Turnpike Authority drops publicist
Firm had worked for anti-Kerry group
The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, facing the wrath of state Democratic leaders, yesterday canceled the contract of a Washington, D.C., public relations firm that during the presidential campaign worked for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group that attacked John F. Kerry's Vietnam war record.
A spokesman for the authority last night said the agency had decided that it no longer needed the services of Creative Response Concepts and its senior vice president Mike Russell, after just three weeks on the job. Russell handled the firm's work for the swift boat veterans, whose multimillion-dollar ad blitz in battleground states was a key element in undercutting Kerry's candidacy.
In a statement that reflects the deep bitterness about the swift boat group's tactics, a Kerry spokesman blasted the decision to hire Russell and his firm, calling it ''just the latest breathtakingly stupid decision by the Republicans in charge of the Big Dig."
''Do they have so little respect for Massachusetts taxpayers that they believe the answer to years of waste, fraud, and abuse is to lavish more taxpayer money on a discredited partisan hack to spin the Big Dig?" said David Wade, Kerry's press aide, after the news circulated that the firm had lost the contract. ''Will the taxpayers get a refund? Add this to the list of serious questions Matt Amorello must answer before the only reasonable verdict is that, like Mike Russell, he doesn't have a shred of credibility left."
Last night, Russell responded sharply.
''I'm sorry the Kerry campaign is coming unglued over this, but the bottom line is the election is over," he said. He noted that his firm was hired to do a specific job, and said, ''There was no political motivation in the hiring of CRC, nor was there any political motivation in our efforts to get the word out about this terrific project."
The Turnpike Authority had hired Creative Response Concepts, a Virginia-based firm, on Nov. 19 to handle national media inquiries that have been made to the agency since widespread leaks in the Central Artery tunnel were disclosed. The turnpike then faced inquiries about the contract with Creative Response Concepts, which originally was to extend for three months and pay $75,000.
''Their work was completed," Doug Hanchett, a spokesman for the authority, said last night of Creative Response Concepts. He would not comment further. Amorello, the Turnpike Authority chairman, was not available for comment.
A top aide to a senior Massachusetts congressional leader said the authority's hiring of the firm infuriated staff in Kerry's office and that of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Kennedy's spokesman, David Smith, said the senator's office would not comment.
Asked by a Globe reporter whether Amorello and the authority faced pressure to fire the firm and Russell, Hanchett said, ''I can't comment on that."
The turnpike's decision was a quick turnaround for the authority, which earlier in the day began fielding questions from the media and members of the state's congressional delegation over its decision to hire Russell last month.
Turnpike officials acknowledged that Russell's role with the swift boat veterans was known to Amorello, a former Republican state senator, and his aides when they approved the three-month contract. But in a statement, the authority said it was looking to the firm for public relations expertise; the company's client list includes some of the country's top corporations.
''Creative Response Concepts was retained by the Turnpike Authority because of the intense national interest in this story," Hanchett said in his statement. ''Brought in on an interim basis, the firm's job was to assist in reminding the public that the Big Dig remains under construction and that this new roadway network is perfectly safe to use. The firm came highly recommended, and its broad client base simply wasn't a factor."
Kerry and the Democrats say the swift boat group's attacks on the senator's record were lies and distortions. The group was funded by a wealthy conservative Texas businessman, Robert Perry, who pumped $3.8 million of his own funds into the effort.
As word spread yesterday of the firm's link to the swift boat group, Democrats in Boston reacted strongly.
''The feelings are very strong among Democrats," said Philip W. Johnston, the Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman who was reached yesterday in Orlando, Fla., where he is attending a conference of party leaders. He said he had just emerged from an afternoon session where the swift boat ads were the subject of intense discussion.
''It was a irresponsible and untruthful campaign to destroy John Kerry's reputation with lies and distortions about his military record," Johnston said.
Earlier in the day, Russell said the Turnpike Authority was aware of Creative Response Concepts' role in representing the veterans group. But he noted that the firm's client list includes
The firm's client list also includes the Republican National Committee, along with strongly conservative advocacy groups such as the Christian Coalition, Contract with America, and Americans for Fair Taxation.
It also represents Regnery Publishing of Washington, D.C., which published ''Unfit for Command," a book by Swift Boat Veterans leader John O'Neill that attacked Kerry's war record.
Regnery also published Governor Mitt Romney's book, ''Turnaround," a memoir of his work organizing the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
''They certainly knew the track record of the company," Russell said in an interview, before he was advised last night that the firm's contract with the Big Dig was canceled.
He said no one from the Turnpike Authority questioned whether Creative Response Concepts' relationship with the swift boat group could create political problems in the home state of the Democratic presidential nominee.
''The election is over, and this company has a reputation of offering professional service," Russell said.
Russell would not comment on how the firm landed its contract with the Turnpike Authority. One link, according to a senior aide at the agency, was Dan Daly, who served in Vietnam and is active in swift boat veterans' circles. Daly, who ran for the Republican nomination to oppose Kerry for the Senate in 1990 but lost, is currently working with the authority in creating the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy board. Daly could not be reached for comment last night.
