Planet Brookline.
By Jim Conley • September 21st, 2006 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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While it’s the policy of this site to kick people in power only while they are up, we can’t resist noting this from former Brookline Selectman Deb Goldberg (on her campaign for Lt. Governor) in today’s TAB:
“We ran a hell of a campaign,” Goldberg told those who cheered for her at a post-election party Tuesday. “Whatever you hear, this was a woman from Brookline, who was a selectman, who ran a statewide race and gave a mayor from the second largest city a run for his money.”
A run for his money? Well, Murray had only a quarter of the $2.1 million (that Deb Goldberg sunk into her campaign) to work with, but managed to win by 9 percentage points statewide.
The hope coming out of the Patrick and Murray campaigns is that voters are choosing candidates based on genuine political engagement rather than the cynical manipulation of TV ads. And the hope in Brookline is that our local officials can divine what it means when a former Chair of the Board of Selectmen wins a plurality in only 6 out of the Town’s 16 precincts.
Perhaps the re-election of Selectman Michael Merrill can help further emphasize this point. Strong candidates wanted.
Update: I should have said Goldberg only won a majority in 6 of the 16 precincts. My bad.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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Counter to your assertion, the Town Clerk’s records show that Deb Goldberg won a plurality in every one of the town’s 16 precincts and won an absolute majority of those voting for Lieutenant Governor (including write-ins, excluding blanks) in 9 of the 16 precincts.
Even accepting Veritas’ way of counting the votes, winning only 9 of 16 precincts in Brookline indicates that Goldberg’s base of support in her hometown was thin at best. Moreover, the fact that many Brookline voters showed up to the polls, saw Goldberg’s name on the ballot, and chose to leave their ballots blank says something negative about Goldberg’s base of support and the strength of her candidacy. Counting all ballots cast, Goldberg votes totaled 45% in precinct 1, 49% in precinct 3, 45% in 5, 46% in 6, exactly 50% in precinct 8 (hmmm, my vote made a difference!), 45% in 10, 47% in 11, 46% in 12, 40% in 13, 47% in 14, 49.8% in precinct 15. You can’t expect to win a statewide election with such tepid support from your own hometown. So the question remains, why didn’t Brookline support Goldberg?
I see it as a vote of no confidence in the town government insiders and the real estate developers that composed Goldberg’s true base of support. The lesson from this election for any town politician who aspires for higher office (Bobby?), put people first — in deeds not just words. Identify who your constituents are — the people of this town, not the real estate developers — and serve them. You do that, and we will be appreciative and stand behind you.
Lux