New Report Shows Untapped Power of Immigrant Voters in Massachusetts

Boston, MA – A new report Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote: The Untapped Power of Over 14 Million Potential New Immigrant Voters was released today, illustrating the huge well of untapped immigrant voters who, if properly engaged, could decide the fate of upcoming elections.  Using data from the US Census and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the report, among other findings, identifies 14.25 million immigrants and children of immigrants as a potential voting bloc and outlines the eleven presidential swing states in which the number of immigrant voters is greater than the vote differential between Bush and Kerry in 2004. 

The full report can be found at: http://www.miracoalition.org/reports/national/national-reports/tomorrow-we-vote

In Massachusetts, the report identifies over 35,000 U.S. born 18-24 year old children of immigrants not registered to vote: greater than the vote differential of 29,477 votes for the 2002 gubernatorial election.

The We Are America Alliance, a nationwide collection of labor, faith, and immigrant rights groups, announced summer plans to dramatically increase the number of registered voters in immigrant and minority communities and the number of citizenship applications from eligible immigrants.  Promising a targeted campaign aimed at tight elections, groups calling for comprehensive immigration reform set out plans to make the difference in November.

“The ‘Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote’ chant during the immigrant rights rallies was not empty rhetoric. Given the more than 14 million legal permanent residents and children of immigrants who could be voting in the 2008 presidential elections, and the thousands who will vote for the first time this November in Massachusetts, these new voters could dramatically worsen the electoral prospects of any elected official who opposes immigrant rights,”” said Ali Noorani, executive director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

“Democracy Summer” aims to tap this well of eligible or soon to be eligible voters through grassroots activism and engagement of immigrant and minority communities.  Participants in “Democracy Summer” have identified areas throughout the nation where high concentrations of unregistered Latinos and other minority community members live, and starting July 1, will engage and register those communities. Participants will also help educate new voters about the pending immigration debate affecting their lives. 

On June 30, 2006, organizations in Lowell and Pittsfield will be holding Citizenship Days where over 200 immigrants will file for citizenship.  (For more information regarding Lowell call Sister Janet Deatt at 978-454-7663 and regarding Pittsfield call Brooke Mead at 413-445-4881).

As Election Day 2006 approaches, participants will shift to on-the-ground “Get Out The Vote” efforts, with the goal of turning out pro-immigrant voters in record numbers.  These activities will incorporate those same strengths in immigrant communities, such as media collaboration and the involvement of faith congregations that produced the historic mega-marches this past Spring.   Among the We Are America Alliance participants are organizations with extensive GOTV experience targeting diverse immigrant communities and native-born Americans who share core concerns in areas such as employment, education, and housing.

Our elected representatives in the Legislature will soon hold a historic vote. It regards the institution of marriage.

But it will not be a vote for or against same sex marriage.

No, it will be a vote for or against democracy.

The people here today have followed the law, followed the process established in the Constitution, and gathered an astounding 170,000 signatures. Their effort means that the people, the citizens, will be free to choose how marriage is defined in Massachusetts.

This is democracy pure and simple.

Of course, democracy can be squashed. Only one fourth of the legislators must vote for democracy, for this question, this choice, to be given to the people. But it is conceivable that some will try to block a vote by the people by blocking a vote of the legislature.

We here are speaking for democracy and the rule of the law. Whether you agree that marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman or not, surely you can agree that the course of democracy, established by the Constitution, must be followed. Is there anything more fundamental to this Commonwealth and this country than the principle that power is reserved to the people, that government is the servant, not the master?

We ask for one thing: the constitutionally prescribed vote of the Legislature. Let the people speak.

BOSTON —Friday, June 23, 2006—Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy this week endorsed Deval Patrick, citing Patrick’s vision for leading the state. Murphy joins more than 70 state and local officials who are supporting Patrick’s gubernatorial campaign, showing continued momentum for Patrick’s candidacy following his decisive victory at the Democratic State Convention earlier this month.

“In my view, Deval Patrick is the best choice— really, the only choice for Democrats this year,” said Murphy. “He is running a grassroots campaign about the issues people care about and his candor and leadership are really connecting with people in Boston and across the state.”

Last fall, Patrick began unveiling elements of his plan for Moving Massachusetts Forward. To date, he has released plans for economic development, education, health care, energy and the environment, partnering with local cities and towns and streamlining state government. In the later plan, Patrick identified $735 million that can be cut from state government annually. His strategies include limiting legislative earmarks, enforcing wage and hour laws, improving detection of Medicaid fraud and increasing budgetary transparency.

In 2005, former US Labor Secretaries Robert Reich and Alexis Herman endorsed Patrick in a Boston Globe Op-Ed column. In that piece they talked about Patrick’s ability to bring different parties to the table to get things done. U.S. Congressmen Jim McGovern, Michael Capuano, Barney Frank, John Tierney and John Olver have also announced their support for Patrick.

“I am honored and excited to have the endorsement of Councilor Murphy,” Patrick said. “He shares my determination to base this campaign on the people of the Commonwealth and the issues they care about.”

Patrick’s grassroots campaign has over 5,000 volunteers and has raised more than $3.7 million, including more than $700,000 in donations raised through the campaign's website, www.devalpatrick.com. Each day, volunteers fill the campaign’s headquarters in Charlestown.

Healey said the exposure of dirty needles in Massachusetts is a real and serious concern for parents across the Commonwealth.  Just last week, 10 year-old Roarke Myers of Chelmsford was on a field trip with his fifth grade class from McCarthy Middle School when he came upon two hypodermic needles lying in the grass on the Boston Common.  Fortunately, the children had been warned by their parents that needles could be lying on the ground.  Roarke and his friends immediately notified their teacher.

“I am horrified that my son was put in danger because so many used hypodermic needles are being carelessly discarded and are simply lying around in the grass at our public parks,” said Roarke’s father, Bob.

Putting more needles on the streets also poses a threat to the general public’s safety, Healey said, noting recent robberies in the Worcester and Lowell areas where store clerks have been threatened with needles allegedly containing diseases.

Bonifaz Criticizes 3Gs

Takes on Gabrieli-Goldberg-Galvin Limits

BOSTON – John Bonifaz, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, who defended the Massachusetts Clean Elections Law against a Legislature that turned its back on the voters it represents and refused to fund the law, issued a statement today criticizing the spending limits set by the three Gs: Chris Gabrieli, Deb Goldberg and William Galvin.

“I am deeply disappointed with the news today of the outrageous spending limits set by Chris Gabrieli and Deb Goldberg, as well as what we expect William Galvin – who did not opt into public financing – will set later today.

“This is not the kind of politics that is consistent with the core values of the Democratic Party. This is why so many people do not participate in the political process. This level of money in politics drowns out the voices of people at the most grassroots level.

“And this is why I am running for Secretary of State and why I defended the Clean Elections Law. We can do better in Massachusetts. We can and should be a model for the nation, rather than another example of auction-block politics open to the highest bidder.

“This is further proof that we need to have a fully-funded public finance system with spending limits. A model system, like those that exist in Maine and Arizona, would be fully-funded and level the playing field in all statewide and state legislative races. Voters are tired of the skyrocketing amounts of money in our elections.”

Bonifaz is also co-counsel in a pending US Supreme Court case on the issue of the constitutionality of mandatory campaign spending limits. Bonifaz is helping to defend a Vermont campaign spending limits law that presents the first opportunity in 30 years for the nation’s highest court to revisit the question of unlimited campaign spending. A ruling from the Supreme Court is expected by the end of June.

The first candidate to officially declare his candidacy for Secretary of State, Bonifaz launched his campaign last December. He founded the National Voting Rights Institute in 1994 and for over a decade has been a powerful voice and dedicated leader working with people throughout Massachusetts and across the country to protect the right to vote, demand a full recount in Ohio, overhaul the nation's campaign finance system and broaden citizen participation in the democratic process.

Q. What’s your take on where your campaign is at this point in time?

A. Well, since I’ve never run for governor before, I’ll have to take it from two people that are counseling us: Lowell Weicker, the former Republican and then independent governor of Connecticut, and Angus King, the twice-elected independent governor in the state of Maine. And both say that they’ve never seen a camp shoot up with numbers like we’ve had, and that the number of volunteers--that we’ve been invited to every single debate, and every single forum, and that we’re as much of a player as anybody else is. So  I’m thrilled. I highly recommend this to everyone, to run for governor! It’s the most incredible experience. Because people genuinely love this state. People who’ve drawn a line in the sand--I’m staying here, I’m fighting for it--love the state, and want to see it better. So it’s just been a wonderful experience so far.

Q. How many volunteers do you have?

A. We’ve exceeded five hundred, that we can call on at any time. And look, that may not seem a lot to the Democrats or the Republicans, but we don’t have party. Fifty percent of us are unenrolled, and we call ourselves independent, but there’s no party structure with town committees. So we feel pretty happy with what we have right now. And we’re out every single day, recruiting more. So it just grows a little bit every day.

Q. Give me your take on the outcome of the Democratic convention last weekend.

A. I think getting three candidates on the ballot is wonderful for the process. They’re all good candidates, certainly, and the more the merrier. The more events, forums, debates that we have, it just inures to the benefit of the taxpayers.

Q. Would one of the three be hardest for you to run against in the general election?

A. They’re all good candidates, and they all bring a little bit of a different perspective to it. Certainly Tom [Reilly] has been around for many years. Deval [Patrick] is starting to bring forth some specific points about the impressionistic ways [sic] that he’s talked about in the past. And Chris [Gabrieli] has been--you know, I like sitting next to Chris, and it’s been a very engaging conversation any time he’s there.

Q. About your poll numbers: your numbers looked really good when you first got in the race, and then you started to stagnate a little bit. Does that worry you?

A. We’re anywhere from 16 to 22 percent, is what I see on the different polls. And when they drill down and they talk bout where we are on certain issues, we go much higher; we’re usually second when it comes to us, Reilly and [Lieutenant governor and Republican nominee Kerry] Healey. It doesn’t really bother me, because although we’ve done radio, wee haven’t done TV as of yet. And they’re being produced as we speak [by Bill Hillsman, a Minnesota-based ad guru who’s created spots for Paul Wellstone, Jesse Ventura and Ralph Nader]. The things he’s doing for us, they’ll knock your socks off. We’d like them to go up between now and July 4th.

Q. Has running for governor been harder than you would’ve thought? I’m thinking of that debate where R.D. Sahl asked you for one sentence to finish up, and you had to go with, “Thank you.”

A. It’s physically demanding and exhausting, but the mental aspect of it--it’s just so liberating. First of all, it’s liberating being an independent, because I don’t have to worry about who I’m going to piss off in my party. So you say whatever’s on your mind. And you know I’m not taking any special-interest money, so I’ve left that whole traditional way of funding campaigns by the wayside. It’s energizing; it’s uplifting. When you look in someone’s eyes, and they say, Don’t let us down, we’re counting on you... To me, that is a humbling, humbling group of words for someone to say, and to mean it. This is the most incredible experience that I’ve ever had in my life.

Q. Proposition One--that hasn’t created the buzz I expected.

A. If you go to as many events [as] we go to, and you have young people trying to buy a home, or elderly people that want to stay in their home, or middle-class people that have had it--you have no idea. You have no idea how spot-on they are with this issue. The fact that the editorial pages aren’t picking it up or criticizing it, or that the other candidates aren’t saying anything about it, that has no bearing on me whatsoever. They all know--they all know right now that this state is unaffordable, and unless it becomes affordable, we’re going to be relegated to a Rust Belt state. If you’re a family, and you have a lot of kids in school, and you’re paying for busing and extracurricular activity fees and everything, you know about Proposition One. If you’re a union member in City Hall, or a teacher or a healthcare provider out there, working with cities and municipalities, you know about Proposition One, because it’s going to return money back to local aid. And if you’re a homeowner, you want to cut the increases. My property taxes on the Cape have doubled over the last two years. Doubled!

For the last two years, the state has run billion-dollar budget surpluses. There happens to be $1.7 billion sitting in the rainy-day fund.. So we don’t have a revenue problem. The problem, for me as a candidate and as a taxpayer, is that the money is going to go to the spec interest. Let me give you just 2 examples. In the state senate, on the budget, there were 949 amendments filed--24 per senator. The Red Sox are going to get $36 million to upgrade the area in and around Fenway Park. The Turnpike Authority is going to get $31 million for who knows what. So instead of it coming to Springfield or Worcester or Boston or Fall River, to fund police or whatever, it’s staying up there, and the special interests are going to get it. The special interest will always get it, as long as it’s sitting up there.

Q. What’s your take on Mitt Romney urging the U.S. Senate to ban gay marriage?

A. I mean... You know where I am on gay marriage. This thing is just--it’s getting out of hand. It’s the law of the Commonwealth, and unless people want to change it it’s the law of the Commonwealth, and my sense is that people will vote overwhelmingly to keep the law as it is.

Q. So you think those decisions should be left up to individual states?

A. Absolutely. As local as you can get the decisions, that’s where the decisions should be made.

Q. Was it right to name the Tip O’Neil Tunnel the Tip O’Neil Tunnel, as opposed to the Liberty Tunnel, which was Governor Romney's prefered choice?

A. Look, that tunnel would never be there if it wasn’t for Tip O’Neil. But I’ll say this: Tip was a big spender, but he would be shocked, shocked, that his $2.3 billion project in late 80s and early 90s is now going to eclipse $15 billion. My only issue with naming it at the time is this: let’s name it for Tip after we get the leaks plugged. Let’s name it for Tip after all the arrests and indictments and convictions have been adjudicated. Let’s name it for Tip after it’s done. Let’s name it for Tip after we get some semblance of good management practices at the Turnpike Authority, and can say that we can drive through that tunnel and it’s safe. That’s when you name a tunnel after a great man like Tip O’Neil. You don’t do it now.

Just to get back to the gay-marriage question--this happens to be Massachusetts. It’s not South Carolina; it’s not Florida; it’s not Alabama; it’s Massachusetts. And I think that we should have a rightful approach to everything we do, that sets Massachusetts apart and builds on the state’s good points, as opposed to trying to tear it apart with these type of things. This is Massachusetts. And the focus should be on Massachusetts.

Gabrieli Proposes “Deal” with Massachusetts Voters to Bring Accountability and Results Back to State House

Highlights seven common-sense reforms to get better results from state government

BOSTON, MA – Gubernatorial candidate Chris Gabrieli today offered to "make a deal" with the people of Massachusetts, offering a package of common-sense reforms designed to bring accountability and results back to state government.  

"Massachusetts is stuck, and 16 years of Republican governors haven't gotten people the results that they deserve," Gabrieli said at a Boston news conference today.  "Government needs to be more accountable, more accessible and more responsible.  So, I'm going to make a deal with the people of Massachusetts.  I'll implement these common-sense ideas to make government work better.  And if I don't, then I ask people to hold me accountable."

According to the non-partisan Government Performance Project, Massachusetts is currently rated C+ overall in how well we manage our money, “At present, Massachusetts does not do much to link cost to performance, and there does not seem to be a concerted effort to move in this direction.” 

As part of his deal with the people of Massachusetts, Gabrieli will:

Conduct a top-to-bottom performance review of every major state program

I will make state government more efficient by developing specific goals and benchmarks for every major state program. By setting a high standard for each program and making it public, government will have a much harder time avoiding accountability.  Each performance review will be evaluated to assess effectiveness and address potential inefficiencies. This data will be available to the public in the form of a spending statement so you know actually know where your tax dollars are going, and you know how well the state programs those dollars fund are actually performing.

Eliminate wasteful state spending

I will take a critical look at every agency and program – from expenditures like employee travel to small details like government cell phone bills– and enforce good spending practices so people get good value for their tax dollar.

Crack down on Big Dig-like cost overruns

As consumers, we double-check our bills and credit card statements to make sure we don’t get overcharged.  Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with projects like the Big

Dig, the government is not nearly as careful with your tax dollars.  I will make sure that our cost estimates for capital projects are more accurate, and I’ll refuse to do business with companies that habitually overrun costs.  If you can’t do the job on time and on budget, then you can’t do business with the state.

Prepare long-term budgets

I’ve been in the business world for two decades, and I’ve never encountered a successful business that only budgets one year in advance.  It makes it nearly impossible to plan or maintain fiscal discipline.  As Governor, I will draft long-term budgets and commission long-term revenue forecasts to help us plan for the future. 

Improve and expand the reach of e-government

The Internet is revolutionizing our economy and our lives, making daily tasks more convenient and more cost effective while increasing access to information.  Yet government lags behind.  I will work to ensure that we offer a 21st century e-government that is current and accurate, while expanding the reach of e-government to cut costs and improve service at both the state and local level.

Hold regular town hall meetings in every region of the state

On-the-record, public meetings with residents will allow for the accessibility that our current administration is lacking.  Photo ops are great ways for politicians to get the coverage they want, but useless for getting voters the answers they want.

Be a full-time, full-term Governor

Republican governors have failed to get results for us, and one of the primary reasons is their consistent use of our Governor’s office as a stepping stone.  I love our state, and I am firmly committed to fulfilling my term.  You won’t see me making regular trips to Iowa and New Hampshire.  My goal is to be Governor of Massachusetts.  Period.

When other states lead the way in good government practices, Massachusetts needs to take notice.  Louisiana is a leader in performance based budgeting, Iowa excels at publicly disclosing program performance, and Rhode Island has an initiative that saves taxpayers millions of dollars.  There is no reason why we cannot be a leader in all of these aspects.  All it takes is a governor who is willing to demand accountability and get results for Massachusetts.

“People are tired of politicians who make lofty promises they can’t keep,” Gabrieli said.  “These ideas may not get headlines, but they are common-sense ideas that will get results for Massachusetts.  They’ll make government work more efficiently, and will bring more accountability to the state house.”

Starting tomorrow, Gabrieli will travel across Massachusetts, bringing his deal directly to the people.  He also will begin airing ads on radio stations across the state talking about these ideas. 

For more information about Chris Gabrieli and his deal with the people, visit www.gabrieli.org.

SOUTH END- - State Senate candidate Samiyah Diaz has filed a formal objection at the State Ballot Commission to block Senator Wilkerson’s attempt to be listed in the September Democratic Primary ballot.  Wilkerson initially was 37 signatures short of the 300 certified signatures required to be listed on the ballot.  Wilkerson then sought a formal review at the City Election Department which resulted in additional signatures being certified, leaving her only 9 signatures short from being listed on the ballot.  Wilkerson has the option to seek Superior Court order to have the remaining 9 signatures certified by judicial review.

The Diaz campaign today released city election documents that show that most of Wilkerson’s newly-certified signatures were of voters who first registered after the May 2 deadline for nomination papers to be submitted.  If Wilkerson does not pursue a Superior Court case to have the remaining 9 signatures certified, the Ballot Law Commission objection will be dismissed.  If Wilkerson does proceed with a Superior Court challenge, Diaz’s objection will be heard as part of the lawsuit.

News of Diaz’s ballot challenge comes as Democratic staffer, Sonia Diaz, has filed papers with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to prepare her own write-in campaign for the Democratic nomination. (Copies of the voter records are attached to this press release as pdf copies).

In response to repeated media inquiries regarding public financing, Chris Gabrieli issued the following statement:

“I will not take any taxpayer money to finance my campaign. While I support public financing, these laws were not designed for any of the current candidates for governor, all who have either vast personal wealth or huge campaign war chests.  It seems to me there are better uses of taxpayer dollars.”

Phil Johnston's introducing Deval Patrick--or, more accurately, two other people (state senator Marian Walsh and Taunton mayor Bob Nunes) who'll introduce Patrick. Johnston says Patrick's speech earlier today was reminiscent of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, that he was "deeply inspired," and that "we need to be inspired in this country."

Nunes says Patrick is leading "one of the most dynamic political movements that we've seen in Massachusetts."

Marian Walsh calls Patrick "the Democratic who's truly independent, and the Democrat who can win and transform Massachusetts." (She also says he's "the individual who best personifies the American dream.")

Surprise! Chris Gabrieli just showed up after getting all kinds of shit from the press for not letting everyone know about his 15 percent announcement a few minutes ago. Is it a coincidence that Gabrieli--who'd left the building, and decided to come back--showed up RIGHT BEFORE PATRICK'S SPEECH?

Anyway, here's Patrick. He tells his supporters they "did a historic thing by giving me your trust and your confidence." He's also warning them he'll make mistakes (?), and admitting that he's a flawed human being (?!?), and telling them, "Don't give up on me, because I will never give up on you." (Quoth the astute eighth-grader hanging around with her dad [not me] in the press room: "Nice cliche there.")

Now we're getting the no-politics-as-usual spiel--nothing new, but something Patrick does fairly effectively.

Now Patrick's building up his supporters--"You think for yourself," etc.--and running through his litany of big challenges facing Massachusetts, and doing his inspirational-candidate thing ("You are as hungry as I am for candor and leadership...Not just a strategy to win but a strategy to govern. And let's build that strategy on hope.")

Chris Gabrieli's still talking to reporters outside the press room. Um, Chris--could you have waited ten minutes, maybe?

Quick observation: sometimes Patrick carries the We're-all-in-this-together stuff a bit too far. E.g.: "If you go to work on the ground, at the grassroots, then I win. And if I win, so do you. Because if I win, the business executive wins--but so does the guy who runs the lathe in the machine shop." And so on.

Gabrieli finally piped down, but Patrick's still talking about "visionary leadership," and stuff like that.

Now he's talking about Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketeering! (?) Apparently, Goddard did some of his work in a small cabbage field not far from Worcester. And now he's wrapping things up. Strange way to end, methinks.

They'll all be on the ballot, folks.

Governor's race: Deval Patrick 57.98 percent, Tom Reilly 26.66, Chris Gabrieli 15.36

LG: Tim Murray 49.02 percent, Andrea Silbert 28.94, Deborah Goldberg 22.04

Secretary of state: Bill Galvin 70.70 percent, John Bonifaz 29.3 percent

And that's a wrap.

He couched it with a couple disclaimers--i.e., they're still working on the official count, and there'll be some procedural challenges--but Chris Gabrieli just announced that he believes he has the 15 percent necessary to make the primary ballot.

Gabrieli's fist-pumping, high-fiving press conference also offered proof that politics is like junior high school: as the Gabrieli camp clustered for his announcement, Deval Patrick's supporters made a point of standing in the background and holding up their signs--which, I should note, are bigger than Gabrieli's--in an effort to mess up his photo op.

More unofficial numbers, being circulated by the Reilly camp: Patrick at 59.5 percent, Reilly at 25, Gabrieli at 15.9. (These are projected final numbers.)

Great result for Tom Reilly if these hold up.

Also, regarding that last-minute deal that may have put Gabrieli over the top--word is the 19 legislators who wrote that pro-Gabrieli letter a couple weeks back may have been instrumental in brokering it.*

*Late update: NECN's Alison King is reporting that House speaker Sal DiMasi was the deal-maker; you can check out her reportage here.

The new buzz at the convention has Gabrieli getting 15.4 percent, enough to make the primary ballot. One source tells me he was down 50 delegates until a deal was cut at the last minute to put him 30 over.

UPDATE: The Gabrieli camp was about to make an official announcement, but held off because, as they told the press, "new information had come to light." So take the above with a grain of salt.

The AG just announced that he topped 15 percent.

Still no word from Gabrieli.

Broken down by senate district, as they come in:

First Bristol and Plymouth: Gabrieli 12 delegates, Patrick 41, Reilly 78, no vote 0

Bristol and Norfolk: Gabrieli 12, Patrick 65, Reilly 14, no vote 1

Worcester, Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin: Gabrieli 21, Patrick 28, Reilly 30, no vote 0

Second Suffolk and Middlesex: Gabrieli 11, Patrick 81, Reilly 23, no vote 3

Plymouth and Barnstable: Gabrieli 3, Patrick 73, Reilly 17, no vote 0

First Hampden and Hampshire: Gabrieli 21, Patrick 45, Reilly 56, no vote 0

Unofficial LG results from the Tim Murray camp: 48 percent Murray, 29 percent for Andrea Silbert, 23 percent for Deborah Goldberg.

[Clinton] had fallen under the allure of a female intern. Yielding to this ancient temptation, as even the great psalmist of the Bible, King David, had done...

We’re fully prepared for any effort to change the rules, and we will do everything we can to beat back any such efforts. We will not support any rules changes, and we will fight any and all changes. One of the messages that we wanted to send in enforcing the loyalty rule the other day was just that...

I have [congressman] Jim McGovern and [former governor] Mike Dukakis, who co-chaired the [convention reform] commission, prepared to debate... They have a lot of credibility with the delegates, and they're fully prepared to argue.

Patrick himself is part of the conspiracy of silence. To his credit, race isn't what his campaign is about. He said a veteran legislator told him recently that he would be the unquestioned front-runner in the campaign, if he were white.