MA Special Election Update: 3rd Berkshire

Two of the three special elections for state representative are in Boston, and have been getting most of the attention. Most of the groups who customarily endorse candidates have stayed out of the third race in Pittsfield, because the three democratic primary contestants have similar views on key issues. The interest groups are therefore concentrating thier efforts on the two Boston races, where there are sharper differences between the candidates. But there is still going to be an election in the 3rd Berkshire district, and the race just heated up.

In the race -- you might say gallop -- to the finish in the March 15th Democratic primary to replace state Rep. Peter Larkin in the 3rd Berkshire District -- progressives are lining up behind candidate Rhonda Serre

Serre, an economic development aide to U.S. Rep. John Olver, has picked up the endorsement of Western Mass for Progressive Change, a large network of activists formed in the wake of Howard Dean's run for president. The Berkshire Eagle, the largest newspaper in the district reports that Serre "has staked positions that are closely aligned with progressives: She is in favor of single-payer health care, opposed to charter schools and supports gay marriage, to cite a few. But her competitors for the Democratic nomination -- Christopher Speranzo and Pam Malumphy -- both have similar stances on the issues. Lori Bonatakis, a self-described committed political activist with Western Mass for Progressive Change, said the group chose Serre based on her experience, which it expects will translate into accomplishment on Beacon Hill."

The Eagle went on to cite the endorsement of Serre by Peter Vickery.

"Vickery, who won the Governor's Council seat with more than 60 percent of the vote, has personally endorsed Serre. He credited Western Mass for Progressive Change and the Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts with helping get voters to pay attention in November to the oft-ignored race for the panel that approves state judges; he thinks its influence could be equally strong in this special election."

'It's not about e-mail,' he said of the group. "It's about personal contacts. People say all politics is local; I think all politics is personal. What they have done is take their e-mail correspondence and built personal relationships out of it, so they don't just know each other as e-mail addresses, they know each other as individuals."

When Vickery speaks of personal relationships in this context, he is articulating the notion of relational organizing as taught by Marshall Ganz, who was the top organizer for the United Farm Workers in the heyday of Cesar Chavez. It is the underlying organizing philosophy of Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts (PDM), of which Vickery is a leader in the Amherst PDM organizing committee. There are currently four active PDM groups in Western Mass.

Whoever wins the primary will probably go on to win the general election in overwhelmingly Democratic Pittsfield. And the new representative will be considerably more progressive than Larkin, who was closely aligned with the conservative regime of former House Speaker Tom Finneran.

The new rep will also be entering a House very different than the one Larkin knew. The new Speaker Sal DiMasi, is far more progressive than Finneran. He even supports same sex marriage. House members are also optimistic that an authentically Democratic -- and democratic -- era has begun on Beacon Hill. The Valley Advocate this week has a feature article discussing the remarkable changes afoot in the post-Finneran era. It is an exciting time to be progressive and Democratic in Massachusetts.