray wins, I’m cool with that, too.
Good to have that off my chest. (Now Bob, stop bugging me!)
The woman raised $750,000 for John Kerry – that hardly qualifies her as an outsider.
nt
Where did you get that number?
You’ve posted it twice without citing it.
Yes, she raised $ for Kerry, but you’re exaggerating the amount for effect. Cite it or stop using it.
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Also, there were plenty of blogs, meetup groups and “outsiders” that raised money for Kerry. That doesn’t mean they’re “insiders”.
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And it’s not useful for a Murray supporter (I think) to be throwing stones when it comes to inside vs. outside.
Essentially, that was my rational. Andrea has a fiery quality to her delivery and is very bold. If it were the race for Governor, I may be inclined to go for Murray – but I’ll take Andrea’s mastery over jobs and small businesses since she’ll be focusing on a few issues as LG instead of a broad range.
Ryan, did you not say last week that you wished you could have your vote back and cast it for Murray? If not, then I apologize.
That was me.
I’m supporting Patrick and continue to be torn between Murray and Silbert. What gets me leaning toward Murray is the sense that he’d complement Patrick’s strengths with his own and the two would make a really good ticket campaigning together. But Silbert would be good too.
We’ll teach you the secret handshake before Tuesday.
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Where would like us to send your kool-aid?
“There’s a bold choice, and there’s a safer choice. Both are justifiable.”
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ExACTLY how we’ve been seeing it in my household. It ended up being a heart v. head decision – I pictured the ballot in my head, and who would I want to vote for? My emotional, passionate side went with Andrea. Hence I finally decided my endorsement along the same lines.
While not on the qualitative list for picking a candidate, one consdideration is the ability to attack Healey while Patrick or Gabs plays the good cop.
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I think Silbert’s aggressive style lends itself better to this role.
Now let me sit back for a second to drink my kool-aid before I get back on the phones for Deval. 🙂
I’ve posted earlier that in the absence of IRV, and not trusting these latest polls, I think the strategic thing to do is to back Murray.
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So there’s my bias, but I want to post this about Andrea, and I’m a little surprised no one has brought it up.
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Correct me if I’m wrong BUT at the State Convention neither Silbert nor Murray had the votes to obtain the coveted Holy Grail of “Officially Endorsed”.
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OK, nobody gives a rat’s ass about it, but the rules are the rules, and that meant going to a second ballot for delegates who were exhausted by the 1st ballot Governor’s fight.
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Silbert trailed Murray, but in the interest of saving a second ballot, conceded and let Murray win the nod.
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First, that was classy and 2nd it was smart politics. Sure, she did not want to be the candidate that pissed off delegates by requiring a 2nd ballot, but it wasn’t her fault. Nobody was really going to blame her specifically. Instead, she used the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and political savvy at CRUNCH time.
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I give her huge marks for that. Am I just not reading enough? Why aren’t you Silbert people talking that up? Forget the armchair forecasts, talk demonstrated actions.
From someone who is not a Silbert supporter, and who was there, it was a classy move and it was appreciated by most everyone on the floor.
Murray missed winning the endorsement on the first ballot by less than 2 percentage point. Silbert’s move was not about class. He was ahead of Silbert by more than 20 points and his folks did not have to worry about a long ride home.