Congressman Mike Capuano has added his voice and support to the Marty Walsh for Mayor campaign. This in an email I received from the Congressman today:
Yesterday I endorsed Marty Walsh for Mayor of Boston. As a former mayor, I do
not make this endorsement lightly. Leading a city can be one of the most
demanding public jobs in America. The challenges are many – from maintaining
infrastructure and overseeing economic development to improving the schools –
and there is never enough money to do it all.I believe that Marty Walsh is the best candidate to lead the City of Boston. He
has a record of accomplishment and strong progressive ideals. I am proud to
stand with him.
As a big fan of Congressman Capuano I am very happy to have him on board with the Walsh for Mayor campaign. Speaks well of Marty’s progressive creds.
I did notice that when the Progressive House Caucus endorsed Marty there was a bit of a dismissive “that’s his colleagues” tone (even in David’s endorsement). By contrast I would note that Connolly colleagues on the Boston City Council Felix Arroyo, Tito Jackson and Charles Yancey endorsed Walsh. Seems you can’t count colleague chickens before they’re hatched. In my mind that makes the Progressive House Caucus endorsement more than just a given in this race and again speaks to Marty as the progressive candidate in this race.
Arroyo and Connolly have a history of not getting along, and Yancey’s endorsement shouldn’t sway anyone.
I’m waiting for Ross and Pressley. Ross seems more like Connolly, but if he goes for Walsh, I think that says a lot (and not much good about Connolly). And Pressley is just awesome, so that says a lot, too.
In general, I think people tend to endorse who they know better, so it would have been quite a big deal for the House progs to endorse Connolly; conversely, it’s nice for Walsh that they endorsed him, but it’s unsurprising. The other endorsements that I mentioned in my post are a much bigger deal. For instance, Arroyo and Jackson going with Walsh is a big deal.
Speaking of which, anyone know if Ayanna Pressley is planning to endorse? Given that she’s Connolly’s colleague and that they sort of jointly campaigned the last time around, her silence is getting louder and louder…
According to the Globe, Pressley is sitting this one out.
Probably can’t read too much into this other than the fact that she knows and probably likes both men well. I think it’s probably an unnecessary risk in what will likely be a very close election.
Interesting. As you say, of course it is a risk for her to endorse. Still, her joint campaign with Connolly was a big deal, and he is her City Council colleague. That Globe piece notes that her relationship with Walsh is that … they both live in Dorchester? Dorchester’s a big place – a lot bigger than the City Council chamber. So, for the same reasons I described upthread as to why some endorsements are surprising and some aren’t, I find this non-endorsement to be surprising, and quite a bonus for Walsh.
Following David’s logic on endorsements Senators Dorcena Forry and Chang Diaz’s endorsements of Marty should count in that surprise category. Dorcena Forry served with Marty in the House but as a newly elected State Senator might have taken the Pressley route and simply stayed out. Chang Diaz never served with Walsh in the House and would have interacted with Connolly as an At-Large Councilor and with Marty as a State Rep. So both endorsements should not be discounted.
Dorcena Forry tweeted last night that all of the elected women who have endorsed have gone to Walsh.
I’m pretty sure Walsh endorsed Capuano in the Senate primary, while I also believe that Connolly either endorsed Coakley or stayed neutral.
And this endorsement speaks quite well of Walsh’s ability I do the job. Capuano was a transformative Mayor in Somerville which is why he stood out in a strong field for his seat. The time is now to transform Boston.