Senator Jim Marzilli released the following statement today:
“This is to inform my supporters and constituents that I will not be seeking re-election in September as Senator for the 4th Middlesex District. My state house staff will continue to respond to the needs of constituents within the district until the end of my term.
“Susan and I thank the many of you who have reached out with your love and kindness in the past few days and we ask for your continued good wishes and support during this very difficult time.”
The Globe also reports that more allegations against Marzilli are surfacing.
In any event, as it is now too late for anyone else to run for Marzilli’s seat, it appears that the Democratic candidates for Senator from the 4th Middlesex district will be Ken Donnelly and Jack Hurd. Anyone know if Brian Cangiamila managed the required number of signatures on the Republican side?
The not running again, I mean. Giving him room for benefit of the doubt is not the same thing as being willing to actively campaign for him. Time to find a new senator.
is not at this point on the ballot but he is running.
Disinhibition, such as dashing through moving traffic, and the other observations of Marzilli’s behaviors in the police reports so “thoughtfully” posted by Eabo looks like real deterioration and should receive hospitalization and a full evaluation.
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p>This is a tragedy, really, after all those years of public service – both for James Marzilli and his family – and those who were on the receiving end of his disinhibited beahaviors.
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p>For James Marzilli to announce that he is no longer seeking re-election should lead to less of a media circus, as the legal and medical ramifications of his erratic and peculiar behaviors are sorted out. I will keep Jim and his family in my prayers, and going forward, focus on the election for a new senator for the 4th Middlesex Senate District – AND ensuring that in the interim, I do what I can to assist the caretaker office staff for the 4th Middlesex District, as 4th District Committeewoman.
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p>No one should take pleasure in the collapse of another human being. Going forward, what is required is to insure that the district is well represented, and that Mr. Marzilli receives fair and appropriate medical and legal treatment.
But he should resign. The idea of his serving until next January with these and new charges against him is unimaginable.
could staff remain to handle constituent services? if not, i think it is ok for him to stay on in name only, so his staff can keep working for the district.
The only thing he gets by remaining is a paycheck…and, of course, by serving ONE day in 2009 before the new legislators are sworn in, just one more year on his pension.
Is there staff for a non-existent rep or senator? I don’t know — I’m asking.
I’m trying to think of a time when a Democrat was fored to resign…really, no snark…and the only name I can think of is Asselin – DID he actually resign, or just go home? His staff did stay in plce until the next election.
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p>However – the staffs of those who died were certainly kept in place until a special or general replaced their boss.
Mostly they resign to go on to better things, not prison.
– Mike Festa
– Jarret Barrios
– Robert Travaglini
– Rachel Kaprielian
– Anthony Petrucelli
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p>Heck, even Marzilli resigned his house seat when he was elected to the Senate. I presume his office wasn’t just empty until Garballey got sworn in.
I’m friends with someone who served in a rep’s office, after the rep was gone for months and months… so, yes, the office stays until a new Rep or Senator is elected.
were they still in office by awol, or had they outright resigned?
they had resigned, moving onto something bigger and better.
i think he should resign. i doubt he will be able to accomplish much himself in the remaining months. and i’m actually on board with porc, that i’m not crazy about him drawing salary and pension benefits unless he is actually on the job. i just hope taht his wife has good health insurance!
He can still retire, just at a significantly lower pension benefit than if he made it to the 20 yr./80% mark. He’ll continue to be in the GIC for health care, and his contribution for his premium will remain at 15%.
wow.
“No one is immune to misfortune” – the women who were sexually assaulted by Marzilli were certainly not immune to misfortune.
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If Marzilli wins the primary election, then he will presumably withdraw from the November race.
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p>In this case, the spot will be filled by a caucus of Democratic town/ward committees in the district.
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p>So if someone wanted to run for the seat, they have another choice besides stiokers/write-in: push their supporters to vote for Marzilli and then make their case to the town committees afterwards.
Marzilli will just remain on the ballot, as the deadline for him to withdraw his name was May 30th.
Should he win the primary even though he’s not running, then it would go to caucus to replace his name on the general election ballot. That is what Patrick is referring to. If he had removed his name from the primary ballot before the 30th, there still would have been no caucus because he had primary challengers.
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p>I seem to have become an expert on these things over the past week.
I only saw brief coverage of the DTC/DWC elections and a very brief account of the actual caucus. I know that there will be a sticker campaign, and I know that you personally put a lot of thought into the issue. Anything of interest that you care to share? Thanks, Kate
I owe the MA blogosphere a big post about what happened and why it actually IS important to get progressives on your town/ward committees.
there’s 2 democrats running in the primary? Weird.
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p>I hope some people knowledgeable about the candidates will post some diaries.
Ken Donnelly, the Treasurer of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts (PFFM) finished 2nd in the State Senate special Democratic Primary last year. His campaign and his positions were debate on BMG and he has the advantage of having run District-wide just a short time ago. His website is currently under reconstruction:
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p>http://donnellyforsenate.com/
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p>Jack Hurd, an Arlington Selectman, already has his website up:
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p>http://jackhurdforsenate.com/
When I posted about the caucus possibilities in the Kaprielian thread, I was specifically talking about the post-primary withdrawal option. So I knew about that caucus.
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p>The post-nomination-paper withdrawal option caught me by surprise, as I had never seen that one before; I loved how the Watertown/Cambridge Democrats finessed that one to avoid having a candidate on the ballot.
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Since he has not been convicted of a crime there is no reason for him to resign. That he is not seeking re-election is good enough for me. One way or another he will be gone soon.
And having him serve on Mental Health and Substance Abuse is…well…not how Madame President does business.
As a representative since 2001, Jim has worked hard for his constituents for a very long time. Clearly, under these circumstances, he cannot continue as an elected official. However, there is no harm in his finishing the term, provided he is doing what he needs to recover from this illness.
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p>He is now hospitalized. As a long time friend, I know this is not consistent with the person I have known for more than 15 years. He is going to need the health insurance, and some space to find his way back to a new life.
He’ll just have a smaller pension. And, if he signed up for it, he might also be eligible for disability coverage.
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p>If he’s hospitalized – how can he do the job he’s being paid for? As far as the Session being over, that’s nonsense. The final budget isn’t even out yet, and many bills will be coming out of Third Reading at the end of the Session. And he’ll vote onnoneof them – I HOPE, given Rep. Murphy’s experience! (The Senate runs a tighter ship…)
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p>How can you justify the continuation of the paycheck?
if he ever wants to re-enter politics in the future, making a clean break now will benefit him then. But if he really is manic or chemically unbalanced or something, I can see how calmly sitting down and thinking these things through might be difficult if not impossible. At least not immediately. Perhaps after some dust settles after a week or two. That would work for me. Beyond that, I’d get less patient as time dragged on, unless we learn that he is no longer capable of making decisions for himself.