Brady wins state senate seat, Geoff Diehl strong in suburbs as a tale of two districts emerges

By Tracy F. Seelye
and Deborah Anderson
Express staff

As many political watchers had predicted, Brockton’s landslide win for state Rep. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, Tuesday was too big for state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, to overcome despite big wins in all but one other town in the 2nd Plymouth and Bristol District.

“I’m very humbled by all the support,” Brady told supporters Tuesday night. “It was from all of your efforts all across [the district].”

Diehl, for his part, told supporters, “you have to try, you can’t just cede this race,” in his remarks at Whitman’s VFW.

“We’ve had the best supporters I’ve ever seen,” said Diehl, whose campaign out-spent Brady’s two-to-one. “A lot of people thought this race was unwinnable from the get-go. … We looked at the numbers and felt it [was] a potentially winnable race.”

But Brady held on to win the state senate seat — vacant since the death last June of state Sen. Tom Kennedy, D-Brockton — by a margin of 14,381 to 10,242 for Diehl and 643 for Halifax Independent Anna Grace Raduc.

Kennedy was much on Brady’s mind as he gave his victory speech.

“He was a great friend and mentor to myself and a lot of others and he was also a man of great faith and truth,” Brady said. “He would let me know if my tie wasn’t straight or whether I needed a haircut.”

He also thanked his two opponents in the race.

“You’ve got to give them a lot of credit, everybody ran a great race,” Brady said, noting it was now time to “keep this community and this district moving forward” citing, in particular, veterans’ legislation he is supporting.

Diehl said he views his wins in the suburbs as a “win overall,” and  made a promise to supporters.

“I will not stop working hard for you everyday as your state representative,” Diehl said. “You elected me — not power-brokers up on Beacon Hill — and I’m still going to stand up to special interests.”

Rather than look on the result simply as a loss, Diehl called it “an opportunity to gauge the work to be done” to ensure greater balance on Beacon Hill.

Brady garnered 11,193 votes in Brockton to Diehl’s 3,594. Brady also edged Diehl in the portion of Easton that falls in the district — 397 to 388 with 9 going for Raduc.

Elsewhere, it was all Diehl, but not by enough to overcome Brockton’s 7,599-vote differential.

Whitman went big for its “native son” giving Diehl 1,930 votes to Brady’s 727. Hanson cast 1,142 votes for Diehl and 494 for Brady. Halifax voted 592 for Diehl and 288 for Brady and Plympton gave 229 votes to Diehl and 90 to Brady. In East Bridgewater voters gave their state Rep. Diehl 1,037 to Brady’s 423 and in Hanover, Diehl garnered 1,350 to Brady’s 775.

Raduc received 506 votes in Brockton, 12 votes in East Bridgewater, 21 in Hanson, 13 in Plympton, 32 in Whitman and 41 in Halifax.

In Whitman, 28 percent of the town’s 9,659 voters cast ballots. Hanson saw a 23 percent turnout.

“Geoff Diehl has the hometown advantage,” Whitman Selectman Dan Salvucci said Tuesday afternoon. “In the district, I think that Geoff has worked so hard that it’s almost like he has a right  to get it, but the fact is if he doesn’t win it’s not from a lack of trying.  He’s done it all — he’s knocked on doors in all the towns in the district, especially Brockton, and win or lose, he’s done his best.”

It was a concern  Diehl supporters voiced all day.

“He’s been doing great everywhere, but Brockton’s iffy,” said Whitman resident Joe Goldsberry, holding signs for Diehl Tuesday morning, of his candidate’s chances. “Hopefully there’ll be a low turnout in Brockton.”

Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley  had ventured to guess shortly after the polls opened Tuesday that Diehl’s candidacy could translate into a 13 percent turnout in town.

In Hanson, where several poll workers brought knitting projects to pass the time during lulls, Town Clerk Beth Sloan said the special primary turnout in September was already been exceeded before 9 a.m. Tuesday. One poll worker competed an entire blanket during the 3-percent primary turnout in September.

On Tuesday, the projects included a baby blanket, sweaters and at least one pair of socks. Sloan was hopeful voters would be interrupting the handicrafts often, with the 23 percent turnout, she got her wish.

Plympton signs hazard mitigation plan, Selectmen table most other business for next week

PLYMPTON – Hazard mitigation plan gets signed by Board of Selectmen.

On Monday, Oct. 19, Plympton selectmen saw a presentation by the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) regarding their 15-town regional hazard mitigation plan.

This is the same plan that Halifax selectmen signed in September. Most other business was tabled for next week, as Selectman Colleen Thompson was not present due to a previously scheduled obligation.

Eric Arbeene, a planner with the OCPC, made the presentation and explained to the board the benefits of agreeing to the plan. Also present was Pasquale Ciaramella, the executive director of the OCPC. The mitigation plan is a guide intended to minimize damage done to humans and property when natural disasters do occur by investing in long-term fixes.

Earthquakes, tornadoes, forest fires among other disasters are planned for in the nearly 500 page document. The plan takes a regional perspective, for example there is no chapter for how Plympton should deal with a forest fire, but a chapter on how the region can mitigate fires, and specific actions Plympton can take part in to assist in that effort.

Signing a hazard mitigation plan such as the one signed by the board provides not only historical and demographic data used to mitigate such disasters, but allows towns and cities to apply for MEMA, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to make improvements to prevent natural disasters from being so destructive to people and property.

The ability to apply for these grants hinges on a town or city having a hazard mitigation plan. Although the town does not have to participate, after being questioned by Selectman Chairman Mark Russo, Arbeene stated that, “there is no downside to participating in the plan.”

The Board of Selectmen adopted the plan, 2-0.

Tying up odds and ends

Other than the presentation, Selectmen Christine Joy and Russo discussed developing a committee to focus on the Community Compact grants, which Plympton will soon be receiving and are all financially focused. Joy expects the Community Compact committee to work in tandem with, and mostly be composed of members of the newly formed committee studying the Department of Revenue report. The work the two committees will be doing, according to Joy, will overlap so much that she believes it prudent to first form the Community Compact committee before the DOR report committee continues its work.

Dale Pleau, town coordinator, presented some examples of personnel/hiring policies from other towns that he thinks represent a broad range of options for study in terms of developing a personnel policy for Plympton. Questions for town counsel on a criminal background check policy, or CORI, are yet to be answered as Joy needs more time to meet with counsel.

Town e-mail addresses may not be functioning properly. Forty employees, appointed officials, committees and boards have town e-mail addresses. The board would prefer that these official e-mail addresses be used, to facilitate an open records request, for example. The addresses each cost the town $30 annually, but all three selectmen have reported either some or complete difficulty using their town-assigned e-mail. Pleau will continue to look into the issue.