Deval Patrick -- Coming Soon!
A new web site -- Deval Patrick.com -- popped up on April 2nd. If if you click on it -- what you will read is, "Coming Soon!"
Deval Patrick, for those who don't know, is about to announce his candidacy for Governor of Massachusetts. He is the former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton administration -- and he is positioning himself as the progressive, outsider candidate. He has been getting positive reviews as he has toured the state, hearing whats on the minds of citizens, elected officials, and party leaders. While he has received encouragement and advice from Bill Clinton, of greater importance is that interest and enthusiasm has been building here in the Bay State. Some say he may be Massachusetts' answer to Barak Obama.
Patrick is very smart, gracious, charismatic, honest and earnest. He comes across as a non-pol who is capable of broad appeal. He clearly cares deeply about the lives of ordinary people -- his extensive resume in corporate America not withstanding. (Although that continues to worry some.) He has a broad, non-parochial vision of the Commonwealth. With the cooperation of an increasingly progressive and overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature, he would have a largely unencumbered opportunity to take bold and sweeping initiatives instead of tiny incremental steps in such areas as health care -- which he said would be his highest priority. Progressives hope he may emerge as their standard bearer in the Democratic primaries against the much more conservative Attorney General Tom Reilly and Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin.
A few weeks ago, Peter Vickery, the elected Governor's Councilor from western, MA [the Governors Council ratifies judicial nominations in MA) convened a group of about 20 progressive democratic activists and leaders. He reports that "the people who were in the room, were enthusiastic about Deval's candidacy and agreed that they would urge thier organizations to back him. I came away from the meeting, agreeing to support him openly."
"Deval Patrick is a progressive democrat in the broadest sense," Vickery concludes, "and he is getting the support of progressives who are determined to win the gubernatorial election in 2006."
Columnist David A. Mitchell at the Quincy Patriot-Ledger, reporting from the home town of the state Democratic Party, says a star it born.
Patrick, Mitchell writes, has the "Barak Obama factor" working for him. He describes this as "the realization, 40 years after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, that there is a largely untapped reservoir of white support for excellent black candidates."
"Massachusetts demonstrated that a year after the Voting Rights Act was enacted", Mitchell continued, "when, in 1966, Edward W. Brooke was elected to the U.S. Senate."
"Thomas I. Atkins, running citywide, was elected to the Boston City Council in 1967; and John O'Bryant, also running citywide, was elected to the Boston School Committee in 1979."
"Such black electoral successes with white support were admittedly exceptional in the racial hurly-burly of the 1960s and '70s, and tend to be forgotten today. But the effect of historical amnesia is an erroneous presumption that black candidates are unelectable in white-majority districts."
"Obama belatedly exploded that presumption with his election to the U.S. Senate from Illinois last year. The Obama effect, I think, is a release of pent-up political energy, multiracial in its composition, that is newly willing to support, and finance, candidates of Obama's - and Deval Patrick's - caliber... "
"As President Kennedy put it about himself, 'The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.'"
"It is the sense of a fair prince," Mitchell concludes, "arrived in the presence of tired men and tired ideas, with new inspiration. Patrick is articulate, friendly and relaxed, but serious. I expect him to be an effective phenom!"
But the nature of the phenom is not all, in Mitchell's view, charisma and buzz. Its also about being a smart and efffective pol.
"He has impressed many of the Democratic ward and town committee members who will select, and in many cases be, the delegates who will endorse a gubernatorial candidate at the state convention. I am told he is ahead of Reilly in getting out among these people."
Not bad for the outsider, first time, and as yet unannounced candidate.
Bloggers have also been tracking Patrick's emerging candidacy.
Charley from Blue Mass Group had reports from Patrick's recent meeting with Democrats in Cambridge. And .o8 Acres and a Donkey had this account: "While some Massachusetts progressives may have oversold him, I have to admit that he is the most charismatic of the current presumptive crop of Democratic candidates for governor. He took a page out of the Dean playbook by saying that he hoped his campaign would revive a sense of civic engagement... What really impressed me, though, was that his prepared remarks lasted roughly half an hour and he spent the rest of his time taking questions from the crowd. He knew that many of us were there just to check him out and he wasn't afraid to devote the majority of his time to respond to the group."
While we are waiting the official announcement and the launch of the campaign web site, here is a basic Patrick bio, and an interesting interview with Teen Ink, a Newton, MA-based magazine.
Of course, there will certainly be no shortage of opportunities to hear Patrick and for that matter the other likely candidates, Tom Reilly and Bill Galvin, who are far better known and been elected to statewide office. Here are a few such opportunities.
Patrick will be addressing the Lexington Democratic Town committee on April 14th. All are welcome to attend.
He will also be addressing the Cape and Islands Democratic Council (CIDC) Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the Radisson on April 30th. For more information on tickets, time, etc., contact Kathy Ohman, CIDC chair at ohmankathy@comcast.net.
Meanwhile it looks like the MA Democratic Platform Convention on May 14th in Lowell will feature presentations by all three, all-but-declared (and they all may be declared by then) Democratic candidates for governor. U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy is scheduled to speak -- and possibly Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean.
Deval Patrick, for those who don't know, is about to announce his candidacy for Governor of Massachusetts. He is the former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton administration -- and he is positioning himself as the progressive, outsider candidate. He has been getting positive reviews as he has toured the state, hearing whats on the minds of citizens, elected officials, and party leaders. While he has received encouragement and advice from Bill Clinton, of greater importance is that interest and enthusiasm has been building here in the Bay State. Some say he may be Massachusetts' answer to Barak Obama.
Patrick is very smart, gracious, charismatic, honest and earnest. He comes across as a non-pol who is capable of broad appeal. He clearly cares deeply about the lives of ordinary people -- his extensive resume in corporate America not withstanding. (Although that continues to worry some.) He has a broad, non-parochial vision of the Commonwealth. With the cooperation of an increasingly progressive and overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature, he would have a largely unencumbered opportunity to take bold and sweeping initiatives instead of tiny incremental steps in such areas as health care -- which he said would be his highest priority. Progressives hope he may emerge as their standard bearer in the Democratic primaries against the much more conservative Attorney General Tom Reilly and Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin.
A few weeks ago, Peter Vickery, the elected Governor's Councilor from western, MA [the Governors Council ratifies judicial nominations in MA) convened a group of about 20 progressive democratic activists and leaders. He reports that "the people who were in the room, were enthusiastic about Deval's candidacy and agreed that they would urge thier organizations to back him. I came away from the meeting, agreeing to support him openly."
"Deval Patrick is a progressive democrat in the broadest sense," Vickery concludes, "and he is getting the support of progressives who are determined to win the gubernatorial election in 2006."
Columnist David A. Mitchell at the Quincy Patriot-Ledger, reporting from the home town of the state Democratic Party, says a star it born.
Patrick, Mitchell writes, has the "Barak Obama factor" working for him. He describes this as "the realization, 40 years after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, that there is a largely untapped reservoir of white support for excellent black candidates."
"Massachusetts demonstrated that a year after the Voting Rights Act was enacted", Mitchell continued, "when, in 1966, Edward W. Brooke was elected to the U.S. Senate."
"Thomas I. Atkins, running citywide, was elected to the Boston City Council in 1967; and John O'Bryant, also running citywide, was elected to the Boston School Committee in 1979."
"Such black electoral successes with white support were admittedly exceptional in the racial hurly-burly of the 1960s and '70s, and tend to be forgotten today. But the effect of historical amnesia is an erroneous presumption that black candidates are unelectable in white-majority districts."
"Obama belatedly exploded that presumption with his election to the U.S. Senate from Illinois last year. The Obama effect, I think, is a release of pent-up political energy, multiracial in its composition, that is newly willing to support, and finance, candidates of Obama's - and Deval Patrick's - caliber... "
"As President Kennedy put it about himself, 'The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.'"
"It is the sense of a fair prince," Mitchell concludes, "arrived in the presence of tired men and tired ideas, with new inspiration. Patrick is articulate, friendly and relaxed, but serious. I expect him to be an effective phenom!"
But the nature of the phenom is not all, in Mitchell's view, charisma and buzz. Its also about being a smart and efffective pol.
"He has impressed many of the Democratic ward and town committee members who will select, and in many cases be, the delegates who will endorse a gubernatorial candidate at the state convention. I am told he is ahead of Reilly in getting out among these people."
Not bad for the outsider, first time, and as yet unannounced candidate.
Bloggers have also been tracking Patrick's emerging candidacy.
Charley from Blue Mass Group had reports from Patrick's recent meeting with Democrats in Cambridge. And .o8 Acres and a Donkey had this account: "While some Massachusetts progressives may have oversold him, I have to admit that he is the most charismatic of the current presumptive crop of Democratic candidates for governor. He took a page out of the Dean playbook by saying that he hoped his campaign would revive a sense of civic engagement... What really impressed me, though, was that his prepared remarks lasted roughly half an hour and he spent the rest of his time taking questions from the crowd. He knew that many of us were there just to check him out and he wasn't afraid to devote the majority of his time to respond to the group."
While we are waiting the official announcement and the launch of the campaign web site, here is a basic Patrick bio, and an interesting interview with Teen Ink, a Newton, MA-based magazine.
Of course, there will certainly be no shortage of opportunities to hear Patrick and for that matter the other likely candidates, Tom Reilly and Bill Galvin, who are far better known and been elected to statewide office. Here are a few such opportunities.
Patrick will be addressing the Lexington Democratic Town committee on April 14th. All are welcome to attend.
He will also be addressing the Cape and Islands Democratic Council (CIDC) Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the Radisson on April 30th. For more information on tickets, time, etc., contact Kathy Ohman, CIDC chair at ohmankathy@comcast.net.
Meanwhile it looks like the MA Democratic Platform Convention on May 14th in Lowell will feature presentations by all three, all-but-declared (and they all may be declared by then) Democratic candidates for governor. U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy is scheduled to speak -- and possibly Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean.
14 Comments:
Right now Patrick has a lot of sizzle going for him. But when push comes to shove I do not see much steak. Where's the steak?
He hasn't offered anything substantive and that is where dems are weak against repubs for corner office
Not sure where "the troll"'s observations come from. I've heard Deval say a lot of things that are very specific and substantive; e.g. on healthcare.
I attended the "Roosevelt Dinner" on April 4 in Boston. Our esteemed Chair, Philip "All we need to do is say how bad Romney is" Johnston introduced the three (presumed) candidates for guv:
Tom Reilly ("the AG who leaves Eliot Spitzer in the dust" [yeah, right!]) tepid applause
Bill Galvin slightly polite applause
Deval Patrick wildly enthusiastic applause
I was astounded, and after the dinner I asked several people is I was just cheering so loud I didn't get it right, and to a person they all told me, the contrast was noticeable!
Sorry Michael, because i question Patrick's quick and enthusiastic support among party and progressive activists i by no ,means believe the other 2 are good candidates. And I am sure Patrick was a better speaker. (Not saying much)
Patrick seems like a a red sox prospect that all of a sudden is the next ted williams before spring training. Red sox have had plenty of these throuygh the years. I have heard Patrick on radio interrview and read his quotes in newspapers. I have not seen anything from him but usual stuff with no true specifics.
He argues he can bring business to mass because of his background. That is rediculous and it certainly caught my attention. If mitt romney, a true businessman, can't do it, how is Patrick going to argue to silent majority that he can. Patrick was brought into big corporations to deal with discrimination and keep EEOC away. This does not translate to real business experience.
Finally, his initial strong support from active progressives and left of left democrats can cause him to be typecast by november electorate and never get away from label.
Patrick's 2.1 million in hush money from coke, used to finance his campaign....does this pass the smell test
As someone who was born and raised in the Baystate, I can tell you, Romney is a joke as a governor.
I laugh every time I remember, he {Romney} -and that's all any one will ever do, in the end- has presidential aspirations.
The republican party thought this would be a "triumvirate?"
Yeah, it is, Larry, Moe, and Curly.
He's about as popular, for a govenor, as the current president is.
What has Romney accomplished in Massachusetts? Besides nothing? He is beyone ineffective, here, and he'd be ineffective anywhere, would be my guess.
The only business Romney has ever been involved with, involved pornography din't it?
Traveling all over the country "whining" about "family values" while, he's pocketing a fortune from the X-rated film industry.
A complete and total disgrace. And quite possibly, the very worst governor, Massachusetts has ever had.
If the republicans really want to "run him" as a presidential candidate, they can be my guest.
He was a "do-nothing" governor, he can be a "do-nothing" president, as well.
The same way we are getting ready to show Romney the door,why don't we show you the door, too?
You don't cut-the-muster with me, Troll.
In fact, you're cut from the same cloth, as "your boy."
And the quality
of the product is inferior. Period.
I see, if you criticize a dem then you are for the repub.hmmmmmmm. critical thinbking is alive and well. Can't romney suck and the dem candidates suck also?
hmmmm. What does romney have to do with patrick's short comings? Pointing out my problems with current list of possible dem candidates makes romeney "my boy"?
It is really tough to be a critical thinker with this crowd.
Actually 19886-88 we had a prettybad governorwho was also runing for pres. Rememeber, Dukakis almost bankrupt the state because he was runnig for president and he needed the state budget to make his national platform. Rememebr?
Is mitt "my boy" because I pointed this out.
Deval did get a surprisingly sizeable applause at the Roosevelt Dinner. While his welcome was certainly enthusiastic, I was left wondering whether it was a warm welcome for an outsider or genuine excitement about a candidate and his ideas. I think that Deval is doing well politically and seems to be taking all of the appropriate steps but has yet to define his candidacy.
For a candidate to simply say that he/she is for health care for all, jobs for all, safer streets and better education should mean very little to Democratic voters. All Democrats who seek office identify these issues as goals of their candidacy. How a candidate intends to achieve these goals will let you know whether he/she is a progressive, a centrist or a conservative Democrat.
The other thing to beware of are sound bites. While we as a party do not seem to love nor in some cases respect wordy politicians, we should not be easily baited by focused group tested sound bites.
Deval Patrick's latest stump is filled with the phrase "politics of hope". I must admit that it sounded great, but I will bet that most people walking out of that room will come up with a different definition of the "politics of hope".
Hope should not be politicized. Instead, we should restore hope in politics, revive hope in government, and help us return to a time when we could have faith that the hope that we placed in our elected leaders to govern fairly, effectively and in the best of the people is here again.
It's too early to back one candidate as we are still nearly a year and a half from election day. I know that it will be a Democrat so I do want to be able to see and hear as much from the Democratic candidates as possible. Hear is something that I was sent from someone who is a Reilly supporter. A lot of this I didn't know.
"I have followed his career for the past 8 years, and I have been
impressed with the quality of his office and his commitment to issues
that I care about.
When affirmative action was under direct threat, he unabashedly
supported affirmative action.
When the law enforcement community was overwhelmingly opposed to
tackling the racial profiling issue, Reilly strongly backed the call
to measure and remedy this real concern.
When the Governor made our immigrant children's aspirations for higher
education a disgraceful political issue, AG Reilly took him to task
publicly and came out for the in-state tuition bill.
When Brazilian workers were being cheated out of their due wages, the
AG took up their cause.
When Haitian-American nursing home workers needed protections, the AG
put new protections in place.
When the Vietnamese community was being victimized by fraudulent
mortgage businesses, the AG prosecuted the unscrupulous
businesspeople.
I like the fact that his Chief Counsel is an African-American woman,
and that I know a number of strong, diverse assistant attorney
generals.
And I like the fact that AG Reilly grew up a working class immigrant
home, knows personally what struggling families face, turned to an
African-American police officer as a mentor when his father died, and
devoted his life to public service.
I believe that AG Reilly is going to be the next governor of
Massachusetts, and my goal is to ensure that our communities have an
opportunity to get into the campaign on the ground floor, because
there are enormous issues at stake."
Reilly lacks charisma and has been accused of being a media slut. He is not liked by many dem pols because of this and he has an air of moral superiority. It seems odd that a person of his generation with a family and income history did not purchase a home to raise a family in. I know this sounds a bit elitist, but i do not mean it that way. Just seems an odd choice. Paying rent all those years with nothinbg to show. That relates more to working poor then average voter.
also, the list of accomplishmnets cited by the reilly suppoorter are nothing special when really studied. They are the type of things any attorney general should be able to point to. The nature of the job resulted in those "ccomplishments". More being there. I will give him microsoft though.
True, Reilly is not the most electrifying, but the list, as you pointed out, merely shows that he has done his job. You're right these are things any AG should be able to point to as accomplishments, unfortunately many don't or can't.
As for the rental issue, I was first curious about that when I heard about the fire in his apartment. I was told that he still lives there because that's the home he raised his family in and has strong sentimental feelings. Weird, I know, but sounds legitimate. Besides, he and his wife have both been public servants for the better part of their lives.
Reilly is not well liked by many Democratic pols because he's a boy scout. That may translate to some pols as moral superiority but to others it is integrity.
I heard Deval Patrick speak recently. Lots of specifics around most of the issues, but not around education. I can't support him until I am convinced that he will turn around the privatization agenda of the current state Board of Education, and make sure the public schools have the resources necessary to provide a quality education.
He hasn't offered anything substantive and that is where dems are weak against repubs for corner office
I don't think so. I think in this state the biggest weakness the Dems have is that most voters believe the state is already run by a state party they see as corrupt. These voters are mostly independent, and while they lean towards Democrats and generally like their senator and representative, they don't want to vote for someone they think of as a "party hack" for governor. They feel that with Democrats already holding veto-proof majorities in both houses, a party hack in the governor's office would let the party establishment run the state as they see fit. So they vote for Republicans.
Deval's biggest asset is that he's obviously not a state party hack, and did not come through the vetting process of the ranks of the state party.
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