As two BMGers have already noted, the Cambridge Chronicle has endorsed Tim Flaherty for the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex Senate seat.
The Chronicle says that Flaherty
was specific and multi-pronged in his approach. He said he would commission a study to determine how much money it would cost to deliver high-quality education to every student in the state, pointing out an obvious inequity: Cambridge spends the most in the state per pupil.
And he was toughest on crime, a subject that is becoming more and more familiar in this city and in the district as a whole. He was also tough on Gov. Deval Patrick’s not-yet-fulfilled campaign promise to deliver 1,000 new police officers to the streets. “I would work to find funding and encourage the administration to do that,” he said. “If anybody doesn’t think there’s a crime epidemic in Cambridge, Somerville and in this entire district, they’re wrong.”
Unlike the Globe, the Chronicle did its readers the favor of explaining why they weren’t backing the other candidates.
Among the other candidates, it is clear that City Councilor Anthony Galluccio cares deeply about Cambridge and has been an ardent community supporter during his 13-year tenure. However, his campaign relied too much on one message: kids, while he continues to face the distractions of allegations of driving under the influence. Paul Nowicki, a Chelsea City Councilor, doesn’t seem to have the ability to see things in shades of gray, which could be detrimental when working with others in the political realm. And Jeff Ross has no concrete experience that would lend itself to a powerful state Senate position.
Finally, you may be wondering (if you have way too much time on your hands) why I wrote up this post instead of just promoting one of the other two noting the Chronicle’s endorsement. Glad you asked. Both of those posts just cut and pasted the entire endorsement. That practice, as we’ve said before, is poor netiquette, and may constitute a copyright violation under the “fair use” doctrine. We encourage you, rather than simply reprinting entire articles, to excerpt only the key portions of copyrighted material in your posts, and to add your own thoughts — that’s what makes blogging fun and interesting.
Endorsements are valuable info for voters–whether they come from media, organizations, or friends. But if you want to see the four candidates live and submit a question for them to answer, come to the Cambridge Democratic City Committee forum tonight 7 pm, at Lesley University, only a block from the Porter Square T (1815 Mass. Ave, 2nd Floor Amphitheater). The moderator is Scott Harshbarger. Meet the candidates from 7 to 7:30, then the debate.