Reilly says politics 'not my strong suit'

Correction: Because of a reporting error, this story incorrectly identified a political science professor quoted in the article. He is Jeffrey Berry of Tufts University.

A day after unpaid taxes and loans ended his running mate's day-old candidacy, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Thomas F. Reilly took responsibility yesterday for failing to closely examine state Representative Marie St. Fleur's finances and said that ''politics are not my strong suit."

''I have to work and improve on the politics of this campaign," said Reilly, 63, who was first elected Middlesex district attorney in 1990 and is in his second term as attorney general. ''This is a whole different level of politics, and it's never been my strong suit, and I have to improve on that. I acknowledge and take responsibility for the process that was not as complete and as thorough as it can be."

Reilly conceded that he needed to improve his campaign for governor, as many Democratic strategists and supporters were saying that he had damaged himself by stumbling in his efforts to find a running mate.

Many critics are focusing on his failure to ask questions about St. Fleur's financial background before announcing her as his running mate on Tuesday. His supporters predict he will probably have a poor showing in Democratic caucuses this weekend against rival Deval Patrick.

Reilly looked wan yesterday morning as he faced reporters for the first time since St. Fleur's withdrawal Wednesday night. He set aside time to speak to the media after an event on the state's economy at the Westin Copley Place. ''I'm here this morning," he said, ''to answer your questions and then get on with my campaign. So who's first?"

He dismissed the idea that the St. Fleur episode has done serious damage to his campaign.

''I think people measure you," he said. ''Voters are fair. They don't expect me to be perfect, and they know that I'm not perfect. They do expect you to learn from your set of experiences.

''They don't care about the politics. They care about what's going on in their lives: Do you understand what's going on in their lives? Do you understand how they're struggling? Are you going to work with others to make their lives better on the issues that are important to them: jobs and this economy, healthcare, the education of their children, public safety? On those issues, I'm solid."

St. Fleur ended her brief candidacy for lieutenant governor on the day the Globe disclosed that she had three delinquent tax debts in the last four years, including an April 2005 federal tax lien of $12,711 against her and her husband. The Boston Democrat also said she owes $40,000 in delinquent federally backed student loans and is barred from renewing her driver's license because she failed to pay excise taxes to the city of Boston last year.

St. Fleur told the Globe that she mentioned to Reilly that she had ''some financial issues," but that he didn't ask her to provide any numbers and only sought assurances from her that she was dealing with the problems.

Yesterday, Reilly refused to answer when asked by a reporter whether he regretted choosing St. Fleur. He said that he has known her for 17 years, since he was the Middlesex district attorney and he hired her as an assistant prosecutor, and he described her as ''a wonderful person." St. Fleur, 43, worked for Reilly again as a lawyer after he was elected attorney general in 1998. She was elected to the House in a special election to represent parts of Dorchester and Roxbury in July 1999.

Reilly had been planning for a month to choose businessman Chris Gabrieli as his running mate, several Democrats have told the Globe. But last weekend he abruptly changed course, stunning some of his campaign advisers and other Democrats.

''Chris Gabrieli is a wonderful, wonderful person, absolutely committed to Massachusetts, someone I like very much," Reilly said yesterday. ''At the end of the day, this was less about the politics than it was about a personal relationship that goes back 17 years to when Marie St. Fleur was just a young prosecutor. I felt that she was the best choice for me in this campaign."

The attorney general's demeanor, one of dejection, contrasted sharply with his mood two days ago, when he appeared with St. Fleur at a Dorchester youth center and ebulliently introduced her as ''my candidate, my teammate, my partner."

At that event, Reilly said that he and St. Fleur were in touch with the concerns of ''regular, ordinary people of Massachusetts."

''We understand how they struggle to pay their bills and make ends meet, put their kids through college," he said. ''We understand all of that."

Reilly tapped St. Fleur, a Haitian immigrant known as an eloquent speaker, partly to inject some pizazz into his campaign and because he identified with her hardscrabble background. She was viewed as a rising star in Massachusetts politics before this week's disclosures.

State Representative David P. Linsky, who came to the Dorchester youth center Tuesday to watch Reilly introduce St. Fleur, said yesterday that the controversy probably will hurt Reilly in this weekend's Democratic caucuses, which select delegates for the June convention. But the Natick Democrat said Reilly will rebound.

''He can recover because he has a strong message that he is independent of politics and he really does represent the values of most Massachusetts citizens," Linsky said. ''It clearly wasn't the best political move.

''But Tom is very much guided by his heart and what he thinks is truly best," he said. ''That's part of Tom's charm."

Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University, said he was flabbergasted by Reilly's failure to delve deeper into St. Fleur's finances.

''His failure to follow up on St. Fleur's acknowledgement that she had some financial issues was an egregious lack of judgment," Berry said. ''It's inexplicable. Even somebody relatively inexperienced in politics would have seen that as a red flag."

Berry said Reilly's misstep might prompt some Democrats to reconsider their support, but that the St. Fleur episode probably won't be fatal to the attorney general's campaign.

''Politicians often make a mistake, particularly early on in the campaign," Berry said. ''He's down a little bit, but he's far from out."

The flap over St. Fleur's finances is the second controversy Reilly has had to contend with this year.

Last month, Republicans blasted him for calling Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte to discuss an October 2005 car crash that killed two teenage girls. Reilly said he spoke to Conte to confirm that state law barred the release of the girls' autopsy reports; his phone call, however, left him vulnerable to charges that he was interfering in the crash investigation.

Yesterday, Reilly's chief Republican rival, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, declined to comment on the St. Fleur situation.

Scott Greenberger can be reached at greenberger@globe.com.