It’s not exactly Watergate, but Boxford’s Bill Hudak is taking plenty of heat over his misrepresentations regarding that alleged Scott Brown endorsement. And unfortunately for him, the controversy has served to shine the light on the Republican congressional candidate’s wackier side.
Despite his “birther” credentials and other zany opinions regarding President Obama, Hudak’s candidacy was of some concern to incumbent U.S. Rep. John Tierney’s campaign. One staffer described him as “our worst nightmare” simply by virtue of the amount of effort he was putting into the campaign. Get a dozen people together anywhere in the 6th District and it was a good bet Hudak would be there.
Fellow Republican Richard Baker of West Newbury had more reason than anyone to be upset at Brown taking sides in the GOP primary. It was Baker, after all, who was the Republican challenger to Tierney in 2008, and he had made known his interest in running again this year. But he didn’t run much of a campaign two years ago and seems intent on mounting another stealth candidacy in 2010.
All of which has some Republicans desperate for someone else to take on Tierney. A party regular of many years standing told us today entreaties are being made to former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey and former Mass. GOP chairman Darrell Crate, both of Beverly Farms, to run against the incumbent. (It would be one or the other, since Healey and Crate are close and the latter works for Healey’s husband, Sean.)
Tierney has not been seriously challenged for a long time, but obviously last Tuesday’s result in which state Sen. Scott Brown upset Democratic AG Martha Coakley, has raised Republican hopes everywhere.
That unimaginable shock to the system a Scott Brown win in Massachusetts would represent became the reality Tuesday night as the Republican surged to victory over Democratic AG Martha Coakley.
While GOP stalwarts partied it up at the Park Plaza in Boston, Democrats continued the finger-pointing that had been underway for the past several days. Those in the White House and at DNC headquarters in Washington blamed the candidate and her team, while those close to Coakley say it was the decision by party heavyweights to saturate the airwaves with negative ads in the weeks leading up to the special election that was the kiss of death.
Sen.-elect Brown talks with SN editorial board
Meanwhile, the negative ads took a huge toll based on our conversations with voters in recent weeks. They were both vicious and misleading and appeared to turn more people off to Coakley than their intended target — Brown. In fact, they were beneath Coakley who is a thoroughly decent person.
While there was no formal exit polling to determine voters’ thinking (the company that normally conducts these surveys decided to sit out this election having decided weeks ago there was insufficient interest in what was supposed to be a landslide win for the Democrats), anecdotal evidence is that a majority of voters are very skeptical of the health care bill being pushed by Democrats in Congress and concerned about the pace of government spending that has lifted the federal deficit to $13 trillion and counting.
In the end, not even an appearance by President Obama could lift Coakley’s fortunes. What voters delivered instead was an overdue course correction that will resonate both here and in Washington for years to come.
State Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers, House chairman of the Legislature’s consumer protection panel, says he has a bill almost ready to go that would license online wine retailers in the commonwealth.
Rep. Ted Speliotis
Speliotis, who acknowledges that the 2006 legislation was designed primarily to protect Bay State wholesalers and package stores rather than help consumers, said he has been drafting a bill that could be ready for a vote within a few weeks. It would allow online sales with proper licensing and an agreement by out-of-state distributors to collect and forward to the state the applicable sales taxes on such purchases.
An Irish bookmaker is offering odds on how long former Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin will last at Fox News and which group she will offend first.
Here’s the release:
(01/11/10) Following the news that former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is set to become a regular contributor at Fox News, bookmaking outfit Paddy Power have already taken numerous bets on how long the gaffe-prone Alaskan governor will remain in Rupert Murdoch’s employ.
Early betting points toward Sarah Palin being dropped by the global news broadcaster between September and December 2010 withPaddy Power offering odds of 10/11. Slightly longer odds of 11/10 are available on the 45 year-old politician keeping her broadcasting role at Fox News into 2011.Sarah Palin
Paddy Power are also taking bets on which minority group the broadcasting newbie will first offend in her media role. Gay and Lesbian groups top the bookies shortlist at odds of 4/1 followed by Muslims and African Americans both at 6/1.
Paddy Power said “Where Sarah Palin goes controversy is generally not too far behind so we’ll obviously be following her new career path with great interest”
When will Sarah Palin lose her Fox News position?
8/1 Before 01 September 2010
10/11 Between 01 September 2010 and 31 December 2010
11/10 After 01 January 2011First Minority Group Sarah Palin offends
4/1 Gay/Lesbian/Bi-sexual
6/1 African American
6/1 Muslims
8/1 Single parents
10/1 Senior Citizens
10/1 The Poor
12/1 Arab Americans
14/1 Jews
16/1 Native American
16/1 Third world countries
18/1 Christians
20/1 Irish
20/1 The infirm
20/1 Inuits
25/1 Jehovah’s WitnessAll prices remain subject to fluctuation.
Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker and a leading provider of gaming services in the UK, Australia and Ireland. Founded in 1988 the company takes an unconventional approach to betting and is famous for its mischievous and sometimes irreverent promotional campaigns. Paddy Power is a publicly quoted company and is listed on both the Irish and London Stock Exchanges (www.paddypower.com)
Perhaps it’s just a coincidence, but the Coakley campaign just announced it will begin airing a 30-second TV spot — the first of the general election campaign. That word came a day after a Rasmussen poll showed Republican Scott Brown within nine points of the Democrat in the race for the late Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat.
Brown has had the airwaves virtually to himself since last month’s primaries, and has drawn plenty of attention with the one showing him morphing from an image of President John F. Kennedy. Turns out Brown and JFK share some of the same views on the damage that can be done by excessive taxation.
View ad here 
Given the huge Democratic advantage in terms of number of registered voters and her big win in the December primary, many of Coakley’s fans assumed the final would be a walk-through. But the Rasmussen survey showed Brown with a surprising 3-1 advantage among independents.
The smart money is still on Coakley, but an upset by Brown would send shock waves all the way to Capitol Hill and might single-handedly stop the health reform bill dead in its tracks.
The following release was issued by GOP congressional candidate Bill Hudak’s campaign committee last night regarding the fire at his Boxford home Monday morning:
Sixth Congressional District candidate, Bill Hudak was forced out of his home today by an early morning fire that left the structure with extensive smoke and fire damage but spared his family from injury. Hudak and his wife, Angela, had hosted a campaign event at their home on Sunday night despite the region’s blizzard, and everything had appeared normal at that time. The couple’s daughter, Joanie, was also in the house at the time of the blaze. Their son, Trey, is home from school for the holidays but was not present.
Fire apparatus at Hudak home
Initial speculation had the fire caused by faulty Christmas lights but it now appears as if the blaze began from a long term structural aspect of the home that was close to a heating element. Fire damage was quite extensive, as was smoke and water damage. The house is expected to be uninhabitable for quite some time. The main family areas, as well as the adjacent dining room, are a total loss and the Hudak’s kitchen also appears to be unsalvageable.
“I want to thank the Boxford Fire Department for their quick response and their level of performance”, the Republican candidate said. “I know that we hear about first responders all of the time but I’m not sure that you can fully appreciate what they do until your family, your home and your possessions are directly on the receiving end of their services. They don’t question anything. They just go towards the danger and secure a dangerous situation”.
The Christmas season, unfortunately, sees more than its share of house fires. Many are caused by candles that are left unattended and faulty wiring in Christmas displays. The Fire Department originally had believed that the Hudak blaze had begun in a string of imported holiday lights but it was later discovered that a very old piece of wood, used in the home’s construction and placed close to a heating element, had dried over the decades since the Boxford house had been built and was ignited.
Still, Hudak believes that families should utilize special care at this time of the year. “We were lucky but many folks lose their homes in situations like this. The cause, in our case, was unforeseeable but, please, I advise everyone to take care this season and don’t leave candles and holiday lights unattended. My story has a happy ending thanks to the Boxford fire team. They’re great but you don’t want to have to have them show up at your house.”
Hudak is running against John Tierney in Massachusetts Sixth District. He has a legal practice in Saugus and has done quite a bit of consumer advocacy representation. In addition to his law practice, which has been based in the Bay State for over 25 years, Hudak is an entrepreneur and businessman who is a Past President and former Rotarian of the Year nominee with the Saugus Rotary Club.
Deval Patrick had already promised money for a new building, so it’s hard to fathom why Essex Aggie chose the most dilapidated building on campus, way down behind the horse barns, to host the governor and his cabinet Friday.
A flimsy divider separated cabinet members from those gathering for a press conference that was to take place afterward. As a result, staffers were constantly emerging from the closed-door session in a futile attempt to shush the reporters, mayors, state representatives and others who were gathering for the press availability.
The only thing missing from the wood-paneled rooms with stuffed birds and a chirping clock on the wall, was a potbellied stove in the corner.
Patrick at Aggie
Credit people like Mayors Bill Scanlon of Beverly and Mike Bonfanti of Peabody, along with Danvers Town Manager Wayne Marquis, for pushing this long-awaited and much-needed school to the finish line.
“Strengthening our regional economies is central to our economic recovery,” Patrick observed. “This project offers two essential building blocks of economic growth: It gives students on the North Shore the foundation they need to achieve success, and provides local businesses with a talented and well-trained workforce.”
Indeed, there was much talk among the elected officials gathered in Danvers Friday over the decision by Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk to veto a council order to have that city join the district. The consensus is that with the fishing industry in decline, no community would benefit more from joining.
The committee overseeing the project wants a firm commitment from prospective members by this June. So if it delays much longer, Gloucester could be left out in the cold and forced to pay expensive, out-of-district rates for those of its students who are able to obtain a place at the new school.
