If there’s a race, Eldridge is a go.
The potential race for the 5th Congressional District has been a hot topic in political activist circles recently, and not just in that district. It seems like every meeting, or encounter I have with anyone who knows anything about politics is talking about it. If Marty Meehan (D-Lowell) decides to take the UMass Lowell chancellorship and resign his congressional seat, it will make for a very interesting special election.
The Lowell Sun is reporting that Meehan is on the short list now, and there could be a recommendation made by the time the UML Board meets in March. Meanwhile, the chattering continues. Maybe it’s just the progressive circles I hang in, but by and large the candidate with the most buzz right now is State Rep. James Eldridge (D-Acton).
Disclosure: I know Jamie Eldridge through the work he has done with the Middlesex and Worcester Dems. Jamie was also an early supporter of Deval Patrick and so we have marched in some of the same parades and I did a standout at a debate during his re-election campaign. If it’s not obvious already, let me say clearly that I wholeheartedly endorse Jamie Eldridge for the 5th Congressional Seat, should that race go forward.
A good campaign starts with a good foundation, and from the looks of the recent staff hiring by the Eldridge Exploratory Committee, I’d say the campaign is off to a good start.
From the press release:
Today the Congressional Exploratory Committee of State Representative Jamie Eldridge is pleased to announce the hiring of its first three staff members. Representative Eldridge’s committee was the first created in the event of Congressman Marty Meehan’s (D-MA 5) possible departure from office.
Progressive pollster and strategist Dan Cohen of Massachusetts-based Connection Strategies has signed onto Jamie’s effort after working for over 20 winning campaigns across the state. Cohen has most recently played a fundamental role in State Senator Pat Jehlen’s landslide special election victory in 2005 and plays a key role in the effort for marriage equality in Massachusetts.
Also signing on is Lauren Aquino-Couture of the Masschusetts-based Evalesco Group. She is a fundraising consultant with a client roster of elected officials throughout the state, with previous experience including roles as Finance Director for the 2002 Democratic Gubernatorial Campaign in New Hampshire and Finance Director for the New Hampshire Democratic Senate Caucus.
Michael Moschella of Boston, MA has joined the campaign after recently serving as Field Director for Chris Gabrieli’s Gubernatorial campaign and Campaign Manager for State Representative Rachel Kaprielian’s successful re-election bid. Moschella was also successful in this past election cycle as the first employee for Congressman Tim Mahoney’s (D-FL 16) now-famous race against Mark Foley.
There’s more discussion about this race at Blue Mass. Group.
I said this at BMG, but it bears repeating: You will not find a harder worker in this race than Jamie Eldridge. During his campaign for re-election he was running phone banks and knocking on doors not only for himself, but also for Deval Patrick who Jamie supported probably earlier than pretty much any other legislator.
I don’t live in his Rep. district (sadly) nor the congressional district, but I think Jamie is a great candidate, and a guy who really gets the grassroots and isn’t afraid of hard work. I love that in a candidate.
