New England Public Radio

Springfield Activists Wrestle With Warren’s Committee Vote For Ben Carson

A Springfield community activist said he was initially shocked that Massachusetts U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren voted in committee this week to confirm Dr. Ben Carson – President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In a Facebook post, Warren – who’s a Democrat — explained that Carson made promises to her in the nomination process, and she plans to hold him accountable.

Organizer Jafet Robles is with the group Neighbor To Neighbor. He was part of a rally earlier this week thanking Warren for standing up to trump’s cabinet nominees. He said he feels conflicted about Warren’s decision.

“Part of me says, you know, I wish she would have just fought and rejected him,” Robles said. “But realistically, a lot of these people are going to get in anyway, so I think she’s in a tough position to make some really tough decisions right now.”

Robles said his organization will now decide whether to protest Warren’s backing of Carson.

Activists plans to gather every Tuesday outside the Springfield offices of Senators Warren and Ed Markey.

 

Hopes And Expectations From Some Western Mass. Trump Supporters

At noon on Friday, Republican Donald Trump will become President of the United States. In last year’s election, every county in Massachusetts went for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Still, more than a million Bay Staters voted for Trump. Ahead of his inauguration, we wanted to hear from some Trump supporters in Western Massachusetts on their hopes and expectations for his presidency.

Craig and Rachie Vermes live in Ludlow. They both work at local hospitals. There’s a Trump campaign sign and an American flag in their front yard.

Craig is an antique collector. He restores a lot of old machinery. He has a soft spot for old telephones. Vermes said his love of antiques goes back to his teens. His admiration of Donald Trump goes back a few decades too, to when he first read The Art of the Deal.

“As a businessman, he’s just a phenomenal and compassionate guy,” Vermes said. “When I first heard that he was running, I started supporting him right then.”

Trump ran on the idea of making America great again. But Vermes sees Trump as something new, not nostalgic, in Washington.

“Trump owes no one anything,” Vermes said. “He doesn’t owe anyone any back deals, he’s not even going to accept a salary. So he’s in it for America, he’s not in it to make money for himself. He’s got billions. He doesn’t need any more money.”

Vermes is excited for a shake-up of what he sees as widespread corruption in Washington. He likes Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp.” At the same time, he’s a big fan of his Democratic congressman, Richie Neal, who’s been in Washington since the late 1980s.

“I’m hoping, for Western Mass., that if our congressman and our senators can work with Mr. Trump, I think that would be a great thing,” Vermes said.

Craig and Rachie Vermes at their home in Ludlow. (Henry Epp for NEPR)

Craig’s wife Rachie grew up in Taiwan. She moved to the United States over a decade ago to pursue a graduate degree. Now she’s a United States citizen, and immigration was at the forefront of her support for Donald Trump.

“If the government says we will give all free benefits to all illegal immigrants, then what about us? We followed the rule,” she said. “I think the government should take care of legal immigrants first and their own citizens, then we can consider about other things.”

Since the election, there’s been a sense of anxiety and fear from many groups that felt Trump’s campaign set an offensive tone — of racism, sexism, Islamophobia. I asked Craig and Rachie what they’d say to people who are scared of Trump’s presidency. Craig rejected the notion that Trump himself is biased toward any group.

“If somebody’s afraid, if somebody’s concerned, I think what they’ve got to do is be properly educated and not listen to these 60-second blurbs on the news, and look at the actual facts to this and who’s saying it,” Craig said.

Rachie said it’s easy to be scared these days, especially with the way things are shared on the Internet.

“There are so many…laws [that] protect us here. If he puts out some law…I’m sure we will have communities, lawyers working together to examine the fairness of the law,” Rachie said. “But you cannot just sit [at] home and read [the] Internet and say ‘I’m so scared.’ Scared of what? Scared of [the] future? Everybody’s scared of [the] future.”

Craig and Rachie Vermes both said they felt silenced during the election — especially at work — where they say they were surrounded by vocal Clinton supporters. Now, Rachie said, it’s time for everyone to give Trump a chance.

“Obama had not only four years, but eight years of chance to take care of [the] country. Now we can give this person four years to see how he does,” Rachie said. “If we don’t like him, if he fail[s] us, in four years, we will let him know. Hopefully, he will bring some fresh air, fresh idea[s], fresh set of viewpoints to our government.”

Former Springfield Mayoral Candidate Weighs In

I found Craig and Rachie Vermes through searching Donald Trump’s federal campaign finance records for contributions from Western Massachusetts. There were some notable local names in those records: Eugene Cassidy, head of the Big E, and Peter Salerno, the executive director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Cassidy declined a request for an interview. Salerno and I played phone tag, but he ultimately did not respond to a request to comment.

There was another somewhat recognizable name from the Springfield area who was willing to talk: Sal Circosta. He ran for mayor in 2015, losing to Domenic Sarno. Circosta said he came around to support Trump late in the Republican primary.

“After some consideration, I just said, ‘You know what? This is so much opposite of what we usually get, this might be a breath of fresh air for us in politics.'”

I met Circosta at La Fiorentina, an Italian pastry shop in Springfield’s South End. Circosta is Italian-American, and he said for the first time he can remember, every member of his family voted for the same presidential candidate. So what attracted them to Trump?

“Plain speaking,” Circosta said. “Italians are known to speak very bluntly. Not always the most charitable group of people, but they speak what’s on their mind. My mother and father, I never had a question [of] what they thought. They made it very blunt with me.”

Sal Circosta at La Fiorentina in Springfield.

Trump’s bluntness, Circosta said, looked strong, and that translated into votes. For Circosta, there’s also policy substance to his support of Trump. Most notably, he’s pro-life — against abortion. He’s also hopeful that Trump can help struggling cities, and as a veteran of the National Guard, he believes Trump will support the military.

But for a supporter, Circosta has one interesting descriptor for the president-elect. We got to the subject of the infamous Access Hollywood tape. Circosta said those were the words of a narcissist. I asked if that was a concern to him — that someone he considers a narcissist is going to be president. He said it’s not.

“He’s a pragmatic narcissist,” Circosta said. “I don’t even know if that’s a term, maybe I just invented it. I’ll have to trademark it. But as a pragmatic narcissist, he wants to make sure that he does things to make himself look good. There’s no doubt that Donald Trump wants to go down as the greatest president in U.S. history. I think that’s a good thing!”

Circosta said he knows Trump has been divisive through the campaign and the transition, but he hopes he changes course.

“We have an extremely divided country right now,” Circosta said. “He says some nice things that I think are going to help unite us, but then the next day he’ll say something idiotic that divides us again. I want to see if he uses his office to unite our country as one American people again.”

We’ll all see if and how Donald Trump attempts to do that in his inaugural address.

 

 

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill: What The Election Means For Mass. Politics

In last week’s election, Republican Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker did not vote for president, but he took strong stands on two major ballot issues. He supported the charter school expansion question, and opposed marijuana legalization. Both of those went the opposite way of what he would have liked.

So what are the political implications of the election results for Governor Baker? For more, we turned to reporter Matt Murphy of the State House News Service.

Click the audio player above to hear NEPR’s Henry Epp speak with Matt Murphy of the State House News Service. Henry asked Matt about the future of the charter school debate in Massachusetts after voters rejected the ballot question.

What Happens To Incumbents’ Campaign Money When There’s No Major Campaign To Run?

This election, just four of the nine House members of Massachusetts’ all-Democratic congressional delegation face Republican opponents. Worcester Congressman Jim McGovern is running completely unopposed, while Springfield Representative Richie Neal faces an Independent and a Libertarian challenger.

NEPR’s 2016 Voter Guide

Yesterday, we reported on the reasons why the Republican Party is skipping these races. One of the big factors is money. Jim McGovern has more than $450,000 in his campaign account. Richie Neal has over $3 million.

Congressman Richie Neal announces a grant for Springfield Technical Community College in October.
Congressman Richie Neal announces a grant for Springfield Technical Community College in October.

Recently, I caught up with Congressman Neal when he announced a federal grant for Springfield Technical Community College. He says raising campaign money is a reality for members of Congress, especially after Citizens United, which could leave him more vulnerable if he’s ever challenged by a well-funded opponent.

“Fundraising has really been transformative, and not to miss the point, it is a year-round endeavor,” Neal said.

He’s not kidding. Neal has received over $1.6 million since January of 2015. So if he has no active campaign, where does that money go?

Some of it goes to running a fundraising operation. According to Neal’s federal campaign finance filings, that includes office supplies, consultant fees, travel reimbursements and over $8,000 spent on flowers. Then there’s another big item.

“It’s kind of expected that they will turn over a few hundred thousand dollars to the party committees,” said Robert Boatright, a political science professor at Clark University. He said members of Congress can give unlimited amounts of money to their party’s campaign committee.

“That has really been the main vehicle by which the party campaign committees in the House and the Senate raise money,” Boatright said. “The Democrats, in particular, have been very organized about this.”

The numbers for Congressmen Neal and McGovern prove that. Neal has sent $300,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this election cycle. McGovern has given $200,000. According to Congressman Neal, the committee serves an important purpose: recruit new candidates and protect Democratic incumbents facing a serious challenge.

“It’s sort of like the Colgate Invisible Shield,” said Neal.

Just like brushing your teeth, Neal said, fundraising must be kept up regularly.

“You have to, on a year-round basis, provide the infrastructure to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to make sure that they have the resources to recruit and elect Democratic candidates,” Neal said.

I asked whether there’s a certain dollar amount the party expects from him.

“I think it’s very clear that the Democratic leader expects the Democratic family to do their share,” Neal answered.

So that’s why a safe incumbent like Neal does so much fundraising, but who is giving the money? Most of Neal’s funding comes from political action committees representing different interest groups, corporations and unions. And some comes from individual donors like Marilyn Yager.

Marilyn Yager, attorney at Alston & Bird LLP.
Marilyn Yager, attorney at Alston & Bird LLP.

“[Neal has] actually been a friend for a long time, and I do have other folks in Congress who began as friends before I did any work with them on the advocacy side,” Yager said.

Yager is a D.C attorney who lobbies for health care companies and hospital groups, including the Massachusetts Hospital Association. Yager told me she met Neal when he was a freshman congressman in the 1980s. In June, she donated $2,500 to Neal’s campaign, and said she sometimes advises him on policy.

Yager insisted she doesn’t expect her gift to sway Congressman Neal on any particular issue. Same goes for Bruce Percelay, a Boston-based real estate developer. He gave Neal $1,000 in June, and said he likes his record on business.

Bruce Percelay, Chairman and Founder of the Mount Vernon Company.
Bruce Percelay, chairman and founder of the Mount Vernon Company.

“There was an old line that Democrats love employees, they just hate employers,” Percelay said. “He is not one of those people. He gets it.”

Percelay also said he’d like to see a lower corporate tax rate. “To punish companies for their success is counterproductive,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congressman Neal told me one of his top priorities for the next term is tax reform.

“President Obama has said we need to address a lower corporate rate,” Neal said, “and at the same time, acknowledge that America, we have five percent of the world’s population, and on an international basis, we need in this atmosphere of globalization to make sure we’re competitive.”

If he’s re-elected, Neal will be in a good position to work on that. He’ll start his 25th year on the House Ways and Means Committee, where he also serves on the subcommittee on tax policy.

 

Governor’s Race In Vermont Highlights Today’s State Primary Races

Today, voters in Vermont and Connecticut go to the polls for state primary elections. In Connecticut, twelve state legislative districts are contested. In Vermont, both Republicans and Democrats will make their picks to replace outgoing Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin.

RESULTS: Vermont Public Radio

We check in with Vermont Public Radio political reporter Peter Hirschfeld. He says on the GOP side, Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott – the most prominent elected Republican in a very blue state – is looking to take Vermont’s corner office, and hoping to beat out a challenge by former Wall Street Executive Bruce Lisman.

Five Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination: Matt Dunne, Cris Ericson, Peter Galbraith, Sue Minter and H. Brooke Paige.

Click the audio player above to hear VPR’s Peter Hirschfeld talk with NEPR’s Henry Epp about the Vermont primary races.

 

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker faces a new political challenge in the months ahead: working with Beacon Hill Democrats to get what he wants during crunch time in the 2015-2016 session while also working to unseat some of those same Democrats with members of the Republican grassroots he’s trying to cultivate with his recent takeover of the GOP state committee. The approaching presidential election, which is shaping up as a battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, further complicates things for Baker. A high turnout election in which Clinton would be favored in Massachusetts would not necessarily bode well for down-ballot Republican candidates.

The week ahead will bring some definition to any potential Team Baker slates of legislative candidates. Given the 125-34 advantage Democrats hold in the House and their 33-5 margin in the Senate, Republicans have a long way to go to reach the kind of numbers they’d need to be able to sustain a GOP governor’s veto on a party line vote. With the full 160 members in the House and 40 in the Senate and all members voting, 54 votes are needed in the House to sustain and 14 in the Senate. Gov. William Weld had a short-lived block in the Senate in 1991-1992 able to sustain vetoes.

House and Senate members running to keep their seats and those hoping to unseat them have until Tuesday to submit nomination signatures needed to ensure ballot access. The deadline will also bring into focus the fields of candidates for county offices, including sheriff and district attorney, and Governor’s Council. The deadline falls as current members of the Legislature work on end-of-session priorities, which include the fiscal 2017 budget, an omnibus energy bill, bills to regulate the ride-hailing industries, a transgender rights bill, and legislation updating the state’s antiquated public records law.

Click on the audio player above to hear State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy talk Beacon Hill politics with NEPR’s Henry Epp.