The Massachusetts Republican Party promptly e-mailed a Boston Herald editorial that attributed Orrall’s victory to the “DiMasi effect’’ - a reference to former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, who was recently sentenced to eight years in prison after his conviction on pay-to-play corruption charges. Last week’s indictment of a former probation commissioner, along with a top aide to former state Treasurer Timothy Cahill, ups the sliminess index on Beacon Hill.
These recent cases represent only the latest in a round of Democratic political scandals. For a decade, covering the police beat in Massachusetts meant covering the convictions of two former House speakers, two former state senators, and a Boston city councilor.
Tim Buckley, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Republican party said Orrall’s victory signals a desire for “fresh eyes and new ideas. It’s not so much about party, but about something new,’’ he said.
Orrall is a former member of her town’s finance committee and a former public school teacher who home-schools her children. On her campaign website, she told voters she was born in Ohio, her father is “Japanese from Hawaii,’’ her mother is German Irish and she went to Smith College.
“People do not want higher taxes. They do not have the money for higher taxes. They do not want to work two and three jobs to survive in this state,’’ she declared.
A GOP victory in a local legislative race with only 11 percent turnout is much less momentous than the GOP victory in the congressional district formerly represented by Democrat Anthony Weiner of New York. But it’s still worthy of note - and cause for Democratic Party concern.
A recent survey of Massachusetts voters by Public Policy Polling showed that President Obama enjoys a 53-to-40 percent edge in a hypothetical match against Republican Mitt Romney; still, his advantage is down from a 20-point edge in June. The poll also showed that 49 percent approve of Obama’s job performance and 45 percent disapprove. That is down from 58-to-37 percent last June.
