Gabrieli's comeback?

SOMETIMES small slights have big consequences.

Back on the job in November 1947 after serving five months in federal prison, Boston Mayor James Michael Curley quipped: ''I have accomplished more in one day than has been done in the five months of my absence."

That disparaging claim understandably nettled John Hynes, the mild-mannered city clerk who had served as temporary mayor in Curley's absence. Rankled, Hynes decided to challenge the old rogue. And in November 1949, Hynes beat Curley by 12,000 votes.

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Tom Reilly hasn't belittled Chris Gabrieli. Still, the attorney general did play the runaway bridegroom, abandoning his planned ticket-mate at the last minute in favor of an ill-fated fling with state Representative Marie St. Fleur. That jilting can't help but have stung his would-be number two.

And now, with Reilly's candidacy suffering serious turbulence as a result of the St. Fleur fiasco, Gabrieli is contemplating a gubernatorial run of his own. He insists it's nothing personal -- hmmmm -- but rather a response to supporters who have asked him to take a look.

It's late to launch such a campaign, but not too late. The state's idiotic $500 individual contribution limit, a stricture that increasingly means only those who already hold high office or have deep pockets can run for governor, wouldn't pose a fund-raising problem for the multimillionaire.

But the process might. To make the ballot, Gabrieli would first have to get signatures from 500 delegates to the June Democratic convention and then win the support of 15 percent of the convention delegates. This week, Democratic Party officials made that easier, ruling that the 500 signatures can come from any delegate, not just those elected at the caucuses.

That should make Gabrieli's hunt easier if he decides to proceed.

The 15 percent threshold is another matter. But it would certainly send a strange message if party activists were to deny their 2002 lieutenant gubernatorial nominee, who is also a reliable donor to Democratic causes, a spot on the primary ballot.

Some, noting Gabrieli's 1998 loss for Congress and his 2002 defeat for lieutenant governor, say, in essence, that after two strikes, he should be out.

It's certainly true that Gabrieli's congressional bid was a dud. But the 2002 defeat of the Democratic team was really a failure by Shannon O'Brien at the ticket's top, and not by Gabrieli, who turned in a solid performance.

His downside: If he's not quite Hurricane Gabby, there are definitely days when he's windy enough to qualify as a good-sized tropical storm. So he'd need to keep things shorter and sharper, and not indulge his penchant to let every thought remind him of three or four others that urgently need to be verbally empowered. But if he can do that, Gabrieli could emerge as a real force in the Democratic campaign.

So far, Reilly has been more money than message, former assistant US attorney general Deval Patrick more message than money. Gabrieli has both, in impressive amounts.

The polished Patrick is running as a traditional liberal, the low-key Reilly as a centrist trying to appeal to independents. Gabrieli is closer to Reilly, but whereas the attorney general is a lawman struggling to expand his issues portfolio, Gabrieli is more of a natural, multidimensional New Democrat, a policy enthusiast eager to explore new paths toward old goals, and take aim at some obvious reform targets.

''I've always thought that the New Democrat label doesn't mean conservative Democrat, it means innovative Democrat," he says. A charter-school supporter and MCAS backer, Gabrieli is also deeply skeptical about boondoggles like the Quinn Bill or police details.

His background leaves him well suited for the public-policy challenges of a state that earns its living on its brains. A former medical student who started a successful medical software company, then became a venture capitalist, he clearly understands the modern economy.

As chairman of the nonprofit Massachusetts 2020, he has devoted much of the last six years to promoting after-school programs and pushing for extended learning time. Fourteen Massachusetts communities are now pursuing plans for longer school days or years, in part because of his efforts. Gabrieli, then, is someone who has put countless hours into behind-the-scenes work promoting a cause he cares deeply about.

None of that entitles him to elected office. Or a spot on the primary ballot. But he certainly should be considered as credible as the other contenders.

Scot Lehigh's e-mail address is lehigh@globe.com.