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In Rush to push out incumbent state senator, a possible campaign-law violation
By adamg on Sun, 01/10/2010 - 6:30pm
David Ertischek at Wicked Local West Roxbury discovers that state Rep. Mike Rush already has a his state Senate campaign site up (you may recall he said he'd be running this year no matter what incumbent Marian Walsh does). Eagle-eyed Ertischek also notices the phone number on the site's contribution page is Rush's current State House office number, which may just violate the state law that prohibits the use of state property for campaigning.
Rush has been a state rep since 2002, so you'd think he'd know these things by now.
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Comments
It's been said here before
by a classmate of Rush from college (not verified), Rush is s a Republican who registered as a Democrat to have a career in Massachusetts politics. Now that you know that, are you less surprised by his apparent campaign violation?
Is there any merit to the charge that Rush's Havey Beach project is a gambit to build a bigger parking lot for the Jim Roche Community Ice Arena? ...Because who thinks of the Charles River when they think, "Let's go to the Beach." I don't know. Just asking.
Not sure I follow you
Not sure I follow your logic. Because he switched parties in order to get elected he is unethical? Or, because he's a Republican? 'Cuz when I Mass Democrat, not Republican, I think criminal - Flaherty-Finneran-DiMasi-Wilkerson-Marzilli-Galluccio-who's_next ...
And, apparently, Rush's POV matches up with that of his electorate (or, at least, those who vote) since he's been in office for eight years, winning elections in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008.
I wasn't very clear.
He's unethical only because he did not abide by campaign law. But it's not surprising that anyone who has Republican values and yet would change parties to get elected, might also break campaign ethics laws.
Havey Beach
Ya know, you bring that up every time I post about Rush (well, OK, twice). Maybe he really does just want to build a parking lot for the ice rink and maybe Walsh has perfectly valid reasons to perpetually block it in the Senate that have absolutely nothing at all to do with the fact that the two of them can't stand each other. I don't know. I do know when I talked to Rush about it once, he claimed his idea was to build walking/riding trails along this part of the Charles, not re-create a beach that hasn't existed in 60 years. The river from Bridge Street to Millennium Park certainly would make a nice extension of the trail system that already exists on the other side of the park.
Thanks for sharing that
It's good to know. The area southwest of Charles Park Road, labeled Havey Beach, looks like wetland from the Charles Park Road because it's thickly populated with pussy willows, at least as of last summer. I haven't walked through it so I don't know if there are parts that are not wetland.
Near the parkway, there is a column of land between parkway and the Charles, a river bank.
With Millenium Park abutting it would make for a nice path into the park. Perhaps Rush has a description or a landscape plan.
The stupid thing
Is how the MDC/DCR/Whatever they call it now keeps refreshing the "Havey Beach" sign as if there's a beach there or even a place for somebody to turn in (well, there is a parking lot with, oh, two or three spaces that, if you're lucky, you can squeeze into but it's a lot easier to just park across the river in Dedham and walk over the bridge if you really want to see where the beach used to be).
that Lot is even more cramped
when the Zamboni is parked in the middle.
I'll have to keep my eye open for the Havey Beach sign ... and also for any well worn foot path that trespasses into the mysterious Havey Beach.
Canoe rental
Forgot about that. Rush also wants to see that at the beach (there used to be one way back when). More.
good idea and good initiative (but spare us the bs)
From the article:
It may be a good idea but I dislike being played the fool by pols and their transparent rhetoric. Good for Rush for researching this but spare us the bullshyte.
I think Charles River Canoe and Kayak does the for-profit rental service at Cochituate.
Millennium Park would be a better spot, anyway
It's already got the infrastructure to handle canoe rentals, i.e., a large parking lot and a canoe launching area. I can't imagine it would be that hard to find some space for a canoe concession there. Also, no messy issues with traffic - I'm finding it hard to imagine an active curb cut at Havey Beach itself, while Millennium already has an actual intersection with a traffic light (well, not at the park itself, but off the parkway).
hard to understand
why Rush is advocating bike paths or canoe launch at Havey beach as opposed to Millenium Park.
Don't worry Anonymous
You play the fool role pretty well on your own.
If I manage the LL Bean store and I hear about this project or run Charles River Canoe and Kayak I would absolutely go to the person who wants to restore this area and offer up canoes or kayaks or whatever. Not only would it be a great asset, like it once was from the research I did, for the community but from a business standpoint it continues to link a business like LL Bean to outdoor activity/green initiatives that they are very well known for. If I'm the Rep I'm looking for partners to help make it a success. It is a Win/Win Community has a servicable waterway area for stuff like canoing, etc and LL Bean is being a responsible business in the community hence people will shop there. No different than say a pizza place sponsoring youth sports. Isn't this what you want from your elected officials? Leadership and helping make the area a better place to live?
This is called common sense.
Maybe he really does just
In the last article I saw on the subject, towards the end it said explicitly - after all the talk about paths and canoes - that the first part of the project - the part that would actually be funded - would be the parking lot for the ice rink. This isn't hard to figure - constituents/hockey mom/dads want the taxpayer to fund a new lot for their convenience. The rest is window dressing.
parking at Roche Rink