But will all these high-profile alliances be enough? “The thing with Dianne right now is, at the institutional level she remains strong,” one Democratic insider says. “But I don’t think she has a lot of depth among the voters, and you need that in a sticker campaign.” This assessment jibes with the official line coming from Sonia Chang-Díaz, Wilkerson’s Democratic opponent and greatest threat. (No one expects Samiyah Diaz, Wilkerson’s oddly unprepared Republican challenger, to be much of a factor.) “The sense that we are getting at voters’ doors is that there is a lot of frustration with the current leadership out there,” say Chang- Díaz spokesperson Melissa Threadgill. “Voters in this district are ready for a change. Our job is to reach these voters and convince them that not only is it time for a change, but that Sonia Chang-Díaz is the candidate to make this change.”
Who's zooming who?
Incumbency doesn’t just give politicians the ability to call in timely favors from well-connected friends. It also lets them dictate the terms of engagement with challengers who want their jobs. And unless the challenger can force the issue somehow, à la Ned Lamont in Connecticut, the incumbent is generally free to ignore his or her competition.
This dynamic recently led to something of a mini-scandal in the secretary of state’s race. John Bonifaz, who’s challenging sitting Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin, had been satirizing Galvin’s refusal to hold public debates on his Web site, johnbonifaz.com. The July 5 installment of “Where’s Galvin?” featured Bonifaz delivering a debate challenge to Galvin’s campaign committee. The July 12 spot showed Bonifaz’s campaign manager trying to reach Galvin by phone in the secretary of state’s office. And the July 19 episode had a Bonifaz volunteer hand-deliver a letter to that same office. They weren’t thrilling spots — Michael Moore can rest easy — but they reinforced a legitimate gripe.
Here’s the hitch: as a post on the heavily trafficked liberal blog Blue Mass. Group noted last week, Galvin’s mother, Mary, died on July 18. (Her death was mentioned in the Globe’s death notices section on July 20 and 21; an obituary appeared on July 29.) The poster — who went by the handle “Renaissance Man” and may be a Galvin confidant, since he attended Mary Galvin’s wake — was full of righteous indignation: Bonifaz had “hit [a] new low,” he claimed, and these videos “[brought] politics into a time that should be reserved for family grieving.” Several follow-up posts struck a similarly outraged tone (“[I]t doesn’t get any worse than that.” “[H]is campaign had best apologize and quick.” “Embarrassing for the Bonifaz campaign, I’d say.”) The Bonifaz camp subsequently yanked the July 19 spot, explained that they weren’t aware of Mary Galvin’s death, and put a temporary moratorium on additional “Where’s Galvin?” spots.
At the risk of stating the obvious, all this outrage was a bit over the top. After all, Galvin has ducked his opponent on several noteworthy occasions. WGBH-TV’s Greater Boston tried to get the two candidates on together; Galvin took a pass. NECN’s NewsNight with Jim Braude tried as well; Galvin declined. Galvin also skipped a June voting-rights forum sponsored by Mass Citizens for Voting Integrity. And Bonifaz’s request to address the Newton Democratic City Committee was ultimately refused because Galvin refused to participate as well. Strategically, Galvin is probably doing the right thing — why give Bonifaz a chance to get in the race? — but by the same token, Bonifaz would be foolish not to turn Galvin’s temerity into a campaign issue.
