Democrats set to hear
candidates, OK gay marriage
They convene with eye
on the governor's race
By Frank Phillips,
boston.com from the Web. May 14, 2005
Boston -- With 15 years' worth
of failed gubernatorial races behind them, Massachusetts Democrats are gathering
in Lowell this weekend for the party's platform convention, where prospective
candidates will take center stage and the state party is expected to formally
endorse same-sex marriage.
The delegates will get to take the measure of three candidates who say they will
probably seek the party's 2006 gubernatorial nomination: Attorney General
Thomas F. Reilly, former federal civil rights enforcer Deval Patrick, and
Secretary of State William F. Galvin.
Another potential candidate also emerged or perhaps reemerged this week -- US
Representative Michael Capuano, who stepped back from a gubernatorial run early
this year. ''I haven't shut the door at 100 percent," he said in an
interview this week. ''I want to see how things develop."
Party leaders expect 2,500 delegates, more than the usual number that show up
for conventions in a nonelection year. The draw this year appears to be in
part the proposed plank that will endorse the legalization of same-sex marriage
and make the state's Democratic Party the third in the nation to take such a
position.
The plank is expected to be approved just three days before the first
anniversary of the implementation of the Supreme Judicial Court decision
legalizing same-sex marriages.
The move to endorse gay marriage in the platform is most popular among the
liberal activists who dominate the convention and has the backing of figures as
politically disparate as US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a liberal leader, and
Galvin, a moderate Democrat who has in the past drawn support from the more
conservative wing of the party.
Reilly, a onetime opponent of same-sex marriage who says he now supports it, is
noncommittal about adding the plank. Patrick backs adding the plank to the
party's platform.
But the proposal has riled some social conservatives, as well as US Senator John
F. Kerry, who opposes same-sex marriages. Several strong opponents of gay
marriage have said they will boycott the convention. But party leaders say
they do not expect any strong opposition to surface.
''Any move to block it would be overwhelmingly rejected," party chairman Philip
W. Johnston said, adding that the issue has not created a stir within party
ranks as it has in the news media. ''Democrats are solidly behind this,"
he said.
The convention will be the first important benchmark for the 2006 gubernatorial
campaign, in which the Democrats hope once again to recapture the governor's
office. The party has not won an election since Governor Michael S.
Dukakis ran for reelection in 1986 and won in a record landslide.
''Democrats are hungry for the corner office," Johnston said.
Looming over the convention is the decision that Governor Mitt Romney says he
will make this fall, whether to run for reelection or seek the presidency.
A 2006 gubernatorial campaign without Romney is favored by Democratic leaders,
who are buoyed by recent polls showing his popularity sagging. But they
also concede privately that he has formidable resources, including a
fund-raising operation, the bully pulpit of the office, and personal charm, and
he could mount a robust reelection campaign.
Off-year platform conventions rarely if ever are clear indicators of the
ultimate outcome of the race. For example, Joseph P. Kennedy III, then a
member of Congress and having been drawn into news coverage of his brother
Michael's personal problems, offered an apology in 1997 to the delegates as he
began to lay the groundwork for a gubernatorial race. But three months
later he pulled out. A parade of candidates at the 2001 convention did not
include Robert Reich, a former US labor secretary, but six months later he
jumped into the race and was a major factor in the campaign, placing a strong
second in the primary fight.
Still, the conventions can be important forums and testing grounds, particularly
for a newcomer like Patrick, whose candidacy has drawn interest among liberal
activists. The activists and party strategists will be closely watching
his five-minute speech and his glad-handing through the crowds in the Tsongas
Arena and at receptions.
''I've got butterflies, but I'm going to do my best," Patrick said this week as
he talked about what he hoped to get out of the event. ''It's an important
event."
Some think that Patrick, with his smooth speaking style and powerful
rags-to-riches life story, may generate a strong reaction from the delegates.
''He could sneeze, and they will declare it electrifying," said a veteran
Democratic office holder.
Over the last several weeks, Patrick has visited several local Democratic clubs
to introduce himself to party activists, often touting single-payer health care
as part of his speeches.
Patrick's challenge to Reilly -- and to Galvin, who says he is taking a strong
interest in the race -- is an uphill fight for the political neophyte. But
some party insiders say he has created excitement within party ranks,
particularly among liberals suspicious of Reilly because of his early opposition
to same-sex marriage and his support for the death penalty.
''Reilly is the one to beat," said Elizabeth Sherman, a fellow at Harvard's John
K. Kennedy School of Government and a former Democratic activist. Her
analysis of the race is that Patrick, who will lack the financial resources that
Reilly will have, needs to mount a grass-roots campaign.
Reilly made clear his intention to run yesterday, at a forum at Lowell High
School. Earlier this week, he said he welcomes the convention, but doesn't
consider it critical in what he says will be a long campaign. ''It is way
too early to predict anything," Reilly said. ''We have a long way to go.
I am taking it a day at a time."
Aides say Reilly will urge the Democrats to look beyond narrow ideological
issues and reach out to a broader base of voter support.
Reilly, who has built a high public profile as a district attorney and in seven
years as attorney general, is almost exclusively focused on raising funds and
keeping his campaign costs at a minimum. His aides say he hopes to end
this year with $4 million in the bank.'' It will take a powerful
grass-roots insurgency by Patrick to win," Sherman said. ''But these
things can happen. He could run an exciting campaign, but in the end the
money may well be the issue."
Globe correspondent Michael Busack contributed to this report.
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