Upper Crust

I'm a Nick's Pizza guy, but I do enjoy the occasional slice of Upper Crust pizza when I'm lunching downtown.  I know. I'm a yuppie.

Anyway, some news involving our local franchise in the Globe.

Bad News for News

I don't know how I missed this last week. From media blogger Dan Kennedy, citing a Boston Globe article (link to article in blog post.)

Second, the Eagle-Tribune papers north of Boston have cut 21 positions at their four daily newspapers and several related publications, writes the Boston Globe’s Todd Wallack. The dailies are the Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, the Daily News of Newburyport, the Salem News and the Gloucester Daily Times. The company is owned by CNHI, based in Montgomery, Ala..

I honestly can't see where the cuts could be, especially among the editorial staff.

Any Nominees?

Katy Ives' victory in the state senate race opens up a spot on the council, one that will be filled in the next few months, according to the Daily News. Steve Hutcheson would be an obvious choice given his finish in last year's election, but let's get some less than obvious suggestions.

Any nominees from the crowd?

Bon Voyage

Well this might help explain why the Prince of Whales wasn't pulled from the water. It's left town for good, according to the Daily News.

Still haven't taken The Boy out on a whale watch trip yet. I hope I get the chance next year.

Election Tidbits

Congratulations to all of you. Turnout was fantastic, according to the Daily News. 

Greater Newburyport voters lived up to predictions, turning out in record numbers yesterday to decide heavily fought races from the Oval Office to Beacon Hill.
Locally, turnout was as high as 87 percent in Rowley and 80 percent in Newburyport, with activity heaviest in the early morning as people lined up even before the polls had opened, causing traffic backups and logjams in parking lots.

Fishman was indeed the spoiler. From Boston.com. Difficult to believe Tisei wouldn't have scored a good deal of that support (assuming they would have voted at all if Fishman weren't on the ballot.)

With all 231 precincts reporting, the Democratic incumbent won about 48.25 percent of the vote to 47.25 for Republican Richard Tisei in the North Shore’s Sixth Congressional District, holding on in a House race ranked by Politico as one of the country’s 10 nastiest. It was also one of the country’s most expensive House races. Daniel Fishman, a Libertarian candidate, won 4.5 percent.

Congratulations to Katy Ives. I honestly didn't think she had a shot when I signed her papers a few months ago. I won't doubt her again. Here's the Daily News report here.

Another Third Wheel

I was trying to revive my blog a few weeks ago by writing a few pieces in advance so I'd get some momentum. Plan never came together, but I did write this one. Today's Tisei-Tierney race reminded me what role a spoiler could play..


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Anyone remember Eric Elbot?

As reporter at the Haverhill Gazette in 1991-92 I got to cover a bit of the sixth congressional district race when Barbara Hildt's challenged sitting and embattled incumbent Nick Mavroules.

The race seems extraordinary now. Both were Democrats. Hildt was a state representative for Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury, the seat now held by Michael Costello. Mavroules had been the congressman for 14 years. This surprises me a bit. To a then 23-year-old reporter from Revere he seemed like he'd held the seat for a lifetime.

Anyway, reading back on the race reminds you how fascinating that campaign was. A Grand Jury INDICTED Mavroules on 17 counts of bribery, tax evasion, influence peddling less than a month before the September primary. INDICTED!

Yet he still beat a credible candidate like Hildt, albeit by only 681 votes. (He's eventually lose to Republican Peter Torkildsen, the man Tierney would defeat two years later to win his current seat. Mavroules eventually pled guilty to the charges and served over a year in prison. He died in 2003.)

Why? Some blamed Eric Elbot, a little known administrator from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government who also ran for the Democratic nomination.

Numerically, they're probably right. Elbot drew 6,823 votes (7%) of the votes. Given Mavroules' troubles it's realistic to think that most of those votes would have gone to Hildt, the challenger, rather than Mavroules, the embattled incumbent.

Anyway, I got to thinking about Eric Elbot when I read the Daily News article about Daniel Fishman, the independent challenger in this year's Sixth Congressional race. Once again, you've got an embattled Incumbent in John Tierney - embroiled in an ongoing scandal surrounding his family's gambling convictions - facing a credible opponent, this time a moderate Republican in Richard Tisei, and along comes the third choice, Fishman.

No one is quite sure how Fishman will impact the race but, as the article suggest, he will be a factor.

Just like Eric Elbot.