To paraphrase an old cliché, the rumors of Daniel S. Botelho’s political death are greatly exaggerated.
The non-party candidate announced this week that there is no truth to the rumor he was suspending his campaign for the Ninth Congressional District race — a rumor, he said, is being spread by one of his two opponents, though he declined to specify whether he meant Congressman William R. Keating (D) or Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth.
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In politics, context is everything — or, another way to put it: a lack of context is everything.
For example: Republican Thomas F. Keyes recently issued a statement chiding his opponent Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) for “snubbing” Falmouth by declining to participate in the October 24 candidates’ night sponsored by the fine ladies of the League of Women Voters of Falmouth.
Mr. Keyes opined that Sen. Murray is dodging Falmouth voters due to her past support (which she later withdrew) of a proposal to expedite onshore wind turbine siting. The town has had many well-reported problems with two town-owned turbines negatively impacting abutters, and Mr. Keyes believes Sen. Murray does not want to face them.
While he does acknowledge that Sen. Murray is hosting “a conference” in Boston that same day, he does not note that the two-day event at the State House is on the US-EU Memorandum of Understanding on eHealth. The conference is a huge networking opportunity for the Massachusetts health care industry and could have some serious economic development impacts for the state.
Is it a shame she is passing on the debate? Absolutely, especially since the biennial League forum is always an informative and well-run evening, but to accuse her of “snubbing” Falmouth voters so she can host a major conference that has been on her schedule since June is a bit of a cheap shot.
But, to end on a positive note, the League’s candidates’ night an excellent time, politically speaking, and I highly recommend it to voters who would like to learn more about the folks running for office. It will be held at the Morse Pond School in Falmouth beginning at 7 PM.
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Pizza party! Wooooo!
State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) is throwing a pizza party fundraiser on Monday at Two Brothers Pizza in Sandwich. The open event runs from 5 to 7 PM and campaign donations are optional but appreciated.
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Finally, Eric R. Steinhilber, candidate for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners, this week picked up an endorsement from Mary LeClair, a 13-year veteran of the board.
“Cape Cod will be best served with Eric Steinhilber as a County Commissioner,” Ms. LeClair said in a press release. “Eric will listen and be a thoughtful, well-rounded leader on the issues facing our community.”
Well, he’ll be well-rounded if he can effectively address issues other than the “MWRA on Cape Cod” spiel he’s been throwing out lately, but we’ll all find that out next week when I’ll have my profile of the candidate.
Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.
