MA Treasurer Tim Cahill endorsed Deval Patrick yesterday. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
“I understand as the state’s CFO that this is not the time to cut the income tax,” Cahill said. “Cutting the income tax today is going to force us to raise property taxes tomorrow.”
Now, you might well ask why this matters. Does the mighty Tim Cahill operation suddenly swing into high gear, delivering Greater Quincy and all of Below Boston along with it?
No. (Maybe. See the comments.) But it gives Patrick valuable cover on the tax issue. Cahill’s the guy responsible for the state’s finances; he faces only token opposition in his own race, so he’s there for the next few years. Of the statewide elected officials, he can properly be seen as the authority on the state’s finances.
Now, imagine if it had gone another way: Imagine Cahill had said, “Sure, we can afford the tax cut. Let’s do it.” What if he had endorsed Reilly’s and Healey’s plan to cut the income tax immediately? Or even Gabrieli’s “When We’re Good and Ready” plan? That would be a tough position for Patrick — even tougher than his current stance.
It may not cut much ice with all that many voters, but it certainly helps Patrick’s case regarding taxation that when he said he “couldn’t make the math work”, he’s been backed up by both the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association and the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. And now a presumed budget authority who has actually been elected statewide has backed him up, too. His tax position will still cost him votes, but it never hurts to have a well-defended position.
Does the mighty Tim Cahill operation suddenly swing into high gear, delivering Greater Quincy and all of Below Boston along with it?
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Curiousity question: Why doesn’t it? I mean, it’s short time ’till the primary but if Tim’s people know I would bet this will affect their vote and activism. If Patrick wins the primary, this could be a nice addition to an already stellar ground force. And anyone who was at the Convention knows they are a formidable, scary force.
Well, I don’t know what he has for organization, except that he got elected once. But he’s unopposed in the primary anyway.
Jamie O’Keefe, former Green-Rainbow treasurer, who got 7% of the vote in 2002, against Tim and the GOP candidate, is running again as part of the Green-Rainbow slate, but not actively campaigning, as he had a newborn at the time of nominations.
He (Cahill) had more people holding signs for him outside than any candidate in any race. As you mentioned, he’s not even running a race!
:((
Ed Kennedy blew hot air, George McG talked about diddling sheep…The after-parties were sweet though!
The only problem here, is that a good number of people that work for the Treasurer or the Lottery are “tenured” holdovers from previous administrations who don’t take marching orders from Cahill.
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p>I personally know of at least a half-dozen people who are active in South Shore politics that work for the Lottery who were hired under O’Brien who have been beating the bushes for her former running mate Gabrieli. (I wonder what the mood was over there in Braintree yesterday!)
and they can be especially useful for things like lit drops and visibility, thereby freeing up local Deval volunteers for action involving more interaction, like phone banking.
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The endorsement helps on the taxation stance (see above), but it also provides more ground troops before the primary.
Is that Tim’s team is going to provide some workers for the Patrick campaign.
should mention this endorsement tonight when he gets attacked on taxes…
Good call.