Outlaws On The Run

Gunn, Asselin and Dawson

In the normal course of events, politicians are first elected to office and then they get arrested. But here in the bizarro world of Valley politics, first comes the perp walk, then comes the nomination papers.

Local Tea Party hero Bill Gunn

Yet an arrest record may actually work to the advantage of William Gunn of Ware, who will officially announce this weekend that he is running for U.S. Congress against incumbent John Olver. Gunn came to national attention last month when he was arrested in the balcony of the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. for yelling at the lawmakers below to "Kill the Bill" meaning the government healthcare takeover legislation which was under consideration at the time. Gunn and his companion in civil disobedience, Dave Sanders of Wilbraham, became instant folk heroes among the quite active Tea Party movement here in the Valley. Gunn summarizes his campaign platform as follows:

I am running for the position of United States Representative for the first district of Massachusetts. I am currently collecting signatures and I can use all the help I can get.

We are going to oust John Olver, and the PEOPLE are going to take back the house. The house of representatives is supposed to be comprised of CITIZEN REPRESENTATIVES; people like you and me. It is time to show a renewed reverence for the Constitution and bring spending under control and actually CUT SPENDING ON EVERY GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.

The tax burden needs to be reduced, and if any are going to pay an income tax, ALL must pay an income tax. Only then will the majority of the people start voting for fiscal restraint.

Can Gunn win? Olver has faced better known challengers in the past and won re-election handily, but this is an unpredictable year when the winds of change are blowing at gale force. Gunn will also get a ton of free publicity when his case goes to trial. However, former State Representative Christopher Asselin of Springfield is unlikely to be able to turn his former arrest record into a political plus, but that hasn't stopped him from announcing that he will be running to reclaim his old job. As explained by Masslive:



With 18 months in prison, $140,000 in restitution and one major corruption scandal behind him, former state Rep. Christopher P. Asselin is primed for a political comeback.

Breaking a long public silence, the 40-year old Democrat announced on Monday that he is considering running for his old seat in the 9th Hampden District, which straddles the Springfield and Chicopee border.

Asselin, the youngest son of a well-known political clan, won two terms on Beacon Hill before being named in a 122-count indictment accusing him, his father, mother, wife, four siblings and others of looting the taxpayer-financed Springfield Housing Authority for a decade.

After pleading guilty to bribery, theft and fraud conspiracy charges in 2007, Asselin was given an 18-month prison term. His father, Raymond, director of the authority until 2004, was ordered to serve 10 years behind bars.

Here is the first half of an interview with Asselin yesterday on the Bax and O'Brien Show, in which Asselin comes out swinging by essentially accusing incumbent Sean Curran of being a liar and a phony.

 



Here's the second half, where O'Brien asks Asselin about his alleged "mental issues":



Can Asselin rise from the ashes? Well, Springfield makes up most of the district, and Springfield voters are notorious for electing and re-electing bad guys, so it's impossible to say that Asselin has no chance. But incumbent Curran is popular, and is sure to remind voters of all the sordid details of the Asselin scandal. I would put Chris Asselin's chances at no better than one in three.

 

But to top it all off, after a sordid domestic scandal last year devolved into incidents of public violence that sank the re-election hopes of Agawam Mayor Susan Dawson, most observers thought that her political career was over. Not so, apparently, as Dawson is now running for State Senate! But hey, if Gunn can be arrested in the halls of Congress and run as a hero, and Asselin can walk out of prison and announce his own race, then why shouldn't Dawson run as well? Agawam voters delight in dirty politics and she was the mud-wrestling queen they loved to hate. The electorate may choose Dawson just for her future entertainment value.

 

I took these pictures in Northampton's Haymarket Cafe early this morning.

Portraits on the Haymarket wall.

 



Haymarket staircase. 

Spfld Primary Fiasco 2007

Stupidity triumphs again. 

 



The City of Springfield's primary election results are in, and the vote totals did nothing to dispel the city's reputation for having the dumbest electorate in the Valley. In a major embarrassment, political has-been Morris Jones, who was accused of accepting a bribe in the Asselin corruption scandal, actually finished in the top nine, making his campaign proof once again that in Springfield crime pays.

But then, maybe the electorate didn't know about the sworn testimony given about Jones' bribe taking, because the only three information sources voters had to inform them of that fact was me, myself and I. In an act of stunning irresponsibility by the local media, no one besides me brought the accusations against Jones into their campaign coverage. It is ridiculous that I was the only source the public had to obtain the information they needed in order to evaluate the Jones comeback attempt.

Here are the tragic results, and my initial reaction.

JOSE TOSADO - 2,490 - Oh no! If this first place finish holds in November, Tosado, an unrepentant Albano stooge, will be a top contender for mayor in 2009.

PATRICK MARKEY - 2,252 - The only real bright spot of the results was the unexpectedly high vote totals for Markey, who some suggest may become Charlie Ryan's hand-picked heir. If these results hold in November, 2009 is shaping up as a Markey vs. Tosado contest.

TIM ROOKE - 2,199 - Another pleasant surprise, since Rooke doesn't usually do this well. At least voters have rewarded the only Councilor to publicly apologize to the city for his past support of Albano.

WILLIAM FOLEY - 2,140 - Richie Neal's cousin's seat appears safe. The sky is also blue and the grass is green.

BRUCE STEBBINS - 1,950 - This is the man who really should have finished first, but this showing is at least high enough to suggest his seat is safe.

BUD WILLIAMS - 1,945 - The easy re-election of this Councilor every two years remains an electoral mystery.

JAMES FERRERA - 1,910 - Can anyone explain to me why they voted for this person?

MO JONES - 1,845 - If this result holds up in November Springfield will be the laughing stock of the Valley - and will deserve to be.

ROSEMARIE MAZZA-MORIARTY - 1,830 - Her ninth place finish means she will be the incumbent every challenger will be gunning for.

KATERI WALSH - 1,762 - The only incumbent to finish out of the top nine, her seat appears to be in danger.

CLODO CONCEPCION - 1,711 - Nipping at Kateri's heels, this was a surprisingly strong showing.

KAREN POWELL - 1,582 - A surprisingly weak showing by someone who was arguably the best challenger on the field. Powell remains within striking distance of winning a seat, but she'll have to campaign twice as hard.

HAMILTON WRAY - 1,350 - About what he did in past races, so although a decent total he gets little momentum out of it.

PETER LAPPIN - 1,340 - Voters were surprisingly cool to this comeback attempt by an old political veteran.

CHARLES RUCKS - 1,228 - Another disappointing total for someone who deserved to do much better.

VERA O'CONNOR - 1,214 - Her chances of a November victory are low.

GLORIA DEFILLIPO - 1,205 - The conventional wisdom was that she would do much better. This showing probably puts her out of the running.

JOHN LYSAK - 902 - At 18th Lysak survives to fight on, but his victory chances now appear bleak.

LORENZO GAINES - 802 - A poor campaign kept him below the political radar and now out of the race, but I predict we'll hear from him again.

ROBERT UNDERWOOD - 598 - His campaigns are entertaining, but not credible. Yet I predict this is not his last race.

It is important to remember that the turnout in November will be much higher than it was today, and no one can predict with certainty what those new voters will do. Tomorrow I may have more reflections to make on the results. But in the meantime, Springfield voters have once again embarrassed themselves before the rest of the Valley.

Springfield Fish That Got Away

 

In an unsigned article in the Valley Advocate last week in their "Splash" section, someone who may or may not have been Maureen Turner wrote about the declining drama of the Springfield, Massachusetts corruption investigations, stating:

Perhaps the disappointment comes from the creeping sense that, after years of providing the best show in town, the feds have more or less closed up shop in their public corruption probe. While we've seen a flurry of convictions of late, it's been a long time since we've been treated to a nice, juicy indictment - and there are plenty of creeps still hanging around the city who deserve one.

Oh yes, indeed there are! And if in fact the probe has petered out (although never underestimate the FBI) then what better time to take stock of the fish who got away. Here's an incomplete listing:

Congressman Richard Neal - In the 1990's corruption probe by former State Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, both the Washington Post and the Boston Globe reported that the real target of the investigation was Congressman Neal. Even the Springfield Newspapers admitted as much, but only after the probe was safely over.

Harshbarger failed to bag his congressman because longtime Neal crony and confidant Francis Keough, after at first promising to co-operate with Harshbarger as part of a plea bargain, developed a bad case of amnesia. Perhaps more importantly, Harshbarger developed a bad case of gubernatorial ambition, and feared that pressing the probe would alienate the Western Mass Democrat machine. Although Harshbarger backed off, it still left hard feelings. When Harshbarger ran for Governor in 1998, at Neal's instruction the local Dems sat on their hands as a act of vengeance.

So when later the FBI came around, it seemed like common sense that they would pick up the ball where Harshbarger had dropped it and go after Neal again. That seemed especially likely when another key Neal ally, Raymond "Papa Ray" Asselin went down in a hail of indictments. The Asselins were handling a lot of federal funds administered through federal programs, meaning a close working relationship between Neal and Asselin was essential. Did that close relationship lead Neal to know anything about all the dirty deals that went down?

When shortly after his arrest Asselin was spotted prominently dining with Neal at The Fort restaurant, it was seen by many as an important signal to the local Democrat machine members: We're standing by the Asselins so KEEP YOUR MOUTHS SHUT! Apparently it worked, as no prominent local Democrat ever spoke against either of them. Although wiretaps insured that nothing could save Papa Ray from a lengthy prison term, amazingly not a drop of mud ever splashed on Richie.

Mayor Michael Albano - Oh how his enemies salivated at the thought of watching the TV footage of the former Hizzoner being taken away in handcuffs. But although almost the entire top echelon of his administration were either disgraced, indicted or convicted, Albano himself somehow escaped scot free. However, he cannot escape the judgement of local historians, who will certainly declare him to be the worst mayor in the history of Springfield.

Rep. Saco Catjakis - In his heyday he was a Mr. Fixit known to have his fingers in many pies. His indictment seemed a certainty after federal agents raided his home, but to everyone's surprise no charges were ever filed.

Atty. Raipher Pellegrino - Once regarded as the wonderboy of Springfield politics, former City Councilor Raipher fell in with a bad crowd, namely Albano and his pals the Ardolino brothers. By the time the voters threw him out of office, Raipher was known as a cynical deal maker whose name was associated with numerous shady and controversial affairs. People expected that a series of indictments would clear the air, but while the feds made it obvious that they were looking at him very closely, in the end nothing happened.

Ray Jordan - Even while he was in office charges of conflicts of interest dogged this former state rep. It seemed natural that as the feds did their homework that they would take an interest in his controversies. Not only did that not materialize, but Jordan, never known for his humility, now brazenly poses as an elder statesman in the Sarno for Mayor campaign.

Robert McCollum- The plunging of the city into debt over the building of palatial school buildings of dubious need came to symbolize the wild fiscal irresponsibility of the Albano years. Overseeing it all was former School Committee member McCollum, who also served as the affirmative action enforcer, deciding who would get the fat plums awarded strictly on the basis of skin color. As one minority contractor told me who refused to participate in bidding after dealing with McCollum, "No white supremacist would have made me grovel before him like McCollum expected you to do to get those affirmative action set-aside contracts." With so much money involved, and so many enemies, it seemed impossible for McCollum not to get caught in the web; and investigators did indeed give the school construction program a serious look. Yet McCollum never did the perp walk.

And no doubt there were others, with ties to these big fish, who perhaps should have gone down as well. However, it looks like they all swam safely away. Or did they? Francis Keough thought he was home free when the Harshbarger probe fell through, only to find himself heading to prison at a later date. Who knows who may yet face a similar fate?