State Democrat Party digging into Richardson’s personal life
By Shawn on Oct 18, 2012 in Politics
This is just wrong.
The Lowell Sun has been reporting almost daily about the continued battle between Colleen Garry and Cathy Richardson for the state representative seat that covers Dracut and Tyngsborough.
Today’s story tells us that the State Democratic party has, on Garry’s behalf, been digging into Richardson’s personal family bills (via court records) and challenging her on unpaid oil and catering bills that have nothing to do with the issues in the campaign.
“The people of Dracut and Tyngsboro deserve better than to be given a list of personal bills — which are in fact paid — to influence a voter,” said Richardson Tuesday. “I’m hopeful this type of political stunt will cease and we can return to the issues that make a difference for the residents of both towns.”
Garry said although she did not direct state Democratic Party officials to call attention to Richardson’s court case involving Haffner’s, Richardson’s three missed court dates are “a legitimate matter of concern” for voters.
“I understand people can go through tough economic times, but you also have to be responsible for it,” said Garry. “You have to show up to court, even if you can’t pay it, and explain your circumstances.”
Is Colleen saying this, after having such a low voting record the year that she was having her own personal tough times due to family concerns? The Lowell Sun on Aug 12th reported “In 2009, Garry scored among the five worst voting/attendance records…”
All this once again seems to be coming from the ongoing McLaughlin issue that started over at the Housing Authority last year.
The paper is insinuating that Garry did not file her campaign finance report as required, leaving out names like Bond, Martin and Zimini (all tied to the Housing Authority issue last summer).
Garry now says that because her report is being “scanned for irregularities” (the paper indicated that she entered the data within two hours of its being missing, thus how could she travel up to a vacation home in Maine to get it and return in time to enter it?) that we should all start questioning every payment made out of Richardson’s account.
Richardson’s own travel to Maine can easily be explained by the extreme amount of campaiging going on up there with the retirement of Olympia Snow, and the efforts to keep the state Red.
But then again, why don’t we start digging into the campaign finance reports of everyone to see where they are spending their money and what other campaigns they are donating their funds to?
All it will do is keep the McLaughlin story alive for another year.
This race should stay with issues, stick with the public works of the candidates and keep out of their personal affairs.
Oh, and the state parties, leave us out of your petty games. Why am I not surprised that the dirtiest of tricks are coming from them.
Loading ...
Colleen Garry | Oct 18, 2012 | Reply
Shawn,
I, too, want to focus on the issues. I am very proud of my 18 years of accomplishment and my extensive voting record. We do not know where Ms. Richardson stands on much. She refused to debate her primary opponent. She points to her Facebook page which shows her slogan of “fiscal discipline” and lots of lovely photos but no substance on issues. My first question to her at the Lowell Sun debate was: where do you stand on issues like death penalty, health care reform, CPA expansion and bottle bill? We finally got stands on three out of those four. She refused to say how she was going to vote on the Boathouse deck issue. She said she didn’t have to. I believe the voters have the right to know that before the election. Why won’t she tell us?
It was the Republican Party who injected themselves into this race…first saying I was trying to hide something….then when everyone was listed..calling people in this district “corrupt.” My response to correcting the error was actually completed in four hours not two. My camp is 1 1/4 hours away and I do have internet access there as well. So it was very easy to do….and I was not covering up anything!!! I did not need to cover them up. These men have done a lot for this town and are not corrupt! Corrupt means doing something (usually illegal) for their own personal or monetary gain. Not one of these men get paid for anything they do in this town!
In fact, Republican State Committeewoman Sheila Richardson (former Governor’s appointee) and mother of Cathy Richardson stated in the Lowell Sun on September 20, 2011 in regards to the situation: “the Board is handling the process correctly, albeit not in a popular manner. The process put in place was legal. If the Director’s contract is up for review, we have a board put in place to vote to renew it. I see nothing wrong with what the process accomplished. You may not get one person to apply for the job. Maybe you will get someone who is better.”
When pressed for an example of my being corrupt, Cathy pointed to the Housing Authority situation with Mary Karabatsos. I believe the Republican spokesman and Cathy should have spoken with Mrs. Sheila Richardson since she was involved, had the necessary experience with the Housing Authority and felt it was proper.
Should the Democratic Party or I stand by and allow me and my campaign to be called “corrupt?!” No, I will fight for my own reputation just as I fight vehemently for my district!!
The Republican Party and Ms. Richardson can not find issue with my record of accomplishment or my voting record so they stoop to these kinds of attacks!!
I believe that if my campaign accounts are being examined and used in this campaign….hers is fair game. The fact that she had a public employee as Treasurer for two years is a violation of the law. The fact that her municipal campaign finance reports did not transfer correctly to the state candidate account is a violation. On neither report did the $1079 bill to Lenzi’s from March of 2010 be reported as paid. She says it was paid but the balance of the last municipal account was $26.19 with a liability of $1079 to Lenzi’s from the March 2010 party. She couldn’t have paid it with the $26.19. Her beginning report for the state report showed a beginning balance of $0 and no liability. When exactly did it get paid? From where? Is there a coverup?
And the expenditure in Maine was not for gas….Ms. Richardson vacations in York, Maine with her family and for some reason the location of the Green Leaves restaurant was left off the account….for some $30 odd…for Chinese food in York, Maine. Do you think she was having Chinese food with Olympia Snow? I don’t think so. How many people can $30 feed to keep the state of Maine RED???
My opponent stated on WCAP on Saturday that the voters have the right to question our behavior. Do the voters have the right to know that the candidate touting fiscal discipline, telling the Dracut Public Schools they have enough money and they have to learn to live within their means is not doing so herself? Do the voters have the right to know that a candidate is not attending court when she is supposed to?
I agree everyone goes through tough economic times, especially in the last few years. But you go to court when you are supposed to and deal with the matter. Remember, we are talking about small businessmen involved who are trying to feed their families too.
I have addressed my roll call records and certain supporters of my opponent continue to raise them. I have never raised any objection to it being discussed. The fact is there were legitimate reasons for those absences and this term my record is 99% and my career roll call record is 97%. I am proud of that!
I hope the character assassinations are over and we can deal with the issues. I have never been in a campaign like this in my 18 years. I am disappointed that terms like “corrupt” are being thrown around so freely. The people of this district know me and I have every confidence that they will see through these continued attacks.
If anyone has any questions on any issues, please do hesitate to contact me at repcolleengarry@aol.com.
Bill Pappas | Oct 18, 2012 | Reply
This back biting is getting crazy. But I notice this going on in every election this time around from the top to the bottom. And I see it getting worse. MAYBE WE WILL GO BACK TO DUELING AND SETTLE THINGS THAT WAY. Let the two people running debate themselves and keep the Hacks and Packs out.
Rich Cowan | Oct 19, 2012 | Reply
Shawn — your readers might want to be aware that court records at the registry of deeds on practically every town issue have become very easy to access over the past five years.
Any shenanigans that might have gone on are now public. Whether it is fair game in a campaign to disclose the contents of all these records is debatable. But I tend to come down on the side of disclosure.
When Brian Flaherty’s blog disclosed (a day after he was voted in) that Dr. Stacy Scott had federal tax liens, he revealed something that might have been important for the school committee to know before they made their decision in 2010.
When on September 13 the EPA disclosed (six years after a sports facility for kids opened up) that Tucard, LLC was involved in court actions involving responsibility for environmental contamination, they revealed something that might have been important for hundreds of parents who sent their kids to Future Stars to know.
In the recent school committee race, I know that members of several campaigns did the very simple research of typing in candidates’ names to the search box at Mass Land Records (http://masslandrecords.com) for Dracut as well as other parts of MA where they lived previously (http://intelius.com). This is not rocket science. Fortunately for Dracut, there were no glossy flyers in the school committee race funded by outside PACs, like the Marlborough Republican Town Committee, and a commitment by all candidates to keep the debate focused positively, on the issues.
It is time for us to stop treating the existence of these records as if they are like some kind of dirty secret. Buying a house, setting up a trust, paying off a tax lien, or getting a special permit for an in law apartment — are all transactions with public entities. A loss of some amount of secrecy is the price we pay for owning a house and participating in the benefits of civil society.
In the case of politicians serving as members of the board of Selectmen or as State Representative, an additional loss of secrecy is a small price to pay for the benefits of keeping politicians accountable. My only criticism of the press coverage the local House race is that the reporters need to do a better job in digging this information out in the first place and helping the readers decide what is relevant and what is not. If the full list of donors was submitted by Garry on the day it was due, then there is no violation, right? If the contractor didn’t do a good job and was not paid by Richardson, what is the problem? Why report such minor things.
On the other hand, I would want to see reporting of donations made by people who got special permits fast tracked by Richardson as a member of the board of Selectmen or donations made by firms that got bills introduced by Garry. I have to admit, I haven’t found donations like this, which is a good sign.
The other thing I would like to see more reporting on is commitment of both candidates to adequately funding the Dracut public schools. In the last three years Dracut has benefitted overall from increased state education aid under Chapter 70. In FY11, FY12, and FY13 the combined increase was $2.5 million. Funding for the Dracut Public Schools has not kept pace. In fact, school department budget documents show an increase of less than $0.5 million over the same three year period. This fact, to me, far more important than the issues the media has reported. Substantive policy differences that can affect education and funding for public infrastructure and services need to be discussed, rather than small things like having to file a report twice on the same day, or buying a cup of coffee and a donut.
Shawn | Oct 19, 2012 | Reply
Personally, I find the digging into personal lives of people running for office to be low.
I stay away from people’s family, and tend to stay away from personal finances (It was me, however, who was first to help Brian Bond show that his tax issues in Lowell were actually of no consequence and that the Lowell Sun had overblown an issue.. but that was while in communication with Bond).
If we want people to run for office there has to be a line as to where we stop.
If they are doing something illegal, or that compromises their position, that is one thing. Tierney has significant issues to deal with.
As to Colleen Garry, she cleaned up the report quickly as required. I don’t like that it wasn’t right the first time, because the information is important to help keep politicians transparent and on the level.
Things that fall in their role as elected officials, we do need to focus on.
Stuff from their personal lives is a measure of character (re: Clinton).. but I’m going to keep from crossing a line myself as much as I can.
Bob | Oct 21, 2012 | Reply
Shameful… I’ve voted for Colleen in the past for conservative social agenda but I won’t make that mistake again… This is not a local election.
Charlotte | Oct 30, 2012 | Reply
Time for a change. Colleen feeding off the government much to long..