Killer Coke story outrages Patrick camp
The gubernatorial campaign of Deval Patrick and a key supporter yesterday expressed outrage over a disclosure that advisers to rival Thomas F. Reilly had attempted to coordinate media coverage of a group that has been critical of Patrick's corporate background.
``The credibility of the Reilly campaign is at question," said Representative Michael E. Capuano, a Somerville Democrat, who has endorsed Patrick. ``If you want to be trusted by the public, you have to be honest with the public."
The dispute arose after Globe op-ed columnist Joan Vennochi reported e-mails showing that campaign advisers to Reilly, the state attorney general, had discussed how to ``map out shadow plans for our friend at Killer Coke."
The New York-based Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, headed by Beverly native Ray Rogers, has been spotlighting Patrick's corporate role from 2001 to 2004 as an executive with soft drink giant
Yesterday, Rogers said he had also reached out to other campaigns. The campaign of Christopher Gabrieli, the third Democrat in the gubernatorial primary race, told Vennochi that no one from Killer Coke had contacted the campaign.
Richard Chacon, the Patrick campaign's communications director, in an e-mail response to a Globe inquiry said yesterday's ``Boston Globe's account of the Reilly campaign's involvement with Ray Rogers' smear tactics . . . raises many serious questions that must be addressed over the next few days."
Labor unions had filed a campaign finance complaint against the organization last week, before the latest allegation surfaced.
Yesterday, Reilly's campaign said that Killer Coke was raising important issues.
``Ray Rogers raises serious and legitimate questions about Deval Patrick's record at Coca-Cola," said Reilly spokesman Corey Welford in an e-mail yesterday. ``It's time for Deval Patrick to come clean about what happened not only at Coke, but at Texaco, Ameriquest, and United Airlines," corporations for which he's worked or been affiliated.
Welford also dismissed the criticism of Capuano. In an e-mail to the Globe, Welford countered that Capuano should encourage Patrick to be more forthcoming. ``If Mike Capuano is so concerned about openness and honesty, he should tell Deval Patrick to release his tax returns and answer detailed questions about his mysterious corporate record," Welford wrote.
