Opinion: Despite Primary Victories, Two
GOPers Face Numbers Crunch In 8 Days
October 28, 2002
This political opinion is from a
passionate observer who, because of his employment,
must remain unidentified.
Treasurer hopeful Dan Grabauskas and
Dedham rep candidate Joe Pascarella, two Republicans
who actually had to win primaries to get to the November
5th ballot, remain hopeful of victory despite facing
huge registration disparities that come with being
a Republican in Massachusetts. Both were among a handful
of candidates who addressed a small gathering Friday
night at the Dedham Masonic Hall. The event was sponsored
by the Norfolk County Republican Club and hosted by
County Club Chairman David Farrag.
Grabauskas spoke briefly before heading to another
event. He told the crowd that his TV ads would begin
airing Monday. Earlier in the day, Grabauskas received
a lengthy, glowing endorsement from the ultra-liberal
Boston Phoenix. [As he did in his primary battle against
Bruce Herzfelder-who also attended tonight's event-Dan
is beginning to rack up endorsements. Dan previously
received the nod from the Cape Cod Times.]
Dan told NewtonGOP.com that the $150,000 ad buy would
both highlight his accomplishments as a state manager
and offer contrasts between himself and the Democratic
nominee Tim Cahill. A recent poll by Channel 7 and
Suffolk University shows Dan trailing Norfolk County
Treasurer Tim Cahill by 17 points with 30% undecided.
Dan has not only had to fight Democrat Cahill; he
found himself doing multi-media damage control after
a Friday October 18th Boston Herald story suggested
that Governor Swift had tapped him for the Suffolk
County Sheriff's post because it looked like he was
going to lose his race to Cahill.
Ouch! With friends like these.
Dan's campaign has been buoyed by recent stories that
have painted Cahill as being a bit too cozy with fund
managers. Cahill had to rebut similar charges in his
primary when it was revealed how many fund managers
had contributed to his campaign. However, recent stories
have added an element of "sleaze." To get
around the $200 must-list-the-donor's-occupation requirement,
campaign finance records have revealed a slew of $199
checks payable to the Cahill campaign.
What a coincidence!
The registration disparity and Cahill's very telegenic
daughters are two major problems facing Grabauskas.
More people voted for Tim Cahill in the Democratic
primary than for Grabauskas and Herzfelder in their
primary combined. Dan and his people have been stressing
the importance of the bumper sticker. Why? Name recognition.
You see, we all may know the name "Dan Grabauskas"
but Grunela Hartwick, 83, of Agawam, MA, probably
doesn't. So put that sticky thing on your car's behind
and be sure to talk Dan up at your watercooler.
Cahill's ad in the primary featured his youngest daughter,
Kendra. [For years to come, marketing professors and
political consultants alike will devote full-day seminars
on the effectiveness of the "Tim for Treasurer"
slogan. Did I mention that I was one of the few, if
any, who called a Tim Cahill victory? No, please,
don't get up.] As if Kendra wasn't enough, Grabauskas
now has to counter four adorable Cahill daughters
who appear in Tim's most recent ad.
Despite winning his Republican primary, Dedham's Joe
Pascarella has gotten "no respect" from
his Democratic opponent, Bob Coughlin. If the Coughlin
name sounds familiar, it should. Coughlin did the
Commonwealth a favor by knocking off Finneran lieutenant
Maryanne Lewis in a bitter primary fight. Coughlin
is so confident of victory on November 5th that he
has already met with Speaker Finneran, presumably
to pick out carpeting and curtains for his new office.
The Eleventh Norfolk District includes all of Dedham,
all of Westwood and one precinct in Walpole. Like
Grabauskas, Pascarella faces a registration disparity.
9,287 voters grabbed a Democratic primary ballot in
September. Pascarella and his opponent drew 2,699
Republican voters. [According to my source, the annual
Boston magazine "Town Comparison" centerfold,
Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-to-1 in Dedham.
Westwood is much more conservative, with Dems having
28% and Republicans having 23%. Pascarella told me
that the one Walpole precinct leans conservative.]
Pascarella remains confident. He cites the closeness
(256 votes) and bitterness of the Coughlin-Lewis primary
as evidence. "I've had people tell me that they'd
rather vote for a Republican than for Coughlin,"
he said. Coughlin's crime was to break an unwritten
Democratic rule of opposing an incumbent legislator.
The Lewis people haven't exactly been falling over
each other to support Coughlin in the general election.
There has not been a Republican legislator from Dedham
in over 20 years, according to the Daily News Transcript.
Unlike Republicans who run in many small towns, Pascarella
isn't complaining about anti-Republican bias in the
press. "They've been extremely fair," Joe
said of the Transcript. "In fact, they endorsed
me in my primary."
A review of articles from 2002 indeed reveals numerous
articles mentioning Pascarella. Coverage of the Coughlin-Pascarella
debate was pretty much down-the-middle.
Name recognition remains Pascarella's major concern.
"The Coughlin's are the Kennedy's of Dedham,"
he told me. Those who didn't know Selectman Coughlin's
name before the primary definitely do now. OCPF reports
show that Coughlin spent $93,884 to unseat Lewis.
Pascarella told me he spent two grand in winning his
primary.
Ever the optimist, Pascarella has salinger. the endorsement
of CLT. From what I've read in the Transcript, he's
also been a major pain-in-the-ass to Coughlin. He's
accused Coughlin of the very thing that Coughlin accused
Lewis of-being in the tank with Finneran. It was Pascarella
who pounced on Coughlin's post-primary "secret
meeting" with Finneran. Additionally, Pascarella
is warning voters that Coughlin will be a part-time
legislator. [Pascarella took a leave of absence in
April from his job as a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts.
"Luckily my wife works," he told me.]
If he beats Coughlin, Pascarella promises to be a
full-time legislator.
