Jeff Beatty Alleges Voter Fraud By Ogonowski Camp
by Matt Margolis, May 23rd, 2008 at 01:45pm
Jeff Beatty’s campaign has issued a press release alleging voter fraud by the Ogonowski campaign.
The Jeff Beatty campaign has sent and hand delivered a letter to William F. Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, asking him to investigate alleged voter fraud by the Senate campaign of Jim Ogonowski. The letter points to an affidavit signed by a registered Republican voter in Chelmsford, MA stating that his signature was fraudulently placed on nomination papers for Mr. Ogonowski’s campaign. This voter was also told that, in addition to his faked signature, deceased individuals also appeared on some of Mr. Ogonowski’s nomination papers.
Alicia Preston, spokesman for the Ogonowski Campaign, gave Hub Politics the following response:
We cannot control who signs the signature list, nor what they sign. That is why there is a certification process, and this is an example of why it is flawed. However, it is very suspect that the attorney for our opponent was able to view our signature sheets before they were certified.
Frankly, it seems rather silly for the Beatty campaign to making an issue out of this. We expect this kind of behavior from Democrats, not Republicans.
UPDATE: Brian laments when the GOP gives fodder for talk radio…
UPDATE: I just spoke with the Beatty campaign. I asked why the campaign chose to get involved by writing the letter to William F. Galvin prior to the certification of signatures. According to the campaign, given Beatty’s law enforcement background, they felt it was important to make sure the allegations were brought to the proper authorities.
The Beatty campaign told me all their signatures were obtained by grassroots volunteers, and they have 13,000 signatures in hand.
Entry Filed under: Senate Race 2008
8 Comments
1. EaBo Clipper | May 23rd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
This is laughable on its face. Really I mean come on. 22000 signature sheets were turned in and ANYBODY who knows ANYTHING about signature gathering knows that a statewide campaign does not have complete control of their signature sheets for the entire time of the process. Volunteers get sheets and get signatures. Give me a break.
2. obi juan | May 23rd, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I am appalled by your comment. You think it is “laughable on it’s face” for an Ogo volunteer to have submitted God knows how many fraudulent signatures? This is not normal campaign behavior. Beatty is absolutely correct to bring this to the attention of the proper authorities so it can be investigated.
From Peter Dulchinos affidavit:
3. EaBo Clipper | May 24th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
No obi juan I think it’s laughable on it’s face to tie this to the ogonowski campaign itself or to Jim which is what Beatty is trying to do. There is a certification process so that things like dead peoples names on signature sheets get thrown out. I would guess you could find a couple of dead people on the sheets of every statewide candidate for office. One rogue person does not mean this is a newsworthy story obi juan.
4. Harold Stassen | May 24th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Oh you whackey Republicans always find a new way to shoot yourself in the lifeboat.
If there is wide spread fraud, like the fraud commited by The Mass Family Institute when gathering signatures for the anti marriage equality petition, then the gentleman farmer has a problem.
But a few invaid signatures is about as common as bad chicken at a political dinner.
5. Towney007 | May 26th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Jesus, you know, being a member of the GOP in this state, I told a friend of mine once, is like fighting over who gets to take the fat chick home at the prom. We squabble over who gets to get their face kicked in by the Democrats…
I just don’t give to the state party anymore because of it’s wild incompetence. What on earth makes these people think that a guy who didn’t win an election in a ‘more’ Republican friendly district would win a senate campaign state-wide in much more unfriendly territory?
What elected GOP office holder can help them raise the money it takes? Who is going to lend their political machine to Beatty or Oginowski to help get the votes.
The infastructure is NOT there right now to run these races and the only reason we’re talking about this is so that the socialites in the party can still pretend to be relevant and tell each other they helped so and so in a Senate campaign.
You’d think a party with only four votes in the state senate and under 20 in the house would have the common sense to try and get back to basics and embrace some form on incrementalism. Like run strong candidates (not just a body) in areas and districts where they’ve got a good chance at winning. I’m not saying run a million guys at once, but i’m talking like picking five to ten districts, recruiting strong candidates and pooling our resources to get those seats back. In five years, you can now block vetos in the legislature and get rid of these ridiculous roll-call votes…
Also at that point, you’ve got enough eggs in the nest to consider running one of them for congress, with credentials other than ‘good guy’ or ‘former army dude’.
I am just befuddled at the overall lack of strategic direction the state party has.
These sorts of fights make the party look even more disorganized than it already is and frankly, it makes us look like a bunch of nerds fighting over who the PResident of the chess club is. It’s fodder for the other side. All this while we’ve got a ballooning budget defecit, rising taxes and god knows what else we’ve got in store for us over the next few years.
What about building up town committees and getting select board members elected.. like a farm system of sorts. That’s where you hurt the Democrats is at the local level… maybe it’s a losing effort, but to me, it certainly makes a lot more sense than fighting over whose signatures for a meaningless primary are fake or not.
6. Mr. X | May 28th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Towney, where ya’ been? These Essex County types are more interested in attending a polo match in Hamilton than going to this weekend’s HOTDOG SAFARI @ Suffolk Downs (MMM Good Dogs!)Get the point? It’s all about them, not you or the little people (Let them eat hot dogs!) Where is the invisible Peter Torky? (Is that him in line at the bank cashing his check again?) Once Weld won, the downhill slide began, are all you WELDITES happy?
How’s he doin’ by the way? Still scammin the schools for fed $$$?
7. Mr.X | May 28th, 2008 at 11:27 am
As I was saying (today’s Herald)
State GOP won’t contest three-quarters of legislative races
By Associated Press
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - Added 16h ago
BOSTON - Republicans are contesting fewer than a fourth of all legislative races this year, guaranteeing Democrats an overwhelming majority on Beacon Hill.
There are 200 seats in the Legislature, but Republican candidates are running in just 47, according to signature papers filed with the Secretary of State’s office today.
Republican Party Chairman Peter Torkildsen had promised candidates in about 60 races.
In the 40-member Senate, there are 10 Republican candidates, including five incumbents. In the 160-member House, there are 38 candidates, including 16 incumbents. Two Republicans are running for the same seat.
The party contested 70 races two years ago and 121 races in 2004. In both elections, Republicans lost ground.
8. Towney007 | May 28th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Well I don’t think it’s a ‘too good for you’ thing. I think it’s just a matter of there being too many people in decision making positions in the party who wouldn’t know how to win an election if their life depended on it. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. The state party has been doing things wrong for such a long time, that’s it’s nearly impossible to re-teach it how to work again. The only thing the state party has been able to come up with is this whole ‘oh no, please keep this a two party state!’ thing which people clearly just don’t respond to. If they did, we wouldn’t be facing these kinds of deficits at the state house.
These people hang on though, so they can go back and tell their friends and or business associates that they’re a member of the state committee and show us just how important they are. There’s been no real long terms strategy hatched out… it’s just throwing sh__ at the wall and hoping it sticks. There’s no real initiative to get hands on and work with the town committees who are utterly direction-less right now. I looked at a regional map the GOP website had up a year or so ago (might still be there) that had their regional coordinators divided up into the north, central and South regions. Someone remind me how Sheffield, MA is similar to Taunton? Or North Adams to Peabody? Are these people THAT stupid?
I mean, there’s just no thinking going on. Boston, Boston, Boston is it so someone can make enough noise in defeat that maybe someone in Washington will dump on their face and thank them for their efforts. It’s just mind blowing.
I lived and grew up in North Carolina. I was active in Republican Party politics there, a huge portion of the state for Libby Dole and when I got here, I was just amazed at the sheer number of Republicans that just don’t have a clue as to how campaign politics works.. The idealogical stuff wasn’t the problem at all. It’s just the fact that these people haven’t the slightest clue as to how to set up a campaign, recruit viable candidates, how to market a message, any of it. Just don’t tell them that… because then.. you know… you don’t know what you’re talking about. These people have just lost so much that I don’t think they’d realize what to do if they won.
So in conclusion I guess, if Jim Oginowski or Jeff Beatty got hit by a bus tomorrow, no one would care. I don’t even think news organizations would cover it. One guy drives around in a camper with a smooch shot on the side and the other one’s message is ‘vote for me! I almost won last time!’ So I don’t care who is with who. I don’t care whose accusing whom of voter fraud or who grabbed whose dingy or whatever. It’s ridiculous and frankly, Republicans should tell the state party to screw at this point. That or the state party should just sit down, bring in some outside help and re-draw up the organizational structure, strategy, etc. It needs a TOTAL re-do.