Scandal Surfaces on the Campaign Trail

As the days pass on in the race for Massachusetts’ 10^th District, I figure it is important to focus more on the candidates and get deeper into the politics behind the race itself. That’s why this week I will be focusing on scandals surrounding Republican candidate Jeff Perry and how they have already been and will continue to be, ugly campaign issues in the upcoming weeks.

Perry is now a four-term Sandwich State Representative, but he has also had an extensive career in the state of Massachusetts. When Perry was a Wareham police sergeant he was supervising Officer Scott Flanagan when the patrolman illegally strip-searched two 16 year-old and 14 year-old girls, on two separate occasions. In 1993, Flanagan was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to indecent assault and civil rights violations. Perry supported Flanagan up until his guilty plea, saying he assumed Flanagan was innocent. What many find scandalous is that Perry was never charged with any crimes. He was named in two civil suits, but charges were never brought against him. According to newspaper reports, Perry’s 2010 recollections about the December 31, 1992 incident are contradictory to what was documented. He claims he notified his supervisor immediately about the ’92 incident, but records indicate that he didn’t do so until the following day, after the girl’s parents come to the station to file a complaint, that Perry filed the report to notify his supervisor.

                Another controversy surrounding Republican candidate Jeff Perry is regarding a claim from his 2002 campaign website. Controversy arose this year over the fact that in 2002 his website claimed he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with honors from “Columbia State University.” This is an unaccredited “diploma mill” that distributed fake diplomas until it was shut down by federal agents in 1998 after investigations showed evidence that CSU had absolutely no academic rigor. Recently, Perry has acknowledge that he paid CSU “several thousand dollars” after he was under the impression that it was actually an accredited institution. He later earned legitimate degrees from Curry College and New England School of Law.

                So after hearing the controversies surrounding Jeff Perry, what are your thoughts? Do you think these are legitimate reasons that he is unfit to represent that state of Massachusetts? Or do you think these are minor flukes that every candidate has hidden in his or her past?

Sources:

·         http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20100516dem_cop_scandal_will_haunt_jeffrey_perry_campaign_candidate_was_never_charged/

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Perry_(politician)#Wareham_police_controversy

Jeff Perry's "Wake Up Washington"

September 25, 2010
Wake Up Washington

Here's an example of how youtube and the internet are making it easier to spread the message and voice the ideas of the campaign....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW7eydtXoH4&feature=player_embedded

The Candidates Opinions on Policies and Issues

September 24, 2010
The Candidates Opinions on Policies and Issues



Republican Candidate PERRY on the campaign trail

           In the matter of a week, major changes have occurred in the race for the 10^th Congressional District of Massachusetts. The final results of the primary have been announced with Bill Keating winning the Democratic candidacy and Jeff Perry for the Republicans. Considering we are finally down to the wire, with the final two candidates announced, I figured it would be appropriate to go into the policies and ideals that these two candidates stand for.

            Bill Keating stands by the slogan “integrity, independence, and vision.” He plans to crack down on Wall Street abuses to keep our savings secure from another meltdown and will fight to create jobs by supporting small businesses and eliminating the barriers to hiring more workers. He wants to protect Social Security and our retirement savings from risky privatization schemes. Also, fighting for veterans and ensuring that they get the educational and health benefits that they have earned, including job training, access to loans, and additional assistance to veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, is an important goal for Keating.  He will vote to block wasteful spending and get the deficit under control by requiring offsets to new government spending.  Family is an important value to him and he vows to keep our families safe from the threat of terrorism by strengthening our intelligence capabilities and securing our borders. In terms of Perry’s policies on energy, he will protect the environment and create clean energy jobs in Massachusetts by investing in alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, and bio-fuels.

            On the other hand, Republican candidate Jeff Perry has very different values and ideals. He is a strong believer in a responsible free enterprise system that lowers taxes, promotes opportunity, and encourages economic growth. In terms of health care, he is opposed to the health care legislation passed in Congress because he believes it will raise taxes, increase government spending, and decrease the quality of the care. For education, he is a strong supporter for the choice of charter schools and reforms to the funding formulas. Also, he would like to invest more financial resources in enforcing immigration laws. There are also many other additional policy issues that he speaks on which are listed on his website.

            With less than two months until Election Day, the intensity of the campaign is sure to increase as the days go on. I plan on keeping you updated on the latest news and the battles that are sure to come. In the upcoming weeks I will be focusing on different issues by comparing and contrasting the positions that both of the candidates take on these topics. The race for the 10^th Congressional District of Massachusetts continues on!

Democratic Candidate KEATING

Sources:

http://www.billkeating2010.com/vision

http://jeffperryforcongress.com/issues

Final Results!

9/15/10

According to New York Times:

Results as of September 14th Primary

Republicans	Votes	Pct.
Jeff Perry	31,760	61%
Joe Malone	16,046	31%
Robert Hayden	2,363	5%
Ray Kasperowicz	2,242	4%

Democrats	Votes	Pct.
Bill Keating	29,324	51%
Rob O'Leary	28,363	49%

Primary Election Day in the 10th Congressional District of Massachusetts

9/14/10        

    Today is a big day! September 14, 2010 marks an important day in the race for the 10^th District of Massachusetts because it is finally the day of the primary. As of 10 PM tonight the results are not yet fully released, but I am anxiously awaiting them.  The primary represents an extremely significant part in the congressional election process.  The Republican and Democratic parties are about to face off in a heated race until the general election takes place in November.

            In the Republican primary, preliminary results show State Representative Jeff Perry with an early advantage over former State Treasurer Joe Malone and the two other Republican candidates (Robert Hayden and Ray Kasperowicz).  It has become pretty clear that Jeff Perry will easily take the Republican candidacy due to his extremely strong lead in the polls so far. Joe Malone will most likely be the runner-up because the other two candidates have very, very small support.

As far as the Democratic primary, State Senator Robert O’Leary and District Attorney William Keating are in a race that is too close to call at this point in time. I can’t wait to find out tomorrow who actually pulls this one off by the skin of their teeth. This race is going to come down to a matter of a few votes. In my opinion, I think that Bill Keating is going to narrowly win the primary at the last moment.

            Once the candidates have been narrowed down and the final results of the primary are announced, I will be very interested in watching the campaigns of these candidates unfold. In the past couple weeks I’ve had a difficult time covering this election because there have been so many candidates in the running for the 10^th District of Massachusetts. But, finally tomorrow the race will be narrowed down to just two.

These two candidates, the winners of the Republican and Democratic primaries, will face off in the general election on November 2, 2010 and we will find out who is going to succeed the current U.S. Representative William Delahunt.  Over the next few months I will do my best to keep you updated as much as possible on the status of the campaign trail between the Republican and Democratic candidates!

Video of Democratic Candidate Bill Keating's Primary Victory Speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asqtqkx3Q1g&feature=player_embedded

Republican Candidate Jeff Perry:

Sources:

*http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/features/x827973570/Perry-takes-Republican-primary-for-10th-congressional-district-seat

*http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/house/massachusetts/10

Congressional Elections

September 8, 2010

This semester I will be focusing my attention on the 10th congressional district of Massachusetts. This district includes the territories of the south shore, Cape Cod, and the islands. I chose Massachusetts's 10th congressinal district because it is my district at home and interests me the most since it is relevant to my life.

The 10th District has existed for hundreds of years, since 1795 to be exact. It has a poplation of over 630,000 people and is the most populated of all of Massachusetts's ten districts. It consists of over 934 square miles and is the second largest district in terms of area. The majority of the people residing in this district are White, making u 92% of the population, but there are also small percentages of Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American people. The population is 54% urban and 46% rural with a median income of $51,928.

The Cook Partisan Voting Index also referred to as the Cook PVI, measures how strongly a congressional district leans toward a political party compared to the nation as a whole. Massachusetts's 10th District scored a D+5 by the Cook PVI and it is the most conservative district in the state of Massachusetts, which is known for being an extremely Democratic state.

Bill Delahunt, a Democrat from Quincy, MA, has been representing this district since 1997. On March 5, 2010 he announced he would not be running for reelection. This caused a scramble among both Democrats and Republicans to succeed him. In April, Democratic State Senator Robert O'Leary announced he would be running for this seat. William Keating, a democrat and the District Attorney of Norfolk County, who is a former State Senator and former State Representative, is also in the running for the seat. There are a number of Republican and Independent candidates running for election for this district as well. I am excited to see the results of the primary next week so we can get this race started!

Because I have such a love for politics and because this race directly effects my life at home, I am interesed in learning more about these individual candidates and watching this race closely over the next few months. I am very excited that the incumbent is retiring because it creates an opportunity for change and for a new face to represent the 10th District of Massachusetts. Here we go!