It’s not every day that someone joins the Democratic Party to try and get a Republican re-elected.
Then again, there are few areas like the 2nd Franklin District, where Athol Selectman Lee Chauvette announced this week that he is abandoning his unenrolled status and rejoining the Dems to create “Democrats For Susie,” a group dedicated to supporting Republican 2nd Franklin Rep. Susannah Whipps Lee’s re-election campaign against Democratic challenger and two-term former state Rep. Denise Andrews.
“I decided to rejoin the Democratic Party in light of the fact that I firmly believe the 2nd Franklin District must continue to move forward under the leadership of Susannah Whipps Lee,” Chauvette said. “I also know there are numerous Dems who are not pleased with the decision made by Ms. Andrews to run again after being voted out.
“This is a way to bring these folks to a great candidate like Susannah, and as an elected official, I can attest to the level of work she does,” he added. “We do not need to regress.”
Chauvette has some history not only with Whipps Lee, a former Athol selectman, but with this particular seat. He ran as a Democrat in a crowded primary field in the race that sent Andrews to Beacon Hill the first time around. He left the party shortly after, and since has worked as hard as anyone for Lee in her last two races with Andrews.
But this somewhat unorthodox strategy is an entirely new element which is not likely to sit well with Democratic loyalists like Congressman Jim McGovern, who recently gave Andrews a strong endorsement.
“While some party members won’t be pleased, that doesn’t concern me,” Chauvette said. “This is a bipartisan effort and we need more of that in politics today.”
I expect that narrative will play well, especially in a center-right district with the largest concentration of independent voters in the Commonwealth.
Like most people, I was shocked to learn of last week’s decision to place Montague Police Chief Chip Dodge on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office.
At present, no one but Dodge and his bosses, the Montague Board of Selectmen, know the details of that probe, but it can’t be too serious because the board reinstated him Monday with a pretty strong vote of confidence.
“The chief has the full support of the board and we are confident in his abilities,” the selectmen said in a statement following the vote. “He has been open and forthright in his handling of the situation.”
Maybe one day we’ll learn more about this “situation,” but I know there are a number of Montague residents who are relieved to have their top cop back on the beat, myself among them.
I’ve covered the town of Greenfield for more than two decades, and still there are moments which surprise me.
Unfortunately, those surprises, more often than not, tend to be of the unpleasant variety, but that was not the case this past weekend, when I saw my hometown common crowded with residents willing to declare that Greenfield truly is “no place for hate.”
Regardless of how you feel personally about Penny Ricketts or the Pierce Brothers, they did not deserve the racist and anti-Semitic attacks recently aimed at them. No one does. But Saturday’s rally confirmed what I’ve felt since each of these stories broke — that while they were the ones in the crosshairs, those bullets of intolerance were aimed at the entire community and it was good to see people punch back with a strong statement of repudiation not only of those messages, but the thoughts behind them.
The only disappointing element was the absence of the town’s elected leadership. The only incumbent officeholder there was School Committee member Francia Wisnewski. No mayor or current town councilors were present that I could see, save Ricketts, but there were plenty of former councilors on hand, most notably David Singer, Pat Devlin and Marian Kelner.
Fortunately, other elected officials were willing to stand with the community, one of whom had a personal message for the individual who sent the racist digital images.
“If you wish to say that ‘the other’ is not better than you, put your name on the bottom of the letter,” Senate President Stan Rosenberg said. “Put your name out in public the way the other has put themselves out in the public to stand for each other and the community.”
Nothing like being called a coward by arguably the most powerful man in state government, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder to be one of Rosenberg’s constituents than I was in that moment or prouder of the residents of my hometown for their willingness to stand up to hate.
It was an honor to be a part of it.
Chris Collins, who worked in local radio in a number of capacities, has observed political life in Franklin County for years. He also is a former staff reporter for The Recorder and a Greenfield native.