Updates on the Race

After a month-long hiatus from the blog, Replacing Barney is back.  Here are some updates on the race.

Bielat is in

On January 17th, Sean Beilat announced he is running (again) to replace Barney in the 4th district–only this time, Barney is not his opponent. The businessman and former Major in the U.S. Marine Corps lost to Frank in 2010 by 25,000 votes. But with a redrawn district and an open field, Bielat seems to like his chances.

Bielat told the Herald, “I think we started something last time. I think we made some big gains, but we didn’t get the job done…We had a lot of people excited in Massachusetts about the race.”

Baring the entry of another Republican big-wig, Bielat is the favorite to take the Republican nod. As the only serious challenger to Barney in decades, he still carries decent name recognition in the district. Bielat enjoyed the support of a mobilized Tea Party in 2010, still riding the high of a Scott Brown victory.  He is well spoken and well educated (Georgetown BA, Harvard MPP, UPenn Wharton MBA). His biggest pitfall are his weak ties to the district. After his loss in 2010, Bielat moved back to Pennsylvania. He only came back to Norton following Barney’s announcement.

On January 13th, Barney hit upon this very issue in a Facebook post. Of course, his did it in his usual Frank tone (I promise to limit these puns).

“My opponent in 2010, Republican Sean Bielat, moved to Massachusetts to run against me and then moved back to Pennsylvania after he lost the race. He must have moved to Punxsutawney. When he didn’t see my shadow – I decided to retire at the end of my current term – he did a U-turn and headed back to Massachusetts to run again. Groundhog Day comes early this year.”

Bielat’s team responded in a tweet: “Prediction: Barney Frank will be our top fundraiser for the next 6 weeks.” The campaign then went on to capitalize on Frank’s post with a sharp fundraising e-mail.  The Other McCain Blog covered this exchange well–I urge you to take a look.

Kennedy Committee up and Running, Joe Settled in Brookline

After scaring every major 4th District Dem out of the race (good-bye Mike Ross), Kennedy has been busy preparing for an announcement. He has hired a campaign manager and spokesman (Nick Clemons), enlisted the help of Liberty Square Group (run by Ted Kennedy’s former Chief-of-Staff), spent a handful of cash on a web site, and launched a Twitter account and Facebook page.

But most notably, he has settled down with his fiancé in Brookline. The Brookline Tab reported, “An employee at the town clerk’s office confirmed that Kennedy came in yesterday to register to vote, listing his new address as 60 Greenough Street, not far from Brookline High School. The employee said Kennedy was very polite and said they didn’t talk about his potential campaign.”

Kennedy has been fundraising and visiting town committees left and right (mostly left). Watch for an announcement in the beginning of March.

A Crowded Field of Democrats

Michael A. Burstein, a Brookline Library trustee and science fiction writer, announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a 4th district congressional run as a Democrat. His announcement also appeared on a poorly made website for his campaign. Expect the list of no-names to grow, and then share in the small percent of anti-Kennedy vote.

Brookline’s Elizabeth Childs (R) Hits the Campaign Trail

With 8 months to go before the primary election, the campaign trail is rather unbeaten.

Elizabeth Childs is looking to change that.

In what is (to my knowledge) the first campaign stop of 4th district race, Dr. Elizabeth Childs will be the featured speaker at the Dover Republican Town Committee on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Dover Town Library.

Elizabeth Childs is the only announced Republican candidate, and she is aiming to beat the odds in the deep blue 4th district. It is likely you have not heard of Childs. But her credentials are nothing at which to scoff.

She is a physician and small business owner, she has an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, and she has been involved with Massachusetts government for nearly a decade. In 2003, Gov. Romney appointed her to serve as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. She has also been a Brookline School Committee Member since 2009. She also serves as a member of the Board of Early Education and Care, appointed by both Romney and Deval.

Childs has been in this race since before Rep. Frank dropped out. Her biggest challenger for the Republican nod will likely be Sean Bielat, who still has decent name recognition from his last campaign. Childs has yet to make any headlines or receive any traction, but she looks to be turning to the ground game to change that.

The issues section of her website clarifies the logical tone of her campaign: “The Economy and Job Growth.” She mentions removing burdensome regulations and simplifying the tax code–but she fails to offer event a hint of detail. She also advocates for some form of universal healthcare, but she rejects Obama’s Affordable Care Act arguing for a state-by-state solution.

Parts of her platform reveal ignorance on issues outside of the Commonwealth. “The world is a dangerous place,” she writes. “America has its friends, but we also have enemies.” This vague rhetoric just won’t cut it.