I guess that's why the Glob likes them so much: such a fooley waste of time.
"Not everyone is heartened by the hubbub. Wayne Lewis, a 60-year-old former Marine sergeant, expressed dismay that despite all the activity, liberal Democrats will probably win most of the races."
And now they want to get rid of elections.
“There doesn’t even seem to be any hope for greater involvement. How do you put the price of democracy into a cost-benefit analysis?’’ -- Patrick Murphy, a candidate for the Lowell City Council who lobbied to keep the primary
Yeah, keep the "fringe" candidates out! They already do anyway, if they can't, they'll fix the machines.
"Election fights on every corner; The punch is back in the state’s sweet science: Politics" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | September 20, 2009
.... Suddenly, competitive races have opened up across the city and state, making for a volatile and unpredictable climate as big egos clash with big issues and big money. Many are scrambling for a stake in the action, from college-age volunteers licking envelopes for City Council hopefuls to labor leaders pushing for universal health care and high-priced message gurus shaping the first wave of television ads.
It is a remarkable moment in Massachusetts, where incumbent members of Congress and the Legislature are rarely challenged....
Thomas P. O’Neill III, the former lieutenant governor: “It happens once in a generation here in Massachusetts.’’
The ground has already begun to shift far beyond Boston. In preliminary elections last Tuesday, voters ousted Mayor Robert Correia of Fall River, while mayors Mary Clare Higgins of Northampton and Edward J. Clancy Jr. of Lynn each finished second in their races. Translation:
Since the LAST TWO ELECTIONS didn't seem to take it is time to TOSS the INCUMBENTS -- ALL of 'em!!!
“That tells you something about the frustrations of the electorate,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “If I were Mayor [Thomas M.] Menino and I saw what happened in Lynn and Northampton and Fall River, that would give me a little pause.’’
***********************
It is also an opportunity for groups representing unions, businesses, and other interests to flex their muscle. Haynes said his group is planning to contact its 400,000 members 10 times each - on the phone, in the mail, in person - about the Senate election. The union has also invited the candidates to speak at an upcoming convention, and plans to host a debate before Election Day on Jan 19. “I think our impact will be huge,’’ he boasted.
Labor always says that, yet they rarely deliver. Whatever "labor" was in AmeriKa, it is nothing but a hollow, hulking shell of itself now.
Television stations are basking in the ad dollars, at a time when struggling retailers and car dealers have curtailed their advertising budgets....
Yeah, one would almost think elections are about public policy. About PUMPING UP the ADVERT INDUSTRY with WASTED LOOT that could be used for better things.
Not everyone is heartened by the hubbub. Wayne Lewis, a 60-year-old former Marine sergeant, expressed dismay that despite all the activity, liberal Democrats will probably win most of the races. “As far as the political scene, I don’t think things are going to change much in this state,’’ Lewis said.
I hate to say it, but I agree with him.
Exhibit A:
"Carol Grossmann was an enthusiastic supporter of Patrick’s 2006 campaign, but she’s grown angry, mostly about budget cuts to social services. “He’s disappointing,’’ said the 59-year-old home heath aide from Conway. “I would never vote Republican’’
And I know plenty more like them. It's the most frustrating experience you can imagine. Nothing like a close-minded liberal from Massachusetts. I ought to know; I used to be one.
"Budget pressures hit preliminary elections; In Gloucester, sideshow run annoys" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | September 19, 2009
GLOUCESTER - As the town struggles with a staggering budget crunch this year, his candidacy is forcing the city to spend some $15,000 on a preliminary election to whittle the field of three candidates to two for the November general election. It has ignited a storm of controversy....
Oh, NEED a FEW THOUSAND for ELECTIONS?
Here, HELP YOURSELF:
Governor Guts State Services
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride
Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies
UBS Picks Up Pike
How many times I gotta put 'em up?
Across the state, in fact, a growing number of communities with budgets gutted by the economy are grumbling about the cost of holding low-stakes preliminary elections. A handful, including Gloucester, have turned to the Legislature for permission to scuttle them, citing the cost and the lack of truly competitive races. And while some such requests have been approved, Gloucester’s and at least one other have been rejected. And some local officials are fuming over the state’s seeming indifference to their plight.
Yeah, WHO CARES about the PEOPLE and THEIR VOICE?
Officials in Methuen - which spent about $32,000 this week in a preliminary election to eliminate a fringe mayoral candidate after the Legislature declined its request to cancel the election - are among them.
I know where you could get $32,000 dollars.
“In a perfect world, it’s fine, whatever,’’ said Christine Touma-Conway, the city clerk there, who, like many town officials, is frustrated at Beacon Hill’s hesitance. “But when we’ve lost $3 million in local aid, and then they won’t let us save what in essence is one employee’s salary, that’s just terrible.’’
****************************************
For the towns that won a reprieve, the savings have been substantial. Revere, facing a massive budget deficit, saved $50,000 by canceling its primary.
“We lost $15 million in local aid and had to lay off 49 people in city government,’’ said Edward Caulfield, mayor of Lowell, which saved an estimated $41,000. “That’s money when you’re counting nickels and dimes.’’
YUP!!! I sure do know about counting those coins.
Many political observers say primaries serve the important functions of narrowing the slate of candidates to a manageable number and insuring that winners secure a majority of voters. Primaries also give challengers a better sense of their strengths and weaknesses, and help newcomers gain name recognition, which encourages greater participation from voters and candidates alike.
Canceling primaries because of expected low turnout, by contrast, only perpetuates problems, some observers said. “They are just resigned to the fact,’’ said Patrick Murphy, a candidate for the Lowell City Council who lobbied to keep the primary. “There doesn’t even seem to be any hope for greater involvement. How do you put the price of democracy into a cost-benefit analysis?’’
In Gloucester, anger from tax-weary residents has turned on Ruberti....
Yes, THAT is the THEME for this NEXT ROUND!! And it is NOT JUST TAXES, it is EVERYTHING!!!
“I’m willing to pay more taxes for many things,’’ said Dan Connell, a Gloucester resident and Simmons College professor....
Well, you are! That's what is wrong with Massachusetts: attitudes like that.
The only reason I can see to actually go vote -- not that the Leg will listen:
"Activists submit ’10 ballot initiatives" by Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press | August 6, 2009
Activists rushed to file proposed initiatives ranging from rolling back the new sales tax hike to lifting the state cap on charter schools and protecting endangered whales, the first step in a long road to the 2010 ballot.
Yesterday was the deadline to submit a ballot initiative to Attorney General Martha Coakley, who determines if they are allowed under the state constitution. There are 30 petitions on 17 subjects. Of the 17, there are four constitutional amendments. Some questions would eliminate tolls, end the state’s main affordable housing law, regulate online poker in Massachusetts, and exempt alcohol sold in stores from the sales tax.
Carla Howell, who pushed a failed ballot initiative last year that would have eliminated the state income tax, filed four questions to roll back the sales tax increase that took effect last week. One question would roll the 6.25 percent tax to 5 percent. The others would take it back to 4 percent, 3 percent, or 2.5 percent.
Howell said she will wait until she sees how much money she can raise before deciding whether to pursue the questions. She said she needs money to hire signature gatherers. “We always want to cut government spending, and tax cuts are the best way we know how to force the issue,’’ she said.
Another battle could be brewing over charter schools. Supporters filed two questions to end restrictions on the number of charter schools allowed in Massachusetts, saying more students should be able to attend. Governor Deval Patrick recently unveiled a proposal to increase the number of charter seats in the lowest scoring districts from 10,000 to more than 37,000.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union, opposes both the rollback in the sales tax and the expansion of charters schools, which can operate without union contracts. They say charter schools siphon money from regular public schools.
Related: Back-to-School Series: Massachusetts Charts a New Course
There are a number of proposed ballot questions addressing environmental and clean energy issues. One would protect endangered whales and sea turtles by barring the use of drift nets or any other kind of gear that “suspends a curtain of mesh material into the marine environment to passively take fish.’’
Other proposed questions would ban the commercial harvesting of wood products on state-owned forest lands, bar public funds for renewable energy products that emit excessive carbon dioxide, and require carbon dioxide limits on renewable and alternative energy sources.
Another proposal would amend the state constitution to create the right to quality health care including “all medically necessary services’’ and treatments. One question would guarantee that a certain percentage of the state budget each year for local aid.
--more--"
Looks like there will be a lot of ballot questions anyway:
"Raft of initiatives clear first ballot hurdle
Proposals to eliminate tolls in Massachusetts, repeal the sales tax on alcohol, and slash the 6.25 percent sales tax rate won certification yesterday from Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office. The designation means proponents are free to begin collecting thousands of signatures needed to put the initiatives on the ballot. Other certified petitions would expand the number of charter schools in Massachusetts, make health care a constitutional right, and implement instant runoff elections. Coakley’s office declined to certify as ballot-eligible proposals to protect local aid, modify mortgages, and establish and tax Internet poker in Massachusetts. Most of the petitions that survive the signature-gathering and verification process, which takes months, are marked for the 2010 ballot (State House News Service)."
