Massachusetts Primary Races - Sept. 19, 2006
Election Results & Analysis
On September 19, there were 27 primaries for seats in the Legislature -- 13 incumbents are being challenged in primaries; 4 primaries are in the opposite party of the incumbent; and 12 primaries are in open seats up for grabs, where the incumbent is not running.
[See our general analysis below, after the list.]
Note: In list below, incumbents are in ALL CAPS. Green means "good";red means "bad" and black means we weren't sure yet. Of course, this being Massachusetts, good and bad can be very relative terms, depending who else is running and other factors. We've included all the candidates in these races, for reference, but as we go to press the Secretary of State has still only published official lists of Democrat and Republican candidates -- not Unenrolled or minor parties (but that's apparently coming soon).
INCUMBENTS challenged in primaries (13 races):
House - 12th Essex (Peabody)
60% D - Joyce Spiliotis, 85 Gardner St., Peabody *****
40% D - Sean R. Fitzgerald, 6 Elaine Ave., Peabody
- - R - Jason C. Harding, 14 Tuckers Ct., Peabody *****
Pre-Election Comment: Joyce Spiliotis was the prime sponsor for the new Parents Rights Bill this year, and has been pretty reliable; solid on the marriage issue. Fitzgerald, formally endorsed by MassEquality, would be a nightmare: pro-gay marriage (currently chief of staff to Peabody's pro-gay mayor) and was community coordinator for the odious "No Place for Hate" program. He also has the city's machine helping him, as well as MassEquality going door to door, and is supported by KnowThyNeighbor. Need we say more? We need to help Joyce.
Post-Election Comment: Joyce got the help she needed and beat back the city machine! Good job!
House - 5th Suffolk (Boston/Dorchester)
56% D - Marie St. Fleur, 45 Hartford St., Boston *****
26% D - Roy Owens, 6 Woodville St., Boston
17% D - Severiano Cruz, 38 Dacia St., Boston
- - R - Althea Garrison, 644 Dudley St., Boston *****
Pre-Election Comment: St. Fleur is a poster girl for the homo movement, is horrible on illegal immigration, and has also been in the press with tax problems (remember, St. Fleur is Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee!) and messy marital problems. Roy Owens is practically the opposite -- super pro-family, we're told, and strong on the issues. He would be a GREAT replacement for the horrid St. Fleur. Severiano Cruz is pro-family on most of the important issues, and is worth supporting. Althea Garrison is described as "transgendered" in the press, but interestngly is pretty good on our issues.
Post-Election Comment: Let's just say, the constituents in the 5th Suffolk knew what they're getting. Good luck.
House - 10th Worcester (Milford/Mendon/Hopedale)
59% D - John V. Fernandes, 320 Purchase St., Milford *****
41% D - Marie J. Parente, 13 Reagan Rd., Milford
- - R - Robert P. Burns, 101 Mill St., Hopedale *****
Pre-Election Comment: Marie Parente is a long-time pro-family stalwart, but has not had an opponent in years, and is a bit rusty at campaigning, we think. She's also been a solid voice of sanity in the Legislature on illegal immigration. She must be protected. Fernandes is a lawyer connected to land developers, and is getting huge donations from builders! (Is this what you want in the State House?) He "strongly" supports same-sex marriage, according to interview and thus getting help from the usual suspects; left-wing labor unions, Unitarian churches, etc. The gays would love to come out and take this district. We think the homosexual lobby has been putting money into this race.
Post-Election Comment: This was a tough loss. Marie Parente is 78 yrs old and wasn't up a confrontation on the social issues. It's too bad. Fernandez, a rich lawyer, avoided the issue, befriended the teachers union and the far left, and won. Interestingly, the downtown homosexual lobby didn't seem to get into this race like we had expected. We like Robert Burns a lot, but this is a tough fight for a Republican newcomer.
House - 12th Norfolk (Norwood/Walpole)
72% D - John H. Rogers, 194 Plantation Cir., Norwood *****
28% D - Leah C. O'Leary, 13 Devon Rd., Norwood
Pre-Election Comment: No good choice here. Rogers was once a solid pro-family rep, but this year caved on the marriage issues, and has also caved on the homosexual school funding issue, and is even waffling on life issues. O'Leary is an older woman, a widow, who says she opposes "homophobia", opposes the marriage vote, and is endorsed by NOW, NARAL, Peace Action and other usual suspects.
Post-Election Comment: Rogers sold his soul, and the gay lobby left him alone (and actually endorsed him!).
House - 11th Hampden (Springfield)
55% D - Benjamin Swan, 837 State St., Springfield *****
30% D - Norman W. Oliver, 377 St. James Ave., Springfield
16% D - Larry Lawson, 484 Hancock St., Springfield
Pre-Election Comment: Swan is a big supporter of homo marriage and abortion, but has some rather public tax problems (owes $36,926 in back taxes), and thus has attracted some opposition in the Dem primary. Norman Oliver looks like a solid guy to support - pro-life and pro-traditional marriage - and is highly educated, a great speaker. He told a group he's running because constituents are fed up with Swan's liberalism on moral issues.
Post-Election Comment: What can you say? We think the low turnout and Deval Patrick force had a lot to do with this.
House - 13th Bristol (New Bedford)
59% D - Antonio F.D. Cabral, 212 Maple St., New Bedford *****
41% D - Brian K. Gomes, 66 Clara St., New Bedford
- - U - Robert K. Gardern, Jr. *****
Pre-Election Comment: Cabral is another rep with tax problems, something regarding improper deductions, according to the newspapers. He's also pro-gay marriage. The two seem to go together a lot these days. He's endorsed by the gay groups. Brian Gomes is a city councilor, is pro-family and pro-parents' rights. We'd love to see him take Cabral out of office.
Post-Election Comment: We hope Gomes doesn't give up, and runs again in two years.
House - 16th Worcester (Worcester)
57% D - John P. Fresolo, 25 Dolly Dr., Worcester *****
43% D - Melissa J. Murgo, 179 Delmont Ave., Worcester
Pre-Election Comment: Fresolo is good on marriage, but not that great on much else that we care about. Completely let us down on funding for gay programs in schools. But Murgo is a whole lot worse. Endorsed by MassEquality, NOW, Planned Parenthood, NARAL. How much worse can it get? Murgo ran in 2004 and got 44% against Fresolo so she can't be ignored.
Post-Election Comment: This was too close for comfort. Murgo could become another Cheryl Jacques if given the chance.
House - 8th Worcester (Webster/Uxbridge/Dudly)
62% D - Paul Kujawski, 71 Klebart Ave., Webster *****
38% D - Mark G. Dowgiewicz, 16 Reid Smith Cove Rd., Webster
Pre-Election Comment: Kujawski is good on marriage and abortion, but lets us down on the homosexual agenda in the schools. His well-publicized drunk-driving arrest in 2004 doesn't help, either. Dowgiewicz is actually better -- he's solid on marriage, is pro-life, good on taxes, and definitely opposes the homosexual agenda in the schools. He's also a former Webster selectman and a retired Connecticut state trooper. In the 2004 Democratic primary against the incumbent Kujawski he got 24% as a write-in! What's there not to like about this guy?
Post-Election Comment: We liked Dowgiewicz a lot, but he didn't have much of an actual campaign, relying instead on Kujowski's negatives to carry him. We hope he doesn't give up on this, tho.
House - 9th Essex (Lynn/Saugus/Lynnfield)
60% D - Mark V. Falzone, 9 Broadway, Saugus *****
40% D - Sean P. Grant, 485 Central St., Saugus
Pre-Election Comment: This has become a really nasty fight in the last two
weeks. Falzone has been endorsed by every gay group we can think of, starting with MassEquality, and he's pretty arrogant about it. Grant has been a campaign worker for Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and Al Gore. But don't hold that against him, he's a pro-family guy: not afraid to stand for traditional marriage and parents rights versus the homosexual agenda in the schools. So naturally, the homosexual lobby has taken the gloves off and is pounding him with multiple mailings for Falzone, and various other dirty tricks. Grant deserves your support!
Post-Election Comment: We liked Grant a lot, but to beat the tidal wave of homo money he had to at least publicly differenciate himself, which he seemed reluctant to do.
House - 7th Bristol (Fall River)
69% D - Robert Correia, 1290 Plymouth Ave., Fall River *****
21% D - Kevin Aguiar, 48 Coral St., Fall River
9% D - John J. Rodrigues, 36 Lenox St., Fall River
Pre-Election Comment: Correia has been very good on marriage, life issues, and reasonably good on the homo agenda in the schools. Aguiar on paper looks pretty shaky: he's on the Fall River School Committee and endorses pro-gay Tim Murray for Lt. Governor. He says he's pro-parents' rights but undecided on the marriage vote.
Post-Election Comment: We didn't have a lot of worries on this one.
House - 4th Berkshire (Pittsfield/Lenox)
88% D - William "Smitty" Pignatelli, 339 Housatonic St., Lenox *****
12% D - Patrick Long, 84 Alford Rd., Great Barrington
Pre-Election Comment: Pignatelli is endorsed by MassEquality and the gaggle of other gay PACs. Long, an 18-year-old college student, hasn't said much on the gay stuff but is a Robert Reich devotee and thinks Piggy is not tough enough on left-wing issues, so we can read between the lines without too much trouble.
Post-Election Comment: Pignatelli didn't even break a sweat.
Senate - First Worcester (Worcester/Boylston/Holden)
77% D - Harriette L. Chandler, 97 Aylesbury Rd., Worcester *****
23% D - Deirdre Healy, 963 Pleasant St., Worcester
- - R - Paul E. Nordborg, 10 Sumac Cir., Holden *****
Pre-Election Comment: Chandler is about as pro-gay as you can get, with the usual endorsements and all that. But Healy seems eager to catch up. She's pro-gay marriage, an environmentalist, and quite leftish on a bunch of other issues.
Post-Election Comment: Chandler, unfortunately, is about as entrenched as they get.
Senate - Fourth Middlesex (Arlington/Billerica/Burlington)
61% D - Robert A. Havern, III, 35 Bartlett Ave., Arlington *****
39% D - Joanna Gonsalves, 16 Lexington St., Woburn
Pre-Election Comment: Another hopeless race. Havern is reliably pro-gay marriage. Gonsalves was just quoted in the Globe saying that she "unequivocally" supports gay marriage.
Post-Election Comment: Who cares?
PRIMARIES in opposite party of incumbents (4 races)
House - 1st Worcester (Holden/Hubbardston/Princeton)
71% D - Nate Kaplan, 45 Twin Hill Rd., Hubbardston *****
29% D - Emery C. Markles, 98 Old Princeton Rd., Hubbardston
- - R - Lewis G. Evangelidis, 215 Newell Rd., Holden *****
Pre-Election Comment: Lew Evangelidis is solid on the issues, and must be protected.
Post-Election Comment: Lew all the way; we're not taking anything for granted.
House - 4th Norfolk (Weymouth)
55% R - Robert Montgomery Thomas, 848 Washington St., Weymouth *****
45% R - Brad P. Bennion, 14 Suwanee Rd., Weymouth
- - D - James Michael Murphy, 483 Middle St., Weymouth *****
Pre-Election Comment: This is a tough one. Murphy is fairly good on marriage, tho not pro-life, but supported us at least part of the way on the homo agenda in the schools. Thomas, and Bennion are both really on board -- so this district is looking reasonably good no matter what happens!.
Post-Election Comment: We wish every contested race were as easy to watch as this one.
Senate - Cape and Islands (Cape Cod)
59% R - Ricardo M. Barros, 1431 Iyanough Rd., Barnstable *****
41% R - Doug Bennett, 22 Lily St., Nantucket
- - D - Robert A. O'Leary, 154 Indian Trl., Barnstable *****
Pre-Election Comment: O'Leary is a pro-gay marriage liberal, with a pile of endorsements from gay groups to back it up. Barros, interestingly, has been endorsed by the Nantucket Republican Town Committee over Bennett. Given the state of the Republican Party in some places, tho, we don't know whether that's good or bad. Maybe it has something to do with Bennett being in the newspapers over a fistfight somewhere.
Post-Election Comment: O'Leary isn't easy to beat in this district, and unfortunately it doesn't look like he'll go down this time.
Senate - Plymouth and Norfolk (Weymouth/Duxbury/Hingham/Marshfield)
57% D - Stephen A. Lynch, 69 Central St., Marshfield *****
43% D - Matthias J. Mulvey, 28 Edgeworth St., Weymouth
- - R - Robert L. Hedlund, Jr., 54 Longwood Rd., Weymouth *****
Pre-Election Comment: Hedlund has been a good pro-family guy for as long as we can remember, and the libs would love to boot him. Mulvey supports homosexual marriage, as listed on a pro-gay website.
Post-Election Comment: Rally around Hedlund!
OPEN SEATS - Incumbents not running again (12 races):
House - 15th Essex ( Methuen) - Rep. Arthur Broadhurst (D)
32% D - Linda Dean Campbell, 42 Sugar Pine Ln., Methuen *****
29% D - Christopher DiBella, 4 Bumpy Ln., Methuen
22% D - Edward F. Curran, 7 Cypress Ave., Methuen
17% D - Michael W. Hennessy, 9 Stevens St., Methuen
- - R - Robert A. Andrew, 522 Lowell St., Methuen *****
Pre-Election Comment: Michael Hennessy is a pro-marriage, pro-family, conservative Democrat. Let's hope he wins the primary. But if he doesn't, Robert Andrew is also a great candidate. DiBella is endorsed by MassEquality, which has sent out several (expensive!) free district-wide mailings for him.
Post-Election Comment: It looks like the gay-lobby strategy of expensive stealth mailings (SIX went out for DiBella) didn't quite work out this time. It's not foolproof if people are paying attention.
House - 3rd Hampden (Agawam) - Rep. Daniel Keenan (D)
56% D - Rosemary Sandlin, 90 Granger Dr., Agawam *****
40% D - Joseph Mineo, 33 Maple Meadows Ln., Agawam
4% D - Carley R. Johnson, Jr., 135 Country Rd., Agawam
70% R - Robert A. Magovern, 144 Birch Hill Rd., Agawam *****
30% R - John Cesan, 24 Tina Ln., Agawam
Pre-Election Comment: Robert Magovern would make a great state legislator. He's strong on the issues, has a lot of common sense, and has years of experience on the Agawam city council. He's also on the Republican State Committee -- and since he's not a RINO they can't stand him. Rosemary Sandlin is being backed by the Teachers' Union, MassEquality, and the usual odious crowd. Cesan is a postal worker.
Post-Election Comment: The Democrats went with the most left-wing choice, and the Republicans with the most conservative. Look for a lot of homo & teachers union money to flood into this race.
House - 28th Middlesex (Everett/Malden) - Rep. Ed Connolly - deceased (D)
52% D - Stephen Stat Smith, 53 Clarence St., Everett *****
48% D - Frank Nuzzo, Jr., 20 Evelyn Rd., Everett
<1% D - (write-in candidate) Rosemary Miller - was aide to Rep. Connolly
Pre-Election Comment: Stephen Stat Smith ran last time and nearly beat Connolly, with 49%. He's pro-gay marriage and supported by that crowd. Nuzzo is pro-traditional marriage. We had hoped that Rosemary Miller would be good, but she's now endorsed by the gay lobby. In other words, the pro-family Connolly had a mole working for him.
Post-Election Comment: Let's hope that Connolly wasn't the last of an era in Everett.
House - 6th Suffolk (Mattapan/Roxbury) - Rep. Shirley Owens-Hicks (D)
52% D - Willie Mae Allen, 85 Deering Rd., Boston *****
43% D - William R. Celester, Sr., 115 Hazleton St., Boston
5% [D - Wayne J. Wilson, Jr., 31 Lindall St., Boston - withdrew from race]
Pre-Election Comment: Well, you can forget about this race -- both remaining candidates are big supporters of the gay agenda. This certainly doesn't reflect the people in that district. Celester is a former Dep. Supt. of the Boston Police. These days, unfortunately, being a high-ranking cop in Tom Menino's town means that you've toed the politically correct (and pro-gay) line.
Post-Election Comment: Does anyone wonder why people are moving out of Boston?
House - 6th Worcester (Southbridge/Charlton/Spencer) - Rep. Mark Carron (D)
31% D - Geraldo Alicea, 13 Deer Run, Charlton *****
24% D - Scott S. Lazo, 36 Ellis Rd., Southbridge
17% D - Joanne E. Powell, 15 Dodge Ln., Charlton
15% D - Patrick J. Driscoll, 35 Donnelly Rd., Spencer
14% D - Karen A. Spiewak, 90 Osgood Rd., Charlton
52% R - David M. Singer, 2 Keely Dr., Charlton *****
48% R - Ronald J. Chernisky, 51 Harrington St., Southbridge
Pre-Election Comment: Joanne Powell is the Democrat we like, great on everything, and she is really worth supporting. Patrick Driscoll is openly gay, and naturally endorsed by MassEquality. Spiewak (a school committee member) has said she's 100% for homo marriage. Alicea and Lazo don't quite go that far, tho they do support civil unions. As for the two Republicans, in 2004 Singer got 35% of the vote running against Rep. Carron, and Singer is absolutely solid on all the issues (he's even endorsed by the Massachusetts Republican Assembly). Singer's also apparently got a much beefed-up campaign team this year. Chernisky is also a very strong candidate in this race. He has a solid political career in that region (chairman of the Southbridge town council) and also good on marriage, pro-life, pro-family, etc.
Post-Election Comment: We think Singer can win this on a level playing field because it's a reasonably conservative district. Let's hope he can communicate his message to the electorate without a flood of out-of-district (gay lobby) money trying to dilute it.
House - 12th Hampden (Springfield/Wilbraham) - Rep. Gale Candaras (D)
67% R - Christopher R. Leisey, 15 Wright Pl., Wilbraham *****
33% R - Bob Collamore, 26 Weston St., Wilbraham
- - D - Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr., 44 South Shore Dr., Springfield *****
Pre-Election Comment: Here's another race where the Democrat is better than both Republicans. Puppolo is good on life issues and opposed Springfield's needle exchange program. We're told that Collamore and Leisey are RINO-like on our issues, tho Collamore at least supports voting on marriage. The incumbent, Gale Candaras (who we can all do without), is running for Brian Lees' state senate seat.
Post-Election Comment: This is another race where we'll probably be favoring the Democrat over the Republican. We're just happy that a Candaras clone didn't run.
House - 3rd Worcester (Fitchburg) - Rep. Emile Goguen (D)
66% D - Stephen L. DiNatale, 150 Walton St., Fitchburg *****
21% D - Mary H. Whitney, 12 Pine St., Fitchburg
14% D - David P. LeBlanc, 30 Silver St., Fitchburg
- - R - Edward L. Niemczura, 97 East St., Fitchburg *****
Pre-Election Comment: One would think that Fitchburg, Rep. Goguen's town, would be pretty socially conservative. But except for Goguen, the recent candidates for state rep have been a bunch of loonies, and this year is no exception. Leblanc, Whitney, and Niemczura are all pro-gay marriage. DiNatale, though endorsed by Goguen, is against voting on marriage. Heaven help us.
Post-Election Comment: Goguen truly represented Fitchburg. Now that he's gone, what a change! We're thinking of awarding all these guys the DiMasi Award for being the most out of touch with the regular people in their district.
House - 1st Bristol (Foxborouth/Mansfield/Norton) - Rep. Virginia Coppola (R)
60% D - Claire B. Naughton, 4 Everett Ln., Foxborough *****
28% D - Paul R. Feeney, 182 North St., Foxborough
11% D - Matthew J. Donovan, 101 M Chestnut St., Foxborough
- - R - Fred "Jay" Barrows, 370 Pratt St., Mansfield *****
Pre-Election Comment: This has been a Republican district for a while, and we're hoping it can stay that way. Jay Barrows is a good candidate, very solid on the issues. Claire Naughton is being supported by homo groups, and Feeney is also pro-gay marriage. Let the Dems fight it out, but let's hope Barrows can hold off the winner.
Post-Election Comment: On paper, Jay Barrows should be able to pull this off. He's the kind of rep this district is used to electing. They just can't let this seat slide to the dark side!
House - 4th Barnstable (Cape Cod) - Rep. Shirley Gomes (R)
55% D - Sarah K. Peake, 7 Center St., Provincetown *****
24% D - Raymond C. Gottwald, 38 Huckleberry Path, Harwich
21% D - Ronald J. Bergstrom, 1347 Old Queen Anne Rd., Chatham
34% R - Aaron R. Maloy, 81A Finlay Rd., Orleans *****
34% R - Donald F. Howell, 14 Haskell Ln., Harwich
32% R - Andrew G. Buckley, 202 Lime Hill Rd., Chatham
Pre-Election Comment: What a nutty situation this is! It's hard to believe a pro-marriage Republican has this seat now. Where to start? Sarah Peake, an open lesbian, supports public nudity, is endorsed by various gay political groups, and ran last time getting 43% of the vote. Bergstrom, Buckley, and Howell are publicly pro-gay marriage. Gottwald is endorsed by the Stonewall Democrats gay group. Aaron Maloy is openly gay but tells the press he's "the only candidate who is unequivocally oposed to same-sex marriage." Oy, vey.
Post-Election Comment: What a choice! It looks like Rep. Shirley Gomes got out just in time.
House - 4th Bristol (Rehoboth/Seekonk) - Rep. Philip Travis (D)
38% D - Steven J. D'Amico, 81 Briarwood Dr., Seekonk *****
29% D - Nicholas D. Bernier, 494 Sharps Lot Rd., Swansea
17% D - John W. Whelan, 15 Woodward Ave., Seekonk
16% D - Robert A. Marquis, 298 Vinnicum Rd., Swansea
75% R - Steven S. Howitt, 425 Pine St., Seekonk *****
25% R - Brian D. Langevin, 65 Sanctuary Ln., Seekonk
Pre-Election Comment: Another race where a Democrat seems the best candidate. Marquis is solidly pro- traditional marriage, a lot like Travis. Howitt ran in 2004 and got 37%, is endorsed by MassEquality and is pro-gay, pro-abortion, etc. We're told he has a lesbian sister, which also influences his position. D'Amico is also endorsed by MassEquality. Whelan endorsed a recent tax override, which lost heavily. Bernier is currently a Boston College student, apparently a big leftie, and the rumor is that he's getting academic credits for running for state rep! Langevin is also fairly young -- 21 yrs. old -- but favors voting on marriage and parents' rights. Travis was better than any Republican; it'll be hard to replace him.
Post-Election Comment: D'Amico got a flood of last-minute stealth homosexual support, including mailings & other stuff, which we hadn't anticipated. We honestly thought that Marquis had a decent chance of taking the Democratic primary, especially with Travis' blessing. All we can say is that the good citizens of the 4th Bristol district are in for quite a shock.
Senate - Berkshire, Hampshire & Franklin (Pittsfield/North Adams) - Sen. Andrea Nuciforo (D)
32% D - Benjamin Brackett Downing, 123 Pomeroy Ave., Pittsfield *****
31% D - Christopher Hodgkins, 100 Franklin St., Lee
22% D - Margaret Johnson Ware, 24 Moorland St., Williamstown
13% D - Helen Sharron, 343 Huntington Rd., Worthington
2% D - John T. Zelazo, 22 Summit Ave., Adams
- - R - Matthew W. Kinnaman, 165 Mandalay Rd., Lee *****
Pre-Election Comment: Let's face it, this can be a wacky district, tho Jane Swift and other Republicans once held this seat. Nuciforo was endorsed by every gay group around. And this time, all five Democrats are publicly pro-gay marriage -- all totally back the gay agenda. Republican Matt Kinnaman is extremely good on issues and is a great all-around candidate; let's hope he can pull this off.
Post-Election Comment: Kinnaman should have the best chance that any Republican's had in years of taking this seat. But it's going to take a heck of a battle -- i.e., actual support from the State Party, which right now seems completely focused on the Governor's race.
Senate - First Hampden & Hampshire (Springfield/East Longmeadow) - Sen. Brian Lees (R)
46% D - Rep. Gale D. Candaras, 643 Tinkham Rd., Wilbraham *****
37% D - Brian Michael Ashe, 107 Belleclaire Ave., Longmeadow
17% D - Rosemarie Mazza-Moriarty, 95 Osborne Ter., Springfield
51% R - Enrico John Villamaino, III, 834 Somers Rd., East Longmeadow *****
31% R - Kevin Q. Corridan, 198 Atwater Rd., Springfield
18% R - Ronald J. Cutler, 35 Dorset St., East Longmeadow
Pre-Election Comment: Rep. Gale Candaras is trying to move up to the Senate, but she's your typical leftie rep we can do without. Mazza-Moriarty is endorsed by MassEquality and others. Corridan is pro-gay marriage, tho allegedly a fiscal conservative. Villamaino is an aide to Brian Lees, and is also pro-gay marriage, though he's said he favors voting on the marriage amendment. Cutler is great on the issues. According to press reports, he's been a critic of the liberal policies of Lees and outspokenly against same-sex marriage, judicial activism, and the gay lobby at the State House. But this may be a difficult district for a Republican to keep.
Post-Election Comment: This will be a really interesting fight to watch. Overall, we suppose, Villamaino would do less damage than Candaras. And now that Lees is gone, someone needs to lead the Barney Frank wing of the Republican Party in the state senate.
General Analysis
There were some great wins, and some disappointing losses. Among the victories: Rep. Joyce Spiliotis held the line against a pro-gay challenger who was being backed by the city of Peabody's political machine. In Worcester, Rep. John Fresolo beat back pro-gay ultra-left Melissa Murgo (who also ran against him in 2004), and John Magovern, David Singer, and Bob Thomas won hard-fought primary victories. Among the defeats: unfortunately, 20-year Rep. Marie Parente got beat by a primary challenger, and Sean Grant and Rob Marquis also lost tough races.
Some observations:
** The homosexual lobby poured more money into these state legislature primary races than anyone else. MassEquality told the Boston Globe that they mailed out a quarter million pieces of mail to voters. They claim to have made at least 10,000 phone calls from their phone banks, and also did door-to-door canvassing, automated phone calls, poll-watching, leafletting and provided other election-related services. They probably spent in the neighborhood of $200,000 on this state legislature primary -- more than the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the teachers union, or anyone. In other words, the homosexual movement is serious about buying your government.
The gay money mostly went to several key races, including: to support Rep. Mark Falzone against Sean Grant, to defeat Rep. Joyce Spiliotis, to help Diane Wilkerson in Boston, and to support challengers Steven J. D'Amico (Travis' open seat), Stephen DiNatale (Goguen's open seat), Rosemary Sandlin (Candara's open seat), and Christopher DiBella (Broadhurst's open seat). They failed to defeat Spiliotis, and DiBella lost his primary.
Here's how the hardcore homosexual newspaper Bay Windows described it
MassEquality also worked to protect the other pro-equality incumbents facing primary challengers, including Sens. Robert Havern (D-Arlington) and Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) and Reps. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox), Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford), Mark Falzone (D-Lynn), Benjamin Swan (D-Springfield), and Marie St. Fleur (D-Boston). At least one of those incumbents, Falzone, was specifically targeted for his support for same-sex marriage, with the anti-gay group MassResistance, under its tamer pseudonym Parents Rights Coalition, sending out mailings in the district attacking Falzone’s record on LGBT issues and trumpeting his opponent Sean Grant as a defender of the people’s right to vote on same-sex marriage and on parents’ rights to keep LGBT-related materials out of the schools.
** The homosexual lobby's campaign NEVER mentioned their issue at all -- in their mailings, literature, or anywhere. They would talk about education, affordable housing, etc. But they would never talk about same-sex marriage, and certainly not about homosexual programs in the schools. They know very well that the average person does not buy into their agenda, and their candidates would prefer people not know who's really supporting them.
CLICK HERE for a sample of what the homosexual lobby was mailing to voters
** Pro-family candidates were also reluctant to talk about the same-sex marriage issue. And that's why more of them didn't succeed. What were they afraid of? Too many voters simply didn't know who stood where -- and that's exactly what the gay lobby wanted. On the other hand, candidates David Singer and Robert Magovern, who proudly and loudly talked about their positions, won their primaries. And in Methuen, Linda Campbell publicly exposed the fact that MassEquality was pouring money into Chris DiBella's campaign -- and as a result the people understood, and Campbell won that primary!
** Rep. Marie Parente's tough loss was NOT a result of the gay lobby's intervention! It turns out that they largely left that race alone, according to their own admission (and our observations). The winner, John Fernandez, is a rich lawyer, connected to rich developers, who raised and spent a lot of money and mobilized the far-left base of teachers union activists, socialist types, gay activists, and Deval Patrick "moonbats" (as Howie Carr calls them). We're told he also promised immigrants low-cost housing if he got elected. Rep Parente, God bless her, is 78 years old and has talked about retiring for a while. She hadn't even had a challenger for a long time and hads't needed any organization, and so she really wasn't up to this kind of hardball campaign.
But the inevitable spin began in the Boston Globe the day after the election -- they tried to give the public the impression that Marie Parente's loss was a result her stand for traditional marriage. MassResistance wouldn't stand for that! In the following day''s paper, this was the lead letter to the editor:
Result hardly a referendum on gay marriage
(Letter to the Editor, published in the Boston Globe, September 21, 2006)
THE STARK headline of your Sept. 20 post-election article "Vocal foe of same-sex marriage unseated" (City & Region) seems intended to give the reader the impression that the defeat of state Representative Marie Parente, of Milford, was a mini referendum on the same-sex marriage issue. Is that wishful thinking on the Globe's part?
In fact, as the article itself says, the victor, John Fernandes, said the major focus was on "pocketbook issues" such as property taxes and Big Dig spending. It's entirely possible that most of the voters didn't even realize there was a difference between the candidates on gay marriage. The Globe should save its editorializing for the editorial page.
BRIAN CAMENKER, Newton
** Challenger Sean Grant's loss to ultra-pro-gay Rep. Mark Falzone showed how desperate they get. In that district -- Saugus and Lynn -- this was certainly a winnable race, even though the homosexual lobby dumped a huge amount of money into this, particularly in the last few weeks. But the main problem was that Grant did not expose them, or even discuss the differences between himself and Falzone. It took a mailing from us to do that, and it was just not enough to get the job done.
Here's what we mailed out to get the word out for Sean Grant
[Interesting note: We knew this was effective when MassEquality whined that this is "hate mail" -- their usual broken-record response to anything they really don't like!]
What have we learned? We believe that the homosexual lobby can be beaten even when they throw a huge amount of money at an election -- as long as the people find out the truth about where the candidates stand, and where the big money's coming from! (Remember the Joyce Spiliotis race last year? -- A huge win against the big money!) Secrecy and deception is their best weapon. The truth is our best defense!
On to the general election!
|
