LEGISLATIVE RACES
Springfield lawmaker trouncedTwo-term state Representative Christopher P. Asselin, a Springfield Democrat who was arrested this summer on charges that he stole federal housing money and used it for personal purposes, was trounced in a three-way primary yesterday, one of a handful of incumbents unseated in 21 competitive House primary races.
Asselin, who has insisted he is innocent of the charges of conspiracy, bribery, accepting illegal gratuities, extortion, government theft, and mail fraud, got 15 percent of the votes cast, while predicted winner Sean Curran took 53 percent and Rosemarie Mazza-Moriarty took 31 percent. Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman Philip W. Johnston said he was thrilled that Asselin had lost, calling him an embarrassment to the party.
''I'm delighted that Representative Asselin lost," Johnston said. ''He's under indictment, and he's an embarrassment to his city and to our state, and he should be removed from public office, and I'm glad he went down tonight." Other incumbents to lose their seats last night were Representative Vincent P. Ciampa of Somerville, who fell to newcomer Carl M. Sciortino Jr. of Somerville, and Representative Mark A. Howland of Freetown, who lost his party's nomination for the 12th Bristol district to Lakeville School Committee member Stephen Canessa in a three-way race. Canessa took 45 percent of the votes cast, Howland took 35 percent, and George Rogers of New Bedford rounded out the slate with 20 percent. Ciampa, representing an increasingly liberal and gentrified district, voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the recently ended session and opposed establishment of Vermont-style civil unions, while Sciortino is an outspoken advocate for full marriage rights for same-sex couples. But Johnston said he doubted that issue had much to do with the final outcome, saying, ''It's all about personalities." Sciortino spent more than Ciampa in the months leading up to the primary and still had $23,000 left with a week to go before yesterday's balloting, campaign finance reports showed. Typically, the Democratic primaries have served as the de facto general election in many Massachusetts House districts because of the longtime dominance of the Democratic Party in the state. House races typically cost about $25,000-$50,000, while Senate races can easily run more than $75,000. But this year, under the leadership of Governor Mitt Romney, the GOP has fielded 134 legislative candidates, the most in more than a decade, which means that the Nov. 2 general election will be a competitive and expensive one for many more Democratic incumbents than usual. At a press conference yesterday, Romney said Republicans would target Democratic incumbents on bread-and-butter issues such as income taxes, which Republicans want to roll back. All 200 legislative seats, 160 in the House and 40 in the Senate, are up for grabs in the general election on Nov. 2, but only 39 of the 200 attracted more than one candidate from each party to step forward to claim them. Continued... |
