Thursday, July 31, 2014

Grossman Fires First Salvo in Governor's Race

"Super PAC backing Grossman releases ad targeting Coakley; Grossman backer raises gun issue" by Akilah Johnson | Globe Staff   July 28, 2014

The super PAC backing state Treasurer Steve Grossman’s bid for governor released its first television commercial Monday, and it tells viewers that Attorney General Martha Coakley is the “wrong choice for governor.”

And Coakley’s campaign was ready with a response: a 60-second Web video decrying the influence of outside money that it had waiting, ready for release when the first super PAC ad aired.

The ad by the Mass Forward political action committee, a pro-Grossman group, says Coakley, the front-runner in a three-way Democratic primary, is not fit to be governor because she does not support Governor Deval Patrick’s plan to limit gun purchases to one a month.

The 30-second spot features four Boston area mothers holding framed pictures of smiling young men who are now all dead.

“We’re all mothers who lost children to gun violence,” says Clarissa Turner, who narrates the video. “My son Willie was murdered in a gang shooting, except he wasn’t in a gang. They thought he was someone else.”

Turner says they all agree with Patrick’s plan as does Grossman but Coakley does not.

“She says it wouldn’t have any effect. She’s wrong. One less gun can save a life,” says Turner, looking directly into the camera while seated in a kitchen.

Grossman, Coakley, and Don Berwick are all pushing to be the top finisher in the Sept. 9 primary.

The ad is a first in several ways....

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"Martha Coakley, Steve Grossman step up dispute; Impact on primary voters uncertain" by Akilah Johnson | Globe Staff   July 31, 2014

With six weeks to go before the Democratic gubernatorial primary, the sniping between Attorney General Martha Coakley and state Treasurer Steve Grossman — and the political action committee that supports him — has dramatically intensified.

Over the past three days, a pro-Grossman super PAC ad attacked Coakley on gun control, followed by a response video by Coakley attacking Grossman for not disavowing the super PAC. Then there were suggestions of collusion, allegations of intimidation, charges of hypocrisy, and pleas for money to combat all of the above.

In a campaign where there are few stark policy differences among the three Democratic candidates — Coakley, Grossman, and former health care administrator Don Berwick — and polls show Coakley with a commanding double-digit lead, her opponents are trying vigorously to differentiate themselves.

But political specialists say all of this amounts to little more than political theater to most voters and will not necessarily capture their hearts — or their votes.

The new war of words began Monday, with an anti-Coakley ad produced by Mass Forward, the super PAC supporting Grossman. It highlights a point Grossman has been trying to stress for months: that he supports a plan to restrict gun purchases to one per month, a policy Coakley opposes.

The 30-second, $250,000 ad features four Boston-area mothers holding pictures of their smiling sons, who are now all dead. The ad says Coakley is the “wrong choice for governor” because she does not support Governor Deval Patrick’s plan to limit gun purchases to one a month.

Coakley’s campaign had a response waiting: a 60-second Web video decrying the influence of outside money from super PACs, which must legally function independent of a candidate’s campaign but allow for unlimited contributions from people, corporations, associations, and unions.

The campaign went on to suggest in a statement that the timing and cost of the ad “could raise questions of collusion” between Grossman’s campaign and the PAC, a suggestion both Grossman and the PAC flatly denied — quickly pivoting back to their talking points.

And they kept going.

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“Ms. Coakley made veiled threats against Mr. White, demanding that his group disclose information not legally required and insinuated that she would take action if it did not by including an arbitrary deadline for his response,” attorney Donald Glazer said in a statement provided by the PAC, which said he was asked to review the letter by Barry White, who started the pro-Grossman group with his wife, Eleanor, as a friend not as a lawyer for the group, and several of Coakley’s opponents described her as hypocritical for decrying special interest money, pointing to a $5,000 campaign contribution from a government employee union, which funds its own super PAC that launched an ad attacking Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker.

Coakley’s campaign dismissed the attacks, saying she “has a history of standing up to special interests on behalf of consumers and so it is no surprise special interests are attacking her candidacy for governor.”

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Amid all the fighting, Coakley tried to use the super PAC ad to her own advantage — asking supporters to send money to help fight back.

By midweek, Grossman’s camp had not persuaded Coakley to fully talk about the one-gun-a-month issue. Coakley had not managed to get Grossman to decry outside money in politics. But the argument showed no sign of stopping.

Clearly, the campaigns are engaged and are trying to convince their most ardent supporters that they are fighting the good fight. But political scientists caution them against going too far — for fear of turning off everyone else.

Voters care about big-picture issues but tune out when politicians and their operatives begin parsing the minutiae of the modern political process, said Erin O’Brien, a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

“Most voters think this is just noise,” O’Brien said. “People have little confidence in government, especially when it comes to campaigns and ethics and governance. This sort of thing just seems like politics as usual.”

Peter Ubertaccio, a political scientist at Stonehill College, said, “As soon as you start getting things like charge vs. counter charge . . . a lot of people turn that stuff off. It doesn’t grab voters. Politicians and consultants think it does, but really doesn’t.”

It’s also unlikely to end soon, not with the Sept. 9 primary 41 days away.

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I'm sorry, but my interest has more than collapsed here.

"Steve Grossman releases tax returns; Bulk of income from his family business" by Stephanie Ebbert | Globe staff   July 25, 2014

Democratic candidate for governor Steve Grossman earned an average of $828,154 in the three years after he stepped down from leading his family business to run for office, though his stake in the company continued to provide the bulk of his income.

Grossman, one of three Democrats running for governor, allowed the Globe to review his lengthy tax returns starting last Friday after a challenge from Charlie Baker, the Republicans’ endorsed candidate. The Globe published a story about Baker’s tax returns that day showing that he averaged $750,000 in income in each of the past three years.

Grossman released federal and state returns for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 calendar years, covering a period starting a year earlier than Baker. A spokesperson said Grossman sought an extension and has not yet filed for 2013.

Two other candidates for governor — Don Berwick, a Democrat, and independent Evan Falchuk — said they plan to release their tax returns Friday.

Grossman, who was elected state treasurer in 2010, stepped down from his position as president of Grossman Marketing Group early that year and became chairman of the board. After his election, he left the board. However, he continues to own nearly 50 percent of the fourth-generation company his sons now lead.

Filing jointly with his wife, Barbara, Grossman reported adjusted gross income of $881,990 in 2012, $680,210 in 2011, and $922,263 in 2010.

His salary as state treasurer contributed just over $128,000 of that sum, with additional income coming from Barbara’s work as a drama professor at Tufts University, and, in some years, small royalties from her books. According to her bios on the Tufts website and Amazon.com, she published two books, “Funny Woman: The Life and Times of Fanny Brice” (Indiana University Press, 1991), and “A Spectacle of Suffering: Clara Morris on the American Stage” (Southern Illinois University Press, 2009).

The bulk of Grossman’s income comes from a trust built from the business that bears the family name. Founded as the Massachusetts Envelope Co. by his grandfather in 1910, the Somerville company now handles marketing materials for businesses. The trust contributed $478,465 of Grossman’s investment income in 2012, as well as $18,131 in interest and $145,550 in ordinary dividends.

Likewise, the Massachusetts Envelope Company Trust provided the largest sources of his investment income and interest in 2011: $402,902 and $16,971, respectively.

In 2010, when he was still chairman of the company, he was paid $467,951 in wages alone, in addition to $230,590 and $11,864 in interest from the trust.

The tax returns show a treasurer whose personal fortune was affected by the recession. In each of the three years, Grossman claimed deductions for capital losses, reflecting the lost value of his investments. In 2012, though his taxes reflected a modest uptick in longterm capital gains, he was still carrying over short-term capital losses of $670,006 and longterm capital losses of $152,936. A capital loss can be carried over indefinitely, though the losses can only be deducted for tax purposes if the investments are sold. A $3,000 deduction is taken against other income.

The Grossmans, who own a home in Newton, also claimed $67,795 in rental real estate loss in 2012 on one of two houses they own in the Centerville section of Barnstable on Cape Cod. In 2011, they claimed a loss of $58,501 on the same property.

The Grossmans’ taxes show charitable giving worth 2.56 percent of their adjusted gross income in 2012 and 3.76 percent in 2011. In 2010, they gave $70,274 to charities, 7.6 percent of adjusted gross income. However, Grossman’s campaign noted that his family also established a fund through Combined Jewish Philanthropies that provided grants to area programs, schools, and other organizations over those years. Those grants totaled up to $160,000 in each year, according to the campaign. It was unclear why those contributions were not reflected on his returns.

Candidates are not required to release their tax returns to the public. Four years ago, neither Governor Deval Patrick, nor Baker, the Republican nominee who challenged him, provided the documents....

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Related: Mass. Politicians Misuse Campaign Money 

Really doesn't matter which party wins, does it? 

State is just like Washington D.C.

NEXT DAY UPDATES: 

Baker’s good example in releasing tax returns
Coakley gaining ground against Baker, ceding in primary race

Btw, the far-left savior turns out to be no different than the re$t.

Boorish host, gutless station

The team had plenty of guts yesterday, and I miss him.