Election Calendar
Posted by DickH on 23 Nov 2009 at 09:16 pm | Tagged as: 2010 Election, Beacon Hill
I found myself stuck in a waiting room for 90 minutes this morning with day-time TV as my constant companion. The programs were all forgettable, but I certainly made note of the barrage of Martha Coakley and Mike Capuano commercials that filled up every break. Without consulting the calendar, you just knew the election was only two weeks away.
Even though I don’t relish the thought of another election so soon after this month’s city election, this US Senate special election primary does mark the start of a year of intense political activity. Not only will 2010 be the year of a gubernatorial election, it will also see vacancies in several of the state’s Constitutional offices. If the polls are accurate, Martha Coakley will be heading to the United States Senate in January, leaving the office of Attorney General vacant. Tim Cahill has left the Democratic Party and is running for governor as an unenrolled candidate, leaving the office of Treasurer vacant. And Joe Denucci announced that he would not seek reelection as Auditor. That leaves (on the Democratic side) incumbents Deval Patrick for Governor, Tim Murray for Lt Governor, and Bill Galvin as Secretary of State.
With so many Constitutional offices without incumbents, the State Democratic Party nominating convention becomes critically important. Last I checked, a candidate must get the support of 15% of the delegates to that convention to even appear on the ballot for the primary election. And delegate selection takes place at local caucuses which are held in February.
So here are the important political dates that I see between now and the 2010 election:
December 8, 2009 – US Senate special election primary
January 4, 2010 – Lowell City Council inauguration and mayoral election
January 19, 2010 – US Senate special election
February 10-24, 2010 – local Democratic Party caucuses
June 4-5, 2010 – Massachusetts Democratic Party convention (DCU Center, Worcester)
September 21, 2010 (????) – State Primary
November 2, 2010 – General Election
And the Massachusetts Republican Party Convention (DCU Center, Worcester), or is this a Republican Free Zone?
Regards — Cliff
Cliff, we don’t want to exclude anyone here, so please add in Republican Party dates - for instance, when is the Republican convention?
While I (and the polls) seem to be handing Martha Coakley not only a win in the primary but the Senate seat outright, I was impressed with the “Scott Brown for US Senate” sign I spotted in my neighborhood. Instead of a website address, it said something like “text Brown to 68398″. (although it might have said “text Scott” - I only copied the number). Presumably, that will get you on some kind of text notification list. That’s only one tool of many in the internet campaign arsenal, but it’s nice to see it mentioned on an old fashioned lawn sign.
There is buzz that Bill Galvin wants the AG job, so that would leave his office empty as well.
Jen - I agree that there is a buzz about Galvin and the AG’s office but I’d be surprised if he really got in that race. Remember he’s had a few false starts in a run for Governor. He and his minions do a good job running the Secretary of State’s office and it’s a safe seat. The question is who would really get in the AG race - Steve Baddour? Eileen Donaghue? Speaker DeLeo? and who would get the nod for interim AG if Martha wins the Senate seat - and I think she will.
Marie.. that sounds like the arrogant Kevin Murphy referring to his seat as ’safe’.
Right-
You might think “my description” of the SOS seat as arrogant but I’m not the elected official - I’m just an observer of the political scene and that’s how I see it!
If Coakley gets the Senate seat there will be two AG contests this year - the first to fill out her term which is decided by the General Court in joint session, and the second for the next full term via usual procedures. Anyone interested in the next full term should be laying the groundwork now as there is less than a month between the Senate general election, for which Coakley is the prohibitive favorite, and the caucuses. I’ve heard it’s the interim AG slot that Galvin might seek and if so leaves all four downballot statewide offices up for grabs. I love watching the dominoes fall and see who moves up leaving vacancies of their own in their wakes.
Sorry… your description was not arrogant. I referred to Kevin Murphy being arrogant in saying his seat was safe. Happy Thanksgiving!