What if they held a special election and, relatively speaking, nobody came? It could happen. It actually could happen tomorrow with the uninspiring special Senate election that has been relegated to afterthought in the news and in the priorities of voters.
Ed Markey and Gabriel Gomez hit the homestretch of their US Senate campaign, with Gomez urging supporters not to take stock in polls showing him behind and Markey telling his backers not to be complacent. And complacent looks like an understatement. The Boston Herald’s Kimberly Atkins argues that both candidates are running against the same foe: “the fact that voters just don’t seem to give two figs about this election.”
It might be the focus of Bruins’ fans on the Stanley Cup as the team plays its first ever summertime hockey game, which will likely dominate page 1 of both dailies tomorrow if the Bruins win and extend it to Game 7. Markey, trying to ride the ice-bound boys of summer’s coattails, made a gaffe by suggesting tomorrow night will be a double victory celebration when both he and the Bruins celebrate clinching victories. But, as Eric Stratton said in Animal House, when Blutarsky (who, himself, would later become a senator) was giving his impassioned motivation speech about the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor: “Forget it, he’s on a roll.”
Maybe the murder investigation surrounding Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is drawing away much of the media resources that might otherwise be used chasing the candidates around the state. And just in time to knock the last day of campaigning off off page 1 is the defection of Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers. And that’s just the attention of sports fans being diverted.
The trial of James “Whitey” Bulger is doing the candidates no favors and, if it is having any impact, it probably has the most effect on Markey, reminding voters of the connections to another Democratic senator, William Bulger.
The abrupt emergence of summertime is having a dampening effect as well, much like the lead-up to September primaries and candidates trying to get voters’ attention while they fight Cape Cod traffic jams. Add to that the end of school in most cities and towns and the start of vacation and a confluence of events has done its utmost to keep “go to the polls” off most people’s to-do list for tomorrow.
Conventional wisdom, which is oftentimes neither, holds a low-voter turnout benefits the challenger the most. The opinion of the collective punditry is those satisfied or, at least, unoffended by the status quo are not as motivated as the upstart rabble who want change and want it now. As both sides have pointed out ad nauseum, all one has to do is look at the 2010 special election, when a little known back-bench state senator from Wrentham drove his pickup truck to victory over the Democratic machine by a 52-47 percent margin of victory.
That election had about a 53 percent voter turnout, meaning Scott Brown was elected over Attorney General Martha Coakley by about 28 percent of registered voters. That race, though, intensified over the last several weeks as Brown’s momentum caught the attention of the national media. The polls in this election show Markey with a consistent lead over Gomez, almost all in double digits. The polls are based on “likely voters,” but if that’s the case they’re pretty much surveying everyone who plans on casting a ballot.
Ballot fatigue is also likely having a significant effect. This will be the third election for senator in the last three years and the winner of this runs again in 2014. There’s also municipal elections coming up in the fall, at least four more special elections for the state Senate and House, not including the Eighth Suffolk, which is on tomorrow’s ballot; and the just completed annual town elections, some of which were held at the same time as the Senate primary. The Secretary of State’s office says the number of voters casting absentee ballots is running far behind what it was in the 2010 special election.
All in all, it would be hard to blame voters for feeling they’ve overdosed on politics.
–JACK SULLIVAN
BEACON HILL
Senate President Therese Murray says the Department of Revenue is part of the problem in drawing business to Massachusetts because the agency sometimes goes “beyond legislative intent.”
The Herald finds Andrea Cabral’s schedule to be considerably lighter than the calendars belonging to other cabinet secretaries.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Cambridge teachers reject a plan to extend the school day by one hour.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
Blue Mass Group’s David Kravitz, who can claim a law degree (and professional opera singing credentials) along with his role as one of the cofounders of the liberal blog, has an excellent, detailed backgrounder on three huge issues — affirmative action, same-sex marriage, and voting rights — on which the US Supreme Court is expected to hand down big decisions this week.
The Texas House gives initial approval to a sweeping abortion bill that would shutter most abortion clinics, the Dallas Morning News reports.
The Atlantic asks whether Democrats can take back the deep south.
ELECTIONS
The Salem News endorses Gabriel Gomez.
John Nucci spotlights the place of young downtown voters in the Boston mayor’s race. Larry DiCara and James Sutherland dug deep into the city’s new voters in this piece for CommonWealth’s spring issue, and in this CommonWealth Face to Face video chat.
CASINOS
The state gambling commission has spent millions of dollars already — money it has collected from would-be casino operators — to conduct wide-ranging background checks on casino applicants.
The MetroWest Daily News argues that the towns that can obtain mitigation agreements from Foxwood Massachusetts — Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, and Medway — if the firm gets a license to build a casino in Milford better get busy with their agreements and stop trying to wage an anti-casino battle that is over.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
A new study says the retirement crisis is worse than what many think, with the median retirement account holding just $3,000 and only 5 percent of households 55 to 64 having accounts sufficient to meet their needs.
Paul Levy says if you think hospital customer service is wanting, take a spin with Capital One.
EDUCATION
A Lowell Sun editorial criticizes the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston for refusing to rent a vacant school to the Lowell Collegiate Charter School, which needs space for a year before moving into its own location.
The Berkshire Eagle endorses a free summer academic program for students as a way to combat the “summer slide.”
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
An environmental group is hoping to place a question on the state’s 2014 ballot asking voters to approve a carbon tax on gasoline, heating oil, and other fossil fuels, a move that would make Massachusetts the first state in the country to add such a levy in a bid to combat climate change.
The world’s largest solar-powered boat arrived in Boston over the weekend.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
The lawyer for the Lawrence parking garage attendant accused of skimming receipts says his defense will come primarily from a recent audit that said the garage was poorly managed. The lawyer suggests a broken gate may have allowed months of free parking, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Friends and family of Michael McLaughlin submit letters showing another side of the former Chelsea Housing Authority official about to be sentenced, the Lowell Sun reports.
Whitey Bulger’s former FBI handler, John Connolly, reaches out from inside a Florida prison cell to insist that Bulger was, in fact, an FBI informant. Connolly also denies taking bribes from the gangster, or sanctioning murders by Bulger’s crew. Bulger’s lawyers want their gag order lifted.
Federal judges order California to release prisoners immediately to comply with an order requiring the prison population to be 137 percent of capacity, Governing reports.
The Wall Street Journal looks at crime lab woes across the country. Annie Dookhan naturally gets the lead.
MEDIA
Admitted liberal Dan Kennedy bemoans how his Twitter discussions on politics with two acquaintances, including conservative Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, turned into a “waste of time” when strangers join the conversation and launch 140-character attacks.
