The local Democrats decided to host a virtual forum for all the statewide candidates in the selected Democratic Primaries. And Humble Elias, after a too long hiatus, decided to tune in and jot down a few idle...impressions.
Now, mind you, the alleged gubernatorial frontrunner, Maura Healey declined to show, leaving Sonia Chang Diaz with twenty free minutes by which to ruminate unchallenged. I wish Healey has come, one gets better insights into candidates when the compare and contrast is running in real time.
That being said, Ms Chang Diaz, is running as “The Candidate of Passion”, straight out of the Obama/Ayanna Pressley playbook, and Diaz is...passionate, unless she is doubling down on her “detailed policy proposals”, then a tendency to drone on creeps into her rhetoric. She took some inside baseballs swipes at Healey none of which stuck, the details of it I cannot recall, but it is an indicator that Diaz is gonna put up a fight in that primary. Otherwise, it is Straight v. Queer & Jock v. Schoolteacher, I am sure Diaz’ convention speech will be a barn burner whatever else happens.
Brett Bero is running for Lt Governor, and he is a classic presence in that primary, in that he is a town meeting member from Carlisle Ma, running as the candidate of small business. Sound familiar? He is a perfect precis of every minimally experienced starter pol that has been parachuting into that particular primary for the past fifteen years. He seems zealous but predictably unready for the job, he might make an interesting cabinet secretary if he can play his cards right.
Kim Driscoll, the Mayor of Salem Mass, is also running for Lt. Governor, she is polished, articulate, well put together, clearly running as the candidate of the municipalities. She has been a good mayor and good mayors make good Lt. Governors. Your enthusiasm for her candidacy tracks pretty well with how comfortable you are with a ticket headlined by two women.
Tami Gouveia, State Rep from Acton Ma, a Lowell Native, a single mom, also running for Lt Governor, a bit of a droner but thoroughly credible.
Adam Hinds State Senator from the state of mind that is the Berkshires, again a candidate for Lt. Governor, he is earnest, credible, intellectual (so are they all though), his appeal though may lie well out of Rte 495, which could be a good thing.
Eric Lesser, State Senator from Springfield, another western Mass cowboy, running for Lt Governor. He too is running as the candidate of passion, he is earnest and credible, Lesser vaguely reminds me of Vince Vaughn, but in a good way.
None of the worthies assembled were willing to advocate the abolition of that dismal colonial relic, The Governor’s Council, at best they all wanted a return to livecasting said meetings, as if that is gonna change anything. We ask some tough questions in Menotomy.
Otherwise there was an astonishing amount of consensus in the room, perhaps too much at the end of the day, for a democratic primary its an amazingly experienced crew given past primaries. If I had to call it, I think it could be Lesser v. Driscoll, the Atlantic versus the Connecticut River...but we will see.
