If you are seeing the same campaign mailers that I am, you probably know all you need to know about the Galvin-Zakim contest. Just kidding. The fliers I’ve seen so far are pretty bad.
For my money, this article by Maya Shaffer is much more to the point. https://digboston.com/unresponsive-the-massachusetts-public-records-law-fails-three-out-of-three-times/ It’s part an occasional series at the Weekly Dig about public records.
Maya Shaffer has been ” seeking records related to the deportation of a Boston Public Schools student.” Her article documents that public agencies in Massachusetts routinely ignore requests for records, and that the Secretary of State (as well as the AG’s office) doesn’t really bother to enforce the law.
If you care about deportations (that should be just about everyone on BMG), or just care about openness in government (anyone?) this is an important article.
Would Josh Zakim do a better job enforcing the state’s public records laws. I don’t know, maybe someone will ask him before September 4. I can’t tell from the campaign fliers.
Zakim got needlessly thrown on the defense by Galvin flip flopping on same day and automatic voter registration taking his signature issue off the table, Galvin reappropriating the People’s Pledge to assail Zakim for one bad donor, and the “no show” attack ad on Zakim missing votes as a student.
The easiest rebuttal to the last attack would be to say “maybe if you hadn’t made absentee voting and voter registration so difficult for 18 years before this summer when you finally flip flopped, I would have voted”. Galvin made the same attack against my old boss, probably using a state employee to do the research for him.
Signing the people’s pledge and returning the measley 2k check from that controversial Zakim donor would be another easy way out of that attack. His latest ad did bring up the really regressive voting record Galvin had as a state legislator and his lack luster approach to doing his day job. Hopefully it sticks. Our biggest problem as progressives in this state is getting the DSA crowd to care about downballot primaries. Hopefully Zakim, Katie Fords, and the progressive DA candidates get some downballot help from the Pressley vote.
I am so disenchanted with the Secretary’s race at this point. I went into convention leaning Zakim because I thought the office could use a shot in the arm on a number of issues, but then Galvin talking about what he’s done made me more confident in his record than I have been in a long time. I ended up abstaining on that vote and remained undecided. Then I saw the debate on Channel 2’s Greater Boston and thought Zakim came across as not ready for prime time. Meanwhile, he has started to go after Galvin on issues like abortion rights that aren’t relevant to this office. Then came the very negative ads, of which Zakim struck first which is a point against him in my book, but Galvin swung back. I’ve seen enough intra-party races that stay positive that I know it can be done. Right now I’m tempted to write in Richard Howe, Jr. who is the Northern Middlesex Register of Deeds. He knows elections, is interested in history, and his current office falls under the Secretary so he has the relevant background and is I believe qualified.
Galvin has been quite negative and downright nasty since the day Josh pulled papers. The 7th district has remained a largely positive race since the two candidates are both known quantities to district voters and can both run on their existing records and different approaches to the job. I dislike the tone as well, but it was sort of inevitable when you are running against a snake like Galvin.
For the Secretary’s race, it is critical to let undecided voters know how bad Galvin really is in order to take down all that free publicity and name recognition he has been getting for decades on the taxpayer dime. He literally fought online voting for years, and then ran taxpayer funded ads taking credit for it as soon as he lost the lawsuit. He literally fought same day and automatic voter registration for years, and then flip flopped on them as soon as his primary challenger made them a core issue of his campaign. Galvin is a snake, and you don’t beat a snake by playing nice.
That said, I wish Josh ran on his record as a city councilor a little bit more. He is my city councilor and his office was quite responsive in helping me navigate onboarding myself as a Boston resident. He is very active in the ward and often has events bringing the student community and residents together. Not to mention working with Pressley to back a lot of progressive legislation on the city council. Galvin’s legislative record is relevant since it shows that in his heart of hearts, he is not a progressive but an old time Brighton ward heeler who refuses to adapt with the times. If Roe gets overturned, we will need all the statewide allies we can get.
Two things I don’t get:
Why has your attitude toward Galvin always sounded so personal?
How much help can a SoC be in protecting abortion rights? (Plus I think Galvin would dispute yours and Zakim’s interpretation of his record on this.)
My only interaction with Galvin was quite pleasant, this isn’t personal. It has had everything to do with how he treats opposition or criticism to how he does his job. Whether it’s how he has reacted to this primary challenge, how he has reacted to activists trying to push him and his office to do better, or how he has utilized office employees to do his campaign work, he has made his office a personal fiefdom rather than treat it like public service. He has resisted making any efforts to modernize the office and then takes credit for changes that others forced him to make.
The abortion criticism is just to highlight that Josh will be a reliable progressive advocate, ally, and fighter of the Trump Administration in office while Galvin has never been a reliable progressive in his career.
If fighting Trump specifically is the mark of a progressive then as I recall Galvin was very out front in his refusal to turn over voter records to the Kobach “voter fraud” commission.
The refusal of state agencies in Massachusetts to provide public records on the deportation of this student is disturbing and should be an issue in the race for Secretary of the Commonwealth.. That neither Galvin nor Zakim seem to be concerned about this issue is disappointing, but perhaps not surprising.
COFAR has been involved in a lengthy battle for records from the Disabled Persons Protection Commission. After Galvin’s Public Records Supervisor upheld the secrecy of the DPPC’s records early this month, a member of our organization contacted the Zakim campaign to see if they would comment on the issue..
The Zakim campaign responded with a statement to us that appeared supportive of the public disclosure of the records. The campaign statement was:
But when I asked the campaign if the statement applied to our issue, they backed off and said it was a general statement and not specific to our case. Also, the campaign didn’t respond to my follow-up question whether Zakim supports reducing the number of exemptions listed under the Public Records Law.
Are these records even under the purview of the Secretary’s office? Isn’t deportation a federal issue?
Shaffer’s article explains the connection.