She’s baack!
Former 2nd Franklin State Rep. Denise Andrews is apparently out to challenge the contention that there are no second acts in American politics.
Andrews has pulled papers to run for the seat she held up until two years ago, when she was beaten for re-election by current officeholder, Republican Susannah Whipps Lee. This would be the rubber match between the two. Four years ago, Andrews rode the Obama-Warren coat tails to a narrow re-election win where her bacon was pretty much saved by the voters of Belchertown, the liberal side of which was just recently added to that district.
Last time around, the result was quite different, with Whipps Lee taking 53 percent of the vote in a decisive win that I think many believed signified an end to Andrews’ career in public life. Not so much, it would seem, although she may have a tougher task this time around, just based on the number of eye-rolls her prospective run has already generated among a number of prominent Democrats whose support she will very much need over the next several months.
Still, there are reasons why a 2016 Andrews run may make at least some sense. It’s possible, some might even say likely, that Hillary will have some wide Massachusetts coat tails to ride in November, especially in heavily Democratic districts. Unfortunately for Andrews, the 2nd Franklin doesn’t necessarily fall into that category, at least not since Greenfield was removed. It’s now, at best, a moderate area that happens to be filled with the largest plurality of unenrolled voters in the Commonwealth, the very demographic that Donald Trump began courting long before he became the GOP’s presumptive standard-bearer.
A lot of those larger 2nd Franklin towns went big for Trump in the primary, where, let’s not forget, he took 49 percent of the vote Republican vote. I still don’t think he has a chance to take Massachusetts, but I believe there may be more support for The Donald than you might think in less progressive districts, which will benefit candidates like Whipps Lee, who has built a pretty good following among moderates and progressives in her short time in office, and also enjoys the advantages of incumbency — not to mention strong ties to popular Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, whom I would expect will campaign heavily on her behalf.
Either way, it’s shaping up to be another great battle, one which has the potential to be among the most compelling down-ticket races of an already pretty interesting election year.
Jim Croce was right when he said you shouldn’t tug on Superman’s cape or spit in the wind, but if he were here, he might add “questioning the Massachusetts Trial Court’s responsibility for paying for a new Greenfield parking garage” to the list of things one shouldn’t do.
Let’s just say that my suggestion to that effect last week didn’t exactly sit well with certain people, triggering a number of phone conversations and meetings with people “in the know,” all of whom wanted to bang my ear but, surprisingly, didn’t want to be quoted for the record.
What those “deep background” conversations did reveal, however, were a couple of realities of which I was unaware. First, apparently, the state doesn’t build parking garages for courthouses. Why? Because it simply isn’t done. As far as Boston is concerned, the parking is the community’s problem, up to a point at least.
It turns out there is money available to build parking structures, but the amounts may not exactly jibe with what the town has been counting on. Typically, the best any town can hope to get is between 50 to 80 percent state reimbursement.
So let’s say the cost of Greenfield’s garage is $10 million, which was the borrowing authority the council was asked to approve and later rescinded. If the best the Commonwealth will come up with is 80 percent, that still leaves $2 million the town has to find for a garage the mayor has vowed will not be funded with one cent of town taxpayer money.
Said appropriation is also contingent on the state approving Greenfield’s application, one it has already twice rejected, a reality that has not discouraged Greenfield Mayor Bill Martin one bit.
“I think we will get the money because our case is too strong,” Martin said. “The need is definitely there.”
But is the plan there? As I understand it, the long-term vision is for the garage to be self-sustaining through money paid by the people who use it. But one cannot generate money from a facility not yet built, meaning at least part of the town’s portion of the construction would have to be partially front-loaded, money that will have to come from the town’s coffers, unless there is another funding source yet to be revealed.
I’m not sure how many of the council’s budget hawks are aware of this, but it might be worth asking a few questions before cars start endlessly circling the east end of town looking for parking spaces that aren’t there.
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.