Last week, Jim O’Sullivan wrote that sources close to Charlotte Golar Richie said she was seriously considering a run for treasurer. This week, Jim O’Sullivan reported that sources close to her say she is now pondering a run for Lt. Governor.
I am less interested in the questions of “Which is it?” than “Why that one?”. So what exactly is going through her mind, and that of her consultants?
O’Sullivan hinted at some of the factors:
“has fielded calls from a range of political insiders urging her to focus on the lieutenant governor race rather than the one for treasurer”
Why do political insiders suggest this?
“she struggled to raise enough money in the city race, a factor that prompted supporters to encourage her to look at a bid for lieutenant governor.
Campaigns for state treasurer frequently require more intense fundraising demands than those for the state’s number-two post.”
Fundraising may be a bigger factor than it appears given that she is still trying to retire campaign debt from the Mayor’s race:
“Former mayoral candidate Charlotte Golar Richie is still seeking to retire the debt from last year’s campaign. The former Dorchester lawmaker, who came in third place and didn’t advance past the September primary, scheduled a fundraiser for today (Thurs., Feb. 27) at 8:30 a.m. at the offices of Travaglini, Eisenberg and Kiley, at One International Place in downtown Boston.”
The Dot Reporter adds another issue to contend with – signatures.
“If she does pull the trigger on another run for public office, Golar Richie will face some logistical hurdles…the Democratic caucuses are over and the deadline for turning nomination signatures in to local elections officials is May 6. That means Golar Richie will need to gather thousands of voter signatures to get on the ballot, on top of signatures from Democratic delegates in order to gain entry to the convention in Worcester in June.”
However, there is another wrinkle to signature gathering. You need 10k for LG, and only 5k for Treasurer.
So it’s a choice:
Raising much less money but having to collect 10k signatures in 4 weeks
VS.
Raising alot of money and collecting 5k signatures in 4 weeks.
Either way, it doesn’t seem like any of these conversations relate to her qualifications for either role. Or any reason why a voter should vote for her.
If she waits more than another week, my money would be on her running for Treasurer, because she has time to raise the money, but no time to get an extra 5k signatures.
What’s your money on?
Either way, IMHO that’s not public service. That’s pure political calculus.
Christopher says
Technically, she can get 500 signatures of convention delegates to be considered, but caucuses are IMO the preferable method. The mayoral race has been over for months and she could have gotten in sooner before support was already being lined up among other candidates.
jconway says
This reminds me of Charlie’s prior post about people seeking the next spot regardless of whether they really want that office. I’ll be honest, I have political ambitions myself and have pathed out a few trajectories when I day dream but most are offices I think I will gradually get experience in to move to the next one. Two of the Treasurer candidates were in the State Legsslatire and dealt with budget issues before, Mike Lake and Councilor Cheung have good municipal government experience. Kerrigan would be a better AG fit IMO but he also would face a crowded field there.
Also winning might end up getting you stuck in a job you don’t really intend to be a career (see: Galvin, Bill; Cahill, Tim). This is also common in Chicago. Our Clerk of Courts sucks at her day job but keeps running for higher office. If advise Charlotte to wait it out until the next cycle.
Christopher says
Galvin is welcome to decide one of these days not to seek re-election or run for something else as is often speculated. Being Secretary must count for something on one’s resume.