"Many giving up seats in Legislature; 30 could retire or seek new office" by Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff | February 26, 2010
About 30 seats in the Massachusetts Legislature could open up this year as state lawmakers abandon posts they held for years, or even decades, to run for other offices or retire....
A number of departing legislators yesterday said their decisions are purely personal.
What LIARS!
State Representative Denis E. Guyer, a 43-year-old Dalton Democrat, said he wants to spend more time with his 6-year-old, instead of traveling the 150 miles from his sprawling 22-town district to Beacon Hill. Yes, his seat was previously held for years by a Republican, and, yes, a Republican had announced a challenge. But, he said: “I’m in a very, very solid Democratic district. I did not get the feeling they were ready to throw me out.’’
Related: Globe Finally Discovers Voter Discontent
Aren't lying, self-deluded Democrats great?
Senator Marian Walsh, Democrat of West Roxbury, who nearly accepted Governor Deval Patrick’s appointment to a $175,000 patronage job that had been vacant for a dozen years, declined to speak about her decision to leave this year but said in a statement: “I have loved serving the public and being a legislator. I am very grateful to my constituents. It is time now to love something else.’’
Yeah, and the PHAT PENSION won't hurt either, huh?
Related: Slow Saturday Special: No Purchase and Governor Patrick's Phibs
That from the "change" governor.
Also see: Morning T Ride on the Patrick Prevaricator
Some change, huh, Bay Staters?
Some departing legislators have been tarred by scandal, including Representative Robert P. Spellane, Democrat of Worcester, whom Republican Party spokeswoman Tarah Donoghue dubbed the poster child for all that is wrong on Beacon Hill. In recent years, Spellane was fined for diverting money from his campaign account for personal use; embroiled in a nasty divorce with his wife; and involved in a public altercation with her and her brother at a Little League field, according to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
Related:
"Robert P. Spellane, a Worcester Democrat and vice chairman of the committee that regulates banks, has been forced to explain how he was able to forgo a year's worth of payments on a $340,000 loan from a local bank with an executive who supports him politically."
Funny how the Globe left that off the list, huh?
Did the creditors and banks forgo on your foreclosures or loan payments, Amurka?
Republicans are expected to seize on ethics scandals that have forced several Democrats out of the Legislature in recent years. Former senator Dianne Wilkerson is awaiting a federal trial on charges that she took bribes, and former senator James Marzilli stepped down after being accused of accosting several women.
Related: Last Political Will and Testament of Dianne Wilkerson
Salvatore F. DiMasi, the former House speaker, was indicted in a federal corruption probe after his resignation in January 2009, just three weeks after his Democratic colleagues reelected him speaker during an ethics scandal.
Guy out to have his own file here.
See: DiMasi's Leftovers
The Three Stooges of Massachusetts
Massachusetts Speaker's Office
And those are just a few posts regarding that scum.
DiMasi is accused of taking money from a software firm he helped to win a state contract. Republicans were thrilled at news yesterday that DiMasi’s trial is expected to begin in September, during the campaign.
“Any incumbent who voted for Sal DiMasi has a target on their back,’’ said Jason Kauppi, a Republican consultant. “Scandal was everywhere around him. They still voted for this guy. Someone has to take responsibility for condoning the culture of corruption.’’
That's Massachusetts politics all right!!
**********************
Three seats in the Legislature are already vacant, including the House seat vacated by William Lantigua, a Democrat who is also the mayor of Lawrence and who resigned under pressure as his city sought state help with a $35 million loan.
Related: The Latin Looter of Lawrence
Yeah, turns out RACE DOESN'T MATTER MUCH when it comes to CORRUPTION in POLITICS!
Special elections are scheduled to replace the other two in the Senate: Brown, who went to Washington, D.C., after he was elected to the US Senate, and Anthony Galluccio, a Cambridge Democrat and repeat drunk driver who was jailed for failing a breath alcohol test while on house arrest.
The Great "Gooch": A Drunk-Driving Hero
Grounded "Gooch"
My New Year's Eve Party
"Gooch" Going to the Big House
Globe Gives It Up For the Great Gooch
Yeah, but he's a good guy!
The decisions seem to mirror a trend on the national level in which congressmen - including US Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, US Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, and US Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana - have announced their intentions to step aside.
See: Democrats' Despair
Slow Saturday Special: The End of a Political Dynasty
They can read the writing on the voting booth.
“It would seem that people are deciding that now is the time to get out, better to bow out than to lose,’’ said Kauppi....
And then tell us they would rather spend time with family.
Can't stop lying even on the way out the door, huh?
But John Walsh, the Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman, is unwilling to cede any ground to Republicans, pointing to history as his guide. In 2004, Governor Mitt Romney introduced 131 Republican candidates and led a $3 million effort to boost Republican representation in the Legislature. Instead, the GOP lost three seats that year. In 2008, Walsh noted, Democrats reclaimed every one of the 15 open seats.
That was a MUCH DIFFERENT TIME, you SELF-DELUDED FOOL!!
But that's okay; I like seeing Mass. Democrats eat shit.
Isn't that cannibalism?
“Some people feel like the world changed on Jan. 19,’’ he said, pointing to the date of Brown’s victory in the special election. “But last time there were 15 open seats and when the dust settled, every single one of them had been filled by a Democrat....’’
Anybody tell this guy that the DemocraPs around here lost Ted Kennedy's iconic seat?
Also see: The Perils of One-Party Politics: The Problem
The Perils of One-Party Politics: Speaker's Shoes
The Perils of One-Party Politics: The Ruling Party
The Perils of One-Party Politics: Massachusetts' Democracy
Why Massachusetts Needs Republicans
No wonder this state is so screwed up.
Update:
"State Senator Susan Tucker said today she wouldn't seek re-election in November, joining the wave of about 30 lawmakers who have decided to leave office. "Together with my family, I decided that it is time for me to trade the long hours and rigors of public life for new opportunities, especially getting to know our new granddaughter," she said in a letter to her constituents. Tucker faced a challenge from Republican Jamison Tomasek.
None of them can really tell the truth, huh?
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