Reilly starts statewide tour, hails populist themes
Says education, economy is focus of his campaign
WATERTOWN -- Launching a new phase in his run for governor, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly yesterday began a statewide tour from his modest neighborhood with a pitch aimed at middle-class voters.
Reilly, in the familiar surroundings of the neighborhood where he has lived for 36 years, told about 150 supporters at a schoolyard rally that he would focus on education and the economy if he is elected governor.
``These people, my neighbors, my friends, not just here in Watertown but throughout this great Commonwealth of Massachusetts -- they need a champion. They need a governor on their side, not just on Election Day, but every day," he said.
``As governor, every day I will focus on good jobs, quality schools, affordable healthcare, because that's what matters on my street," Reilly told the crowd.
In a 15-day tour, Reilly is aiming to carve out a populist niche and appeal to a constituency of moderate and conservative Democrats who are a key bloc in both the gubernatorial primary and general elections. Reilly touched on themes of wealth, class, and privilege yesterday as he sought to highlight his humble roots and modest holdings and play off his four wealthy rivals.
He and his wife, Ruth, have lived in a rented two-story, two-family house in Watertown for 17 years.
Reilly's tour, billed as the ``On Your Street Tour," will hit 10 communities, from the Merrimack Valley to Southeastern Massachusetts to Worcester and Springfield, the city where he grew up. He will use urban neighborhoods, small-town main streets, and middle-class suburban settings to drive home his theme.
Reilly is battling Deval L. Patrick and Christopher F. Gabrieli in the Democratic primary. The winner will face the GOP-endorsed candidate, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey , who has a huge fortune to tap for her candidacy. Also expected on the general election ballot are convenience store magnate Christy Mihos , who is running as an independent, and Grace Ross , who is running as the Green Rainbow Party candidate.
``By talking about his street, Tom is making a connection with the voters that none of his opponents can make," said one senior Reilly strategist. ``The sermons of new leadership and the 30-second television ad about big ideas might seem attractive at first blush, especially in affluent communities, but they fall flat in the middle-class communities where most voters live."
Earlier in the campaign, Reilly released his tax returns; Patrick and Gabrieli have not, though Patrick has provided a more detailed disclosure of his 2005 income than was required by law.
In his remarks yesterday, Reilly did not name his two Democratic rivals, but his references were clear. For example, he pointed to Gabrieli's refusal to release income tax filings, saying the venture capitalist instead prefers ``hiding behind vague and outdated disclosure laws." Gabrieli, a late entry into the race, has spent almost $3 million of his money financing a blitz of 30-second television ads to establish his candidacy.
Reilly also made an obvious reference to Patrick's work as a corporate lawyer with
Reilly also described his opponents as having ``offered up mainly platitudes and vague plans," and taking positions to curry favor from the special interests and politically powerful in the Democratic Party.
He also tweaked Healey, reminding the audience of the $1.2 million state tax break that her husband's investment firm,
Reilly's comments mark the second time in less than a week that one of the Democrats has gone on the attack, signaling what is expected to be a rough primary election. In a video e-mail to supporters, Patrick sharply criticized Gabrieli, saying he had sent a ``cynical message" by setting a high spending limit for the campaign in official filings with the state.
Gabrieli brushed aside the Patrick attack last week. ``I think a candidate for governor should talk about what they can get done, and prove that they can get it done," he said at a campaign stop.
Patrick, a former top federal civil rights prosecutor, received 58 percent of the delegates' support earlier this month at the Democratic Party's endorsement convention in Worcester, far out-polling Reilly and Gabrieli.
Some seasoned observers say Reilly's weakness so far as a candidate is that he is not strongly identified with a particular base of voters. He is often defined merely as the most conservative of the three Democratic candidates. For example, he is the only major Democratic leader who is pushing a rollback of the income tax to 5 percent and has alienated the gay community by defending a 1913 law that bars out-of-state homosexuals from marrying in Massachusetts.
Reilly advisers are convinced that the special-interest groups that drive the early stages of the primary campaign, at least up to the convention in early June, fade in importance as the primary election approaches.
``This campaign was never going to be about the 5,000 who attend a Democratic convention," said one of the senior campaign advisers, ``but about the 750,000 who will vote on primary day."
Warren Tolman, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2002, said Reilly's strategy could energize a key bloc of primary voters. But he also warned that Reilly should avoid strong rhetoric about class and wealth.
``Reilly is threading a needle here -- he has to be careful not to play the class warfare card too much, because he will annoy his wealthy contributors," Tolman said.
But Reilly said his embrace of his neighborhood roots is genuine. ``This is who I am, this is where I live, this is what I believe in," he said.
Scott Helman of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 