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Campaign Messaging 101 – Vote and Pay Your Taxes

/0 Comments/in , /by Liam Day

A mentor for whom I had the highest respect once told me the baseline for running for elected office is pretty low. There are really only two disqualifiers – not voting and not paying taxes. Everything else, he believed, can be overcome. (And if the rumors that Eliot Spitzer is contemplating a run for New York State Comptroller are true, we will get the chance to test that hypothesis.) Why do I mention this? It turns out Steve Pagliuca, who is running a consultant-laden campaign for Senate, pretty much forgot to vote for the decade of the go-go 90s and Christy Mihos has now committed the other disqualifying gaffe not once, but twice. Yes, I believe voters are pretty angry […]

School-Based Management: A Practical Path to School District Reform

/0 Comments/in , /by Editorial Staff

A Practical Path to School District Reform Author(s): Cara Stillings Candal — Publication date: 2009-09-29 Category: Education Abstract: Located in the “bicep of Cape Cod,” the Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, is widely considered that area’s economic and municipal hub. Home to a thriving business sector, healthcare facilities, an airport, and a host of other municipal services, many of Cape Cod’s citizens rely upon Barnstable and its seven surrounding villages for economic and cultural prosperity. But Barnstable’s status as a center of activity in the Cape Cod region is only one of the things that make the town unique. In recent years, Barnstable has received state and national recognition for its commitment to financial accountability and responsibility. This commitment has, in […]

What's non-negotiable and what's at risk

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Under the cover of the appointment of Paul Kirk as the US Senator from Massachusetts and the mess created by an email from the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Education regarding a charter school approval came a huge story. The state, after years and years of talk, will take over CSX rail lines between Framingham and Worcester, and between Taunton and Fall River/New Bedford. First, this is overall a very good thing. Murray’s announcement at a Greater Boston Chamber breakfast helps move the state’s transportation infrastructure ahead in some very positive ways. More frequent commuter rail service between Boston and Worcester is a no-brainer that previous administrations did not get done. Also, the state’s takeover of Worcester line will allow for changes […]

Tough Time for Incumbent Mayors

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(Disclosure: I know several of these folks professionally.) Boston Mayor Menino looks like the outlier among his peers after his strong showing in the preliminary election. In Fall River, incumbent Robert Correia finished third and won’t make it to the general election. Several other mayors fared a bit better — finishing second but making it into the general election. Brockton’s Mayor Harrington, Lynn’s Mayor Clancy, Pittsfield’s Mayor Ruberto, and Westfield’s Mayor Boulanger all survived second place finishes. But I can’t recall a period when more incumbents faced such stiff challenges.

Helpful Governing Tips

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Re: Use of Email Tip #1: Don’t use it to try and engineer the installation of a lightly-qualified supporter into a plum job. Tip #2: Don’t repeat #1 a few months later with an even higher press profile. Tip #3: Don’t dispose of an authority head and blame them for something that your and their emails clearly contradict. Bonus Sub-Tip: Go easy on the WWII references. Tip #4: Don’t use email to lay out the political calculus for highly controversial decisions that are supposed to be made based on objective criteria. Thus ends today’s session at the Lomasney Center for Political Communications at Pioneer Institute.