Thursday, 4:30 PM
Candidates contend for congressional seat
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
LOWELL -- In 1995, a former congressman and onetime presidential front-runner asked Eileen Donoghue to run for a City Council seat in Lowell.
She won.
Donoghue is now running for the seat that man held in Congress. And she’s running against that man’s widow, Niki Tsongas.
The rivals, who are scheduled to join three other Democrats at the campaign's first formal debate Tuesday night, are part of a nine-member field vying for the Fifth District seat US Representative Martin T. Meehan is abandoning to become the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
As soon as the first wisp of a rumor escaped about Meehan’s interest in academia, hopefuls began lining up their teams for the state’s first congressional opening in six years. And with the primary scheduled for the day after Labor Day, they are working furiously to capture the electorate’s attention at a time when voters are usually focused more on beaches than the ballot box.
The primary is scheduled for Sept. 4. The general election is scheduled for Oct. 16. The debate will take place at 7 tonight at the Devens Common Center, at 31 Andrews Parkway in Devens.
DEMOCRATS
EILEEN DONOGHUE
Website: eileendonoghue.com
Age: 53
Hometown: Lowell
Current job: Lowell City Councilor
Money in campaign account: $413,250
Number of friends on MySpace page: 5
First bill she’d file: An updated G.I. Bill of Rights to provide current veterans with better health care access.
Number of words in her campaign biography: 436
Key endorsements: 2 state senators; 2 state representatives; mayor of Lowell; 3 Lowell city councilors
Stance on Iraq: Wants to immediately start developing a timetable for withdrawal, which she thinks will take 12 to 18 months.
Thinks she stands out because: She has strong ties in Lowell, and understands how federal funding and mandates can impact local communities.
Odd fact: She has a collection of cookbooks and absolutely loves watching the Food Network.
JAMIE ELDRIDGE
Website: jamieforcongress.com
Age: 33
Hometown: Acton
Current job: State representative
Money in campaign account: $106,355
Number of friends on MySpace page: 36
First bill he’d file: Universal health insurance program
Number of words in his campaign biography: 1,722
Key endorsement: Progressive Democrats of America, Democracy for America, five state senators, 23 state representatives, eight labor unions
Stance on Iraq: The administration should be given three months to plan for withdrawal, and an additional six months to carry it out.
Thinks he stands out because: He’s the most progressive Democrat in the race and has made universal health care a major part of his platform.
Odd fact: He’s 6'5" and played center on the Acton Boxborough Regional High School basketball team.
BARRY FINEGOLD
Website: barryfinegold.com
Age: 36
Hometown: Andover
Current job: State representative (6 terms)
Money in campaign account: $310,962
Number of friends on MySpace page: 44
First bill he’d file: A $100 billion plan over five years to create renewable energy
Number of words in his campaign biography: 562
Key endorsements: 2 Methuen city councilors; 8 Lawrence city councilors; 3 Lawrence school committee members; Worcester County Sheriff
Stance on Iraq: Supports a three-state solution; withdrawal could begin in 2007
Thinks he stands out because: He’s running against the status quo
Odd fact: His has two children, ages 1 and 3. "I can probably recite, word for word, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
JAMES MICELI
Website: jamesrmiceliforcongress.com
Age: 72
Hometown: Wilmington
Current job: State representative (16 terms)
Money in campaign account: $10,593
Number of friends on MySpace page: n/a
First bill he’d file: A national health care program that would be modeled after Massachusetts.
Number of words in his campaign biography: 75
Key endorsements: none announced
Stance on Iraq: Says announcing a timetable for withdrawal would be "insanity," and supports the president’s decision to go to war.
Thinks he stands out because: He has a reputation as an outsider, but knows how the political system works.
Odd fact: He’s an avid golfer, but not a good one. "The only time I was on a winning team and got a trophy was when I came in second."
NIKI TSONGAS
Website: nikitsongas.com
Age: 61
Hometown: Lowell
Current job: Dean of External Affairs at Middlesex Community College
Money in campaign account: $309,222
Number of friends on MySpace page: 29
First bill she’d file: Legislation that would establish a timetable for bringing the troops home from Iraq within 9 months of the bill’s passage
Number of words in his campaign biography: 1,125
Key endorsements: Marty Meehan's wife, Ellen Murphy; 2 former congressman who held the seat; Emily’s List; US Representative Barney Frank
Stance on Iraq: The administration would be given three months to plan for withdrawal, and an additional six months to carry it out.
Thinks she stands out because: "I’m no stranger to elective politics. I’ve been part of local, state, and national politics."
Odd fact: Her golden retriever was named Haile, after an Ethiopian emperor that her husband, Paul, met while serving in the Peace Corps
REPUBLICANS
JIM OGONOWSKI
Website: jimogonowski.com
Age: 49
Hometown: Dracut
Current job: Farmer who retired last month as an Air Force lieutenant colonel.
Money in campaign account: n/a
Number of friends on MySpace page: n/a
First bill he’d file: Legislation that would either simply the federal tax system or create a new energy policy
Number of words in his campaign biography: n/a
Key endorsements: Asian-American National Committee; two state representatives
Stance on Iraq: It was wrong to invade, but now the military should focus on training the Iraqis and benchmarks should be set.
Thinks he stands out because: He believes a Republican congressman from Massachusetts would raise some eyebrows
Odd fact: While in Spain, he once accidentally found himself participating in the running of the bulls when someone told him they would be released into the street at "ocho." He thought that meant 8 p.m. It meant 8 minutes.
THOMAS P. TIERNEY
Website: www.tomtierney.org
Age: 64
Hometown: Framingham
Current job: Self-employed consulting actuary
Money in campaign account: $1,006
Number of friends on MySpace page: n/a
First bill he’d file: Health care reform
Number of words in his campaign biography: 358
Key endorsement: None
Stance on Iraq: Wants to wait until September, and then begin plans for developing several states within a central government.
Thinks he stands out because: "I'm not looking for adulation or applause. What drives me is that I want to create law."
Odd fact: The name of his campaign committee is Tierney For Congress, which means that every year he gets at least two donations meant for US Representative John Tierney, a Salem Democrat.
INDEPENDENT
PATRICK MURPHY
Website: sendmurphytocongress.com
Age: 25
Hometown: Lowell
Current job: Bricklayer and stone mason
Money in campaign account: none
Number of friends on MySpace page: n/a
First bill he’d file: The Shared Sacrifice Act, which would temporarily establish a separate income tax for non-military households
Number of words in his campaign biography: n/a
Key endorsement: None
Stance on Iraq: There should be an immediate withdrawal, and other forces, such as United Nations and NATO, should be brought in to assist
Thinks he stands out because: Because he’s running as an independent, and spending only $4,600 on his campaign (the maximum individual donation)
Odd fact: Plays occasionally in an Irish band with his twin brother, Daniel, and sister Grainne.
CONSTITUTION PARTY
KEVIN THOMPSON
Website: thompson07.com
Age: 29
Hometown: Brockton
Current job: Principal of a small Christian school in Brockton
Money in campaign account: n/a
Number of friends on MySpace page: 40
First bill he’d file: A bill that would define life beginning at conception
Number of words in his campaign biography: 197
Key endorsement: None announced
Stance on Iraq: He opposes an immediate troop withdrawal or setting a timetable; Americans should focus on training the Iraqis to police their own state.
Thinks he stands out because: He wants to drastically shrink the federal government and return much of its authority to state governments.
Odd fact: He listens to Tom Finneran in the mornings and Howie Carr in the afternoons, and loves watching the West Wing, "though politically I disagree with most of their stances vehemently."
* Campaign account information is as of March 31, the most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission
