BSO: Martin Reilly - The Untold Story

When former Springfield State Senator Marty Reilly died in July, his obituary was rightfully filled with praise. However, as so often happens in our fair Valley, when there comes a time to recall the past, certain details neglect to be mentioned and it often falls to me to fill in the blanks.

The list of people who have misrepresented the City of Springfield in the statehouse in Boston is a pretty bland parade of mediocrities interrupted only by the occasional outright crook. Marty Reilly was the rare exception, a good-humored workaholic who genuinely seemed to enjoy helping people solve their problems. Even his hair was perfect, although the photo accompanying his obituary shows it didn't last.

Being so devoted to serving others, Reilly appeared to have only one personal indulgence, a fancy sports car that he used to cruise between his unending schedule of public meetings. Some people said the vehicle looked a bit too ostentatious for a public servant, but most people took it as a reassuring sign that the kid had a life outside of legislative chambers.

And he was indeed sort of a kid - when he was elected to the Senate in 1980 he was only 24 years old, the youngest person ever to be elected to such a high position in Massachusetts. Reilly made a very good impression during his first term, so much so that he was never to have a single opponent in any of his subsequent re-election races. He would faithfully serve his district until he left office under a cloud in 1988.

Not coincidentally, 1988 happens to be the year that current south Valley congressman Richard E. Neal was elected to Congress to succeed Edward P. Boland, who had suddenly decided to retire from congress after decades of service. A name that was often mentioned as a major contender and rival of Neal for that very congressional seat was Martin T. Reilly. But as recorded in The Ogulewicz Chronicles, Reilly soon found himself suddenly pushed to the sidelines:

So 1988 looked to be the year Boland was likely to step down, and political maneuvering of all sorts was going on behind the scenes. Representative Lemanski, State Senator Martin Reilly and Springfield Mayor Richard Neal were regarded as the leading contenders to be Boland’s successor, although by the time Mitch attended the secret meeting in East Brookfield, Reilly had already been eliminated by an alleged banking scandal that had been featured prominently by the Springfield Newspapers. Although eventually cleared of all the ethics charges, the process of clearing his name took a long time and in the meantime Reilly’s political career was ruined.

It was a classic Springfield Newspapers hatchet job - lots of vague accusations about what sorta might be kinda possibly may be conflicts of interest presented in a sinister light without any direct evidence. They even used his sports car to hint that it was an indication of a suspiciously high-class lifestyle. That was a laughable thought to anyone who had experienced first hand Marty's almost monk-like devotion to public service, but the phony scandal managed to create a political atmosphere that not only blocked Reilly from entering the congressional race, but caused him not to seek re-election to the Senate.

Ultimately an ethics investigation returned a verdict declaring Reilly completely innocent of every single accusation made by the newspaper, but by then it was too late to make any difference - the mud had been splashed, the newspaper's candidate Richie Neal was in congress and Brian Lees was occupying Reilly's old senate seat.

At one point Reilly brought a lawsuit against the newspaper seeking damages for what the paper had done to him through their dark insinuations, but the paper claimed free speech rights and in the end nothing came of it. Eventually Reilly left the area, settled on Cape Cod and made good money working for the cruise line industry. Cruising on the high seas is probably as far as you can possibly get from the rough and tumble world of Springfield politics, which is probably just exactly where he wanted to be.

Rest easy, Marty.

Speaking of the Springfield Newspapers, here is a picture of their staff taken around 1980.

That photo comes from a recent, quite gossipy memoir by former reporter Daniel Golden, who worked for the paper in the early '80's. His portrayal of his former colleagues is not always particularly flattering, and you can read him dishing the dirt by clicking here.

Fall foliage through the window provides the backdrop for this jazz band playing at The Black Sheep Deli in Amherst this afternoon. photo by j. ziff