MDF Convention Report

On Saturday, Massachusetts Democratic Future, the local chapter of Young Democrats of America had its annual Leadership Convention at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. The purpose of the convention, near as I could gather was more networking (for the attendees) and campaigning (for the speakers) than anything else. I suppose most of these things are.

The main reason I was there was that it gave me a chance to see both Tom Reilly, who I had yet to see in person and Deval Patrick, who I hadn't seen since his official announcement. Other elected officials speaking were Sen. Jarrett Barrios (D-Somerville), Middlesex County DA Martha Coakley, Rep. Michael Festa (D-Melrose), and a panel featuring Reps. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster), Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) and Steve Canessa (D-New Bedford). Several others made appearances but did not speak, including two 2006 candidates for Lieutenant Governor: Deb Goldberg and Sam Kelly (if memory serves).

First to speak was Senator Barrios. He gave a speech out of the George Lakoff playbook. That is, the Democrats don't need to move to the left or move to the right, they just need to talk about their values in simple terms. The Republicans simply have a better, or at least better defined, brand -- even here in Massachusetts. He bases much of what he says on the work he did on the Election Outreach committee last year. If you haven't had a chance to look at the committee's reports yet, they are well done and well researched. The Recapturing the Corner Office (PDF) report is something I've been meaning to comment on for months now, but just haven't had the time.

Attorney General Tom Reilly sound very much like a declared candidate for governor. I'm not sure that he's made any official statement, but at this point if he did, it wouldn't even be "news" since it's been talked about so much already. He was a few minutes late, having been in an Honor Guard for Suffolk County prosecutor David Connolly, who was killed in Iraq last week. Reilly spoke briefly on this, his thoughts a little scattered in light of the emotional content. Reilly hit his stride later, while giving what I'm sure is his typical "I'm Tom Reilly and this is my story" schpiel. If you don't know his history, Boston Magazine had a good article on him a few years ago and his story is one that a lot of Bay Staters can probably relate to. he talked a lot about his accomplishments, and mentioned his campaign themes of 'personal responsibility' and 'merit' among others. At the end, in a clear challenge to the governor, he mentioned that he had never lost a race and didn't plan to start.

Next was a panel on "Running Young and Winning" which featured three Democratic state legislators who ran young and won. They each told their stories of how they got involved and described their experiences being often the youngest people in the room. Personally, I would have rather had the emphasis on "winning" rather than "running" as none of the panelists said much about what made their campaigns successful other than the usual door knocking and having top-notch staff. One thing they mentioned they did not use was the Internet -- something I hope changes in future elections.

Deval Patrick spoke next on the same themes I had heard him talk about previously, though this time in a prepared statement. I'll forgive Patrick for reading his speech since he only announced last week, but at some point he should really commit it to memory -- especially since I find him much better than Reilly when speaking extemporaneously. To their credit, though, neither Patrick nor Reilly criticized the other, saving their barbs for Governor Romney. Patrick was asked about Romney's recent attack and said, in his defense, that when you include property taxes, his taxes had actually gone up under Romney. He also repeated his point that we shouldn't be talking about taxes before we talk about what we want government to do. It's a fair point. People trust Republicans to cut taxes and Democrats to keep services. If the candidates are talking about services rather than taxes, the Democrat naturally comes out on top.

During the break, MassEquality played a teaser to Saving Marriage, a documentary about the fight for equal marriage rights in Massachusetts. The movie should be coming out later this year. I would hope that people on the fence about this issue would see it with an open mind, as it really puts a face to the struggle for gay marriage.

Martha Coakley spoke after another breakout session. She was actually a lot better than advertised. I've heard generally poor reviews of her speaking style in the past, but I would have to disagree given what I saw on Saturday. Either she's stepping up her rhetorical skill as she runs for state Attorney General, or I just had low expectations that she easily exceeded. One thing that stood out in her remarks was a comment that Massachusetts police departments could leverage the strong biotech industry in public-private partnerships. This could make it easier for cash-strapped police departments to do things like run DNA tests, for example.

Michael Festa, a current Rep. from Melrose spoke last. He's running for Middlesex County DA, Coakley's current job and Tom Reilly's former job (as well at Scott Harshbarger's). I had heard that Jarrett Barrios was also running for this position, but I've never had this confirmed independantly. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham) who represents part of Watertown is also rumored to be interested in the DA's job. Festa talked a lot about how public safety should not just be concerned with punishing criminals, but also addressing root causes.

In all, I'd have to say the convention was successful in giving young Democrats a chance to network and a chance to see candidates for office at an early stage in the election cycle. It was also good to see people who wanted to get involved despite the fact that this is an off year.