Wilkerson concedes recount, to run sticker campaign

She can't run as a Democrat, write in or no. The party gets to decide who gets on their ticket, and their primary selected Chang-Diaz.

Wilkerson can run as a write-in, but she can't affiliate. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an injunction to prevent her from using "Democrat" on her campaign materials.

The easy one is when the General Court takes office. Our constitution reads, "The terms of senators and representatives shall begin with the first Wednesday in January succeeding their election and shall extend to the first Wednesday in January in the third year following their election and until their successors are chosen and qualified."

The harder part is how Wilkerson would fare in the extremely unlikely case she won a sticker/write-in race in November. (She won't.)

She claims that she's a Dem. Ryan Adams has the nits and grits here. Basically, the DP that she has agreed to follow says its primary produces a winner. Beep. Not you. Thanks for playing.

She can't run as a Dem and I bet the DP would sue her if she tried to produce stickers reading that she was. Sonia is the Dem primary winner and the nominee on the ballot. Moreover, the heavy hitting Dems, like the governor and senate prez will endorse Sonia.

Let's really stretch and pretend she won on 11/4. She would have to be totally ineffective. She's never been a coalition builder, although she did vote with the crowd on progressive issues when the momentum was large enough. In this case, no one would work with her or co-sponsor anything. I'm betting she'd also lose anything like a seat on any important committee. Finally, her forte has been tucking earmarks in big spending bills. I'd bet her addenda like that would not make the bills.

She could have left office instead with good will and sympathy, plus the gratitude for the good she had done. She could have re-geared for a different office. She's making that impossible.

I'm biased, but I can't help but wonder why people around her can't put her head on straight for her, override her ego, and ship her off to a meditation center for six months.

Nose about Wilkerson's articles and releases. She has announced repeatedly that if she loses the Democratic Primary, and then if she loses the recount for the Democratic Primary, she's running as a Democrat and not an independent in November.

Wilkerson likes to make up her own rules and reality. This is another case. Don't assume she won't hand out non-compliant stickers.

The best case would be if she said, "Good fight, Sonia. You win." Then she'd have a shot at another office, or even this one later.

What she wants is not to have lost the primary and the recount. Ding. Ding. Anyone home?

The Democratic Party owns the label "Democrat".

Wilkerson can say that she is a registered Democrat, but she cannot advertise herself as "Democrat for State Senate" on her campaign materials. Only Chang-Diaz is entitled to do that. She is the Democratic Nominee for that seat. Wilkerson may be a registered Democrat, but she is absolutely NOT the Democratic Party candidate.

Put simply, The Democratic Party is a brand. Chang-Diaz has that rights to that brand. Wilkerson does not. If Wilkerson uses the Democratic Party brand name in her campaign, expect legal action from the party. The party gets to say who uses that designation, not Wilkerson.

If the Green Party agreed to let Wilkerson run as their nominee, she could then label her materials "Green Rainbow Candidate".

Another key aspect, and bit of pathos, in this race is that it pits two progressives against each other. We saw that in the Dem Primary for U.S. Senate and several state rep races as well.

In one way, it's great that we have such choices. In many places friends live, they say they have a slate of right wingers against extreme right wingers.

On the other hand, I'd be happier if we nudged out some of the Democrats in Name Only (DINOs) and replaced them with legislators ready to advance progressive causes.

In Wilkerson's case, if voters were sure she could behave herself legally and financially, she could have remained for a long time. Instead, she has been mightily distracted for years. Hers is the only race like that this time.

By the bye, on paper, Chang-Diaz faces an on-ballot Socialist Worker candidate, William T. Leonard.

Joe Lieberman (I-CT). Lost his party's primary in CT, but won the general election because he knew he'd carry the backing of enough Republicans to push him past the candidate that barely beat him in the primary and would not court the Republicans the same way that he could.

If Wilkerson can carry all of her primary voters and cater to 213 more people from those who weren't involved in the primary and limit Chang-Diaz to only her Democratic base, then she'll still win as an write-in on the ballot. This is why Wilkerson feels she has a good shot. There will easily be more than 200 extra people at the election day polls who weren't voting in the primaries because it's a presidential election year. All she has to do is remind them of how they voted for her the last time (when she ran by sticker because she was too late to submit her name for the ballot).

It's highly possible she'll get herself reelected if Chang-Diaz can't make more of Wilkerson's past transgressions and loss in the primary.

Hey Brett- Thanks.

Governor Patrick has already said he will support Sonia. Sonia has said she will receive endorsements from numerous Democrats as soon as she is certified as the winner of the primary.

By contrast, most Democrats I have spoken to are concerned by Wilkerson's tone at her event this past Tuesday. To claim that Sonia is not a person of color (she's Latina and speaks fluent Spanish), and to claim that Sonia bought her victory (Wilkerson spent more; Sonia's campaign made their own buttons) is so ridiculous it's actually kind of scary.

I don't understand why Wilkerson is doing this. It's only a two-year term. She could run again in two years, spending the period in between ralling her people and puttinig in place a solid organization.

I agree to a point. I dont see Patrick and company coming out in full support of Sonia. Rather I see them just sitting off to the side and not saying anything. Its possible some of them will "endorse" Chang Diaz but will in reality just say that in public then walk away and work on something else. Patrick saw his fair share of lame endorsements from conservative democrats during his bid for the governorship so Im sure he knows how that works by now.

Up until that ad came out those democratic legislators never really came out heavy for Patrick, and even after the ad they were mum. They were pissed that Reilly wasnt picked.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidat...

Joe Lieberman got his name on the ballot in 2006 in Connecticut. The rules in Conn. are a bit different, and Lieberman was able to file papers and signatures to actually get his name on the ballot.

Lieberman's race was NOT a write-in or sticker campaign, as his name was one of the choices ON the ballot.

Looking at Chang-Diaz's victory, the heavy advantage for Sen. Wilkerson in her home districts was matched by Sonia' Chang-Diaz's advantage not only in her home wards of Jamaica Plain, but also in downtown. Turnout will be high everywhere on election day.

She may think that she will be treated as any other "Democrat", but she will not be. She has chosen to be a pariah, and will not be welcomed with open arms or much respect or cooperation. She will get nothing done.

The party will treat her as the poor sport that she is, and will assign her her office and her committee appointments accordingly. She will be totally ineffective because this is Massachusetts where loyalty is valued more than experience, expertise, and good sense much of the time.

The thing with Lieberman is he was needed by the democrats, they couldnt/cant afford to alienate him so they continued to give him the benefit of being in the club. I have friends who work down in DC, one who even worked for Lieberman for a while, who all say that while it looked like roses and sunshine on the surface there was alot of tension between Lieberman and the Democrats, with many Democrats wishing they could get close to 60 votes at the end of this cycle simply so they could toss Lieberman off of the train.

If we were a state with a vibrant Republican party I would agree with you and say that Wilkerson would be accepted into the fold once again simply so the Democrats could keep their numbers. The problem for Wilkerson is that there is no party that comes even close to overpowering the Dems inside the state house (excluding the governors office) and the Dems hold insurmountable majorities over the Republicans. Wilkerson is not needed by the Democrats and in fact can be seen as a threat to the status quo. If Wilkerson is allowed to be a free agent hanging out with the Democrats whats stopping other people from running as independants in the future, winning, and joining the Democratic caucus at the end? These new politicians would have the benefits of hanging out with the holders of the money, while not being held accountable to the party for their actions. While I do not see that as being a bad thing per say (Ive always liked the parliment system with multiple parties that form a government by compromise) the Democrat party will see it as a threat and will try to squash it any way they can.

I think it's good that a Hispanic takes a Senate seat away from the Anglos. It's about time we had a Hispanic up there. Hispanics are the largest minority group in the US and in Massachusetts, so it's good that we get a more representative Mass. Senate this way.