A two-way brawl for district attorney in Hampden County, possible tight contests for state treasurer and auditor and battles for some seats in the state Legislature may boost turnout and make the county even more important for statewide candidates in Tuesday’s election.
10/30/10 Holyoke Staff Photo by Mark M.Murray- Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick , delivers coffee to supporters that have gathered at the San Juan Bakery on High Street for his first stop of the day long campaign swing thru the state saturday morning. BOSTON – With polls showing the governor’s contest is tightening, Western Massachusetts is becoming an important battleground in the election and could help decide the race, candidates and others said.
The two leading candidates for governor in Tuesday’s election – Gov. Deval L. Patrick, the Democrat, and Charles D. Baker, the Republican – campaigned in Holyoke and Springfield respectively on Saturday, showing the importance of the region.
Hampden County, which has the most votes of the four Western Massachusetts counties, has proven to be a bellwether in recent elections for governor. The vote in the county may again help elevate the winner this year, observers said.
Timothy P. Cahill, the state’s two-term treasurer and independent candidate for governor, said Western Massachusetts can “absolutely” make a difference in the governor’s contest.
“We’re fighting for every single vote,” Cahill said. “Every vote counts. We’ve spent a lot of time in Western Massachusetts to back up that point.”
Peter A. Fairman, associate professor of political science at Western New England College in Springfield, said Patrick is holding a lead despite a strong anti-incumbent mood across much of the country.
Patrick has been helped because the Massachusetts economy was not hit as hard as other states during the recent recession.
“We’re still in a Democrat-leaning state,” Fairman added.
10/30/10 Springfield Staff Photo by Mark M.Murray- Republican candidate for Governor Charles Baker, shakes hands with supporters gathered in court square in downtown Springfield saturday afternoon during a campaign stop.
A two-way brawl for district attorney in Hampden County, possible tight contests for state treasurer and auditor and battles for some seats in the state Legislature may boost turnout and make the county even more important for statewide candidates in Tuesday’s election.
Paul Santaniello, a Longmeadow selectman and a Republican, said the governor’s contest may turn on the votes of undecided people.
“It’s a mistake for any candidate to ignore any community in Western Massachusetts,” said Santaniello, who said he plans to vote for Cahill.
Four years ago, Patrick became the first Democrat to win Hampden County in a governor’s contest since conservative Democrat John R. Silber took the most votes in the county in 1990. Patrick, seeking a second term, will be looking to repeat his success of 2006 including a big margin of victory in Springfield, the state’s third largest city, and in Holyoke.
During a campaign stop at the San Juan Bakery in Holyoke on Saturday morning, Gov. Deval L. Patrick was met by a throng of boosters and chants of: “Si se puede,” Spanish for “Yes we Can,” Patrick’s slogan that helped propel him to the seat during the last election.
“Remember why we are doing this. This is not about me. It’s about you,” he told the crowd. “It’s about lifting up the whole commonwealth, not tearing it down.”
Patrick made two stops in Holyoke before moving on to eastern Massachusetts. He spent a fair amount of time at the High Street bakery shaking hands and answering voters’ questions – plus, doing the obligatory populist candidate service of doling out coffees to amused constituents.
“Did you say cream and sugar? Oh, you wanted Splenda?” he asked one woman, prompting a wave of pleased laughter from the crowd.
As he left the bakery to board a bus to the next stop, Patrick paused to talk to reporters about 11th-hour campaigning.
“I think it’s going to be a tight race,” between Patrick and presumed second-runner, Republican contender Charles Baker. “But no one is entitled to this. We’ve got to compete for it.”
Patrick conceded the economic realities of the state, but also emphasized a recent University of Massachusetts study that put the commonwealth’s fiscal recovery at twice that of the national average.
Baker, former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, is seeking to duplicate the success of past GOP candidates for governor who won Hampden County in 1994, 1998 and 2002 and went on to capture the governor’s office.
At Court Square in Springfield on Saturday, a throng of 200 Baker supporters gathered to cheer their candidate on as the Dropkick Murphys blared in the background.
Chants of “Charlie! Charlie!” and “Go Charlie Go!” filled the air as Baker shook hands with his supporters. He was introduced by state Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, who noted that Sunday is Halloween, and he’s most scared of “four more years of Deval Patrick.”
Said Baker, “You can choose four more years of higher taxes. What do you think about that?”
The crowd shouted back, “No!”
“That’s what I think too,” Baker said. “We’ve had enough.”
Then the crowd started chanting “we’ve had enough!”
Alluding to high unemployment numbers, Baker said someone is needed to reform state government and that people need to get back to work.
“This is your chance to take back your government. This is your chance to send a loud signal,” Baker said.
Baker said he will look forward to spending time in Western Massachusetts as governor, and marching in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade.
Baker said Western Massachusetts will be important to him on Tuesday, as is the entire state of Massachusetts.
“We’re competing for votes everywhere,” Baker said.
He noted that job creation is an issue in Western Massachusetts, and to create jobs, regional approaches should be considered. Strengths in Western Massachusetts include precision manufacturing, travel and tourism and healthcare, Baker said.
Springfield City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke attended the rally in support of Baker.
“I’m voting for the person to best guard my wallet,” Rooke said.
A possible good sign for Baker is that U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown, a Republican, won Hampden in the Jan. 19 special election to fill the seat of the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
Anthony L. Cignoli, a Springfield political consultant, said it is essential for the candidates for governor to win every undecided vote possible. Cignoli said Western Massachusetts has more undecided voters because candidates spend and advertise more in the eastern part of the state to get out their messages.
“Baker needs to find those independent and Democratic crossover voters and Patrick needs to keep them in his fold,” Cignoli said.
Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire counties are among the most liberal in the state and are expected to vote for Patrick on Tuesday. All three counties voted for Democrat Martha M. Coakley in the U.S. Senate election in January and all three have supported a Democrat for governor since 2002.
If Baker is to win Hampden County, he will need to finish on top in communities that supported Brown in January including Agawam, Wilbraham, West Springfield, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Westfield and Ludlow.
Richard F. Gorka, a spokesman for Baker, said Western Massachusetts is important to Baker’s chances on Tuesday.
Gorka cited statistics that show 6,000 real estate foreclosures in Western Massachusetts this year alone and 33,000 people who are looking for work but unemployed in the Springfield metropolitan area, an increase of 12,000 since Patrick took office in 2007.
In a neck-and-neck election, Western Massachusetts is critical, he said. “It’s absolutely important to Charlie’s electoral chances on Tuesday,” Gorka said.
Patrick rallied with supporters in Springfield on Wednesday and campaigned in Chicopee and Amherst on Thursday. He even held a town hall-style event in the Franklin County town of Heath, an unusual choice considering it came just five days before the election when statewide candidates often pass over small communities.
Patrick and Baker were touring the entire state in the last days before the election.
In the days before the election, the Massachusetts Teachers Association bolstered Patrick with $2.75 million independent expenditure including television and Internet ads, polling and a mailing. The teachers union spent the money independent of the Patrick campaign.
The teachers association, the largest labor union in the state, also contributed $1 million to a coalition working to defeat Question 3, which seeks to cut the 6.25 percent sales tax to 3 percent.
The National Education Association in Washington, donated an additional $1.2 million to the coalition opposed to Question 3. As of Tuesday, the Massachusetts Coalition for Our Communities raised some $4.5 million to oppose the ballot question, while the proponents, the Alliance to Roll Back Taxes, raised $250,000.
Another public employee union, The Service Employees International Union, gave $500,000 to the effort to kill Question 3.
Timothy T. Collins, president of the Springfield Education Association, said the spending by the teachers union is worthwhile since Question 3 would take away money from public schools and Patrick has funded and protected public education during a fiscal crisis in state government.
Cahill said the spending by the teachers association shows that Patrick would be beholden to a big union. “When you get support from these special interest groups, you owe them something,” Cahill said. “You owe them tax increases if it’s the teachers.”
Patrick said he has clashed with the teachers union in order to make change including a law approved earlier this year that expands charter schools.
“This is not my career,” said Patrick, who is planning to serve one more term if re-elected. “The beauty of it not being my career is that I can do the job without worrying about my career.”
In the contest for state treasurer, Steve Grossman, a Democrat, is facing state Rep. Karyn E. Polito, the Republican. Democrat Suzanne M. Bump, the state secretary of labor and workforce development, is squaring off against Republican Mary Z. Connaughton and Green Party candidate Nathanael A. Fortune, of Whately, for the state auditor’s post.
In a contest to watch in the state Legislature, Republican Gregory C. Neffinger, of West Springfield, is running against Democrat Michael J. Finn for the open Sixth Hampden District seat in the state House of Representatives.
And state Rep. Rosemary Sandlin, an Agawam Democrat, is attempting to fend off strong challenges from two Agawam people – Nicholas A. Boldyga, the Republican, and independent Anthony C. Bonavita.
Voters will also decide ballot questions including one which would abolish the year-old 6.25 percent sales tax on the retail sale of beer, wine and hard liquor.
Staff writers Stephanie Barry and Lori Stabile contributed to this report.