Wednesday, October 24, 2012
With Warren holding a small lead in the polls, and Brown getting a key endorsement from the Boston Herald, who do you think has the momentum coming into the final days of the election?
Democrat Elizabeth Warren is up by five points over incumbent Republican Scott Brown in the latest WBUR/MassINC poll of the Massachusetts senate race. That's a near-total reversal of the BUR poll last month, which had Brown up by four on Oct. 9. In fact, Warren has been trending upwards in most recent polling. The New York Times' FiveThirtyEight blog has Warren up by four in an average of recent polls. The blog, which uses advanced statistical modeling akin to baseball sabermetrics (think Moneyball) gives Warren an 89 percent chance of winning the election. But Brown's got some significant energy on his side as well. He's been barnstorming the state with political luminaries like Senator John McCain and today won the Boston herald's …
Friday, August 3, 2012
The tax debate looks to be a prominent issue in the 6th District race.
It seems to be the debate without an end — what to do about tax rates for high-income Americans ‚ and on Capitol Hill it has become political theater. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to keep existing tax rates in place — including the "Bush tax cuts" former President George W. Bush signed into law in 2001 and 2003 — through 2013. The vote may be symbolic, since President Obama has promised to veto such a measure and it would likely never make it through the Democratic-controlled Senate anyway. And the Senate recently passed a bill that would allow tax cuts for the top 2 percent of incomes to expire. Salem's very own Congressman John Tierney voted against the Republican-backed House and called on Republican leadership to …
Thursday, August 2, 2012
One noteworthy Capitol Hill publication thinks so.
The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call has categorized Massachusetts' 6th District congressional race between Congressman John Tierney and Republican challenger Richard Tisei as a toss-up. That is the only Massachusetts congressional seat listed as such. The rest are in the "Safely Democratic" category. And the 6th District seat had previously been labeled as "Likely Democratic." The Tisei campaign is viewing this as a milestone in the race. "Richard is well-known and liked throughout the district," Tisei Campaign Manager Paul Moore said. "Richard has spent years defying the odds by being elected by Independents, Republicans, and Democrats. He's honest and a known problem-solver who cares about people and the future of the country. Richard …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
After Tuesday, the House and Senate will not have an opportunity to override any veto.
Although the legislative session ends Tuesday at midnight, Gov. Deval Patrick has 10 days to sign any bills that land on his desk. But anything he vetoes cannot be overridden since the Legislature will have adjourned. Perhaps the most-watched bill in this scenario is the mandatory sentencing bill, also called the "three-strikes" law or "Melissa's Bill," over which the governor and Legislature have locked horns. The bill eliminates parole for someone convicted three times of one of 40 or so violent crimes, with at least one conviction having carried a minimum three-year prison term. Although it passed with overwhelming support in both chambers last week, Patrick sent it back on Saturday, asking for an amendment that increases judicial …
The governor on Saturday sent the anti-crime bill back to the Legislature.
Gov. Deval Patrick set in motion a wave of criticism when he vetoed the popular "three strikes" crime bill on the grounds that it lacked sufficient provisions for judicial discretion. Warning of possible unintended "unjust consequences" that can arise from mandatory sentencing laws, Patrick wrote in a letter to the Legislature, "None of us is wise or prescient enough to foresee each and every circumstance in which the new habitual offender provisions may apply." In Danvers, State Rep. Ted Speliotis supported the bill, which both aims to ensure violent criminals stay behind bars while easing prison overcrowding by reducing drug-offense penalties. On Monday afternoon, the House rejected Patrick's amendment by a vote of 132-23, according to …
Monday, July 30, 2012
Despite good intentions in drafting the law, Slattery says it's bad public policy to give a for-profit private company a guaranteed long-term contract without threat of competition.
- OPINION
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Monday, July 30, 2012
[The following letter was submitted by Massachusetts Senate candidate John Slattery.] Representative Keenan’s good intentions in filing his amendment to the energy bill styled, “An Act Relative To Competitively Priced Electricity In The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts” aside, it is simply bad public policy to gift a for-profit private company, in this case, Footprint, with guaranteed long term energy contracts and a guaranteed market share outside of the competitive bidding process. Section 42, if passed, will force regional utilities to buy power from Footprint for a minimum of 15 years despite that competitor’s prices may be less. What this means is that Footprint is protected from market forces in setting its rates. Proponents of Section …
Friday, July 27, 2012
Speliotis said he is unsure if Danvers residents, who switched to mandatory curbside recycling in January, would benefit from the proposed bill.
House and Senate leaders started debating Wednesday whether to include an expanded bottle deposit amendment in a bill designed to spur job creation. The expanded bottle deposit amendment would put 5-cent deposits on bottles of water, juice, iced tea and sports drinks. While State Rep. Ted Speliotis (D-Danvers) said he has always been supportive of the bottle bill in the past, now he said he doesn't know if his constituents in Danvers would benefit from the proposed changes. "I do have reservations, because Danvers has gone to mandatory recycling," he said. Speliotis, who lives in Danvers, said he participates in the mandatory curbside recycling with plastic water bottles, but opts to bring soda cans and bottles back to the grocery store…
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Candidate for the Second Essex District Senate spot shares his plans if elected.
- OPINION
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The following was submitted by Edward Carroll. I am a candidate for the office of State Senator for the Second Essex District (i.e., Danvers, Peabody, Salem, Beverly, and Topsfield). I am running because I would like to see an increase in employment in the Second Essex District and I would like to see the residential property tax reduced or eliminated. Therefore, if I am elected, my proposal for the eyesore that is the present power plant in Salem would be to replace it with a casino/hotel complex. The site is a 65-acre parcel of waterfront land, which is sufficient space for a casino complex. The Salem harbor is a deep water harbor. Instead of unsightly coal ships, I envision international cruise ships entering and docking at our port. We…
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Do you think endorsements impact an election these days?
Recently, John Tierney was endorsed by the American Postal Workers Union. His opponent Richard Tisei was endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Tierney is also endorsed by the AFL-CIO, and Tisei is endorsed by former Gov. Paul Cellucci and Sen. Scott Brown. Both candidates are likely to gather several more high-profile endorsements. As are the candidates for state representative, state senator and U.S. Senate. What we want to know is: Does that matter? In 2012, with social media spreading campaign messages to millions every day and people's disengagement with traditional politics, does an endorsement of a candidate impact your vote? And do you think endorsements impact elections the way they used to? Comment and join the discussion. And…
Slattery is running for the state senate position for the 2nd Essex district.
- ELECTIONS
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The following is courtesy of John Slattery. The Slattery Campaign is honored to announce that the Massachusetts Nurses Association has endorsed John’s campaign to become the next State Senator for the 2nd Essex District, which includes the communities of Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, Salem and Topsfield. Donna Kelly Williams, RN, President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, in announcing the endorsement, stated, “The Massachusetts Nurses Association has endorsed John Slattery because he will be a strong advocate for nurses and will work for the continued improvement of health care services. Once elected, John will do all he can to support the passage of legislation which will ensure safe nurse staffing in our hospitals and advocate for…
Steve Marino
11:47 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Ya, the payroll tax isn't a tax either, just ask a liberal. more ›