HYANNIS — It’s crunch time in the race for state Senate in the Plymouth and Barnstable District between Republican James “Jay” McMahon III and Democrat Susan Moran, with one week remaining until the special election May 19.
A request to have the election postponed for a month appears not to have gained any traction on Beacon Hill.
Plymouth Town Clerk Laurence Pizer, with the approval of the town’s Select Board, last week sent a letter to Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, citing coronavirus-related safety concerns for voters and poll workers.
“Apparently there was a phone call from someone in her office to our Select Board chairman saying there would be no action taken (on the postponement request),” Pizer said. “We are strongly trying to deter people from coming to the polls and to vote by mail instead.”
Requests for comment from Spilka’s office went unanswered.
The Plymouth & Barnstable District comprises Bourne, Falmouth and Sandwich in Barnstable County and Kingston, Pembroke and Plymouth in Plymouth County.
The winner of the special election will succeed former state Sen. Viriato “Vinny” deMacedo, R-Plymouth, who resigned in November.
Early voting ballot applications can be found on town websites or at sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/2020-Special-State-Elections-Early-Ballot-Application.pdf.
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Heading into the final week of the election, McMahon has a financial edge over Moran, according to the latest reports filed with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
McMahon raised more than three times as much as Moran — $18,072 versus $5,765 — during April. Heading into May, McMahon had $16,766 cash on hand, while Moran had $11,551.
According to the report, the Mass Values Independent Expenditure PAC spent more than $30,000 on direct mail, digital advertising and design services for the Moran campaign in April.
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McMahon on Monday called for a safe reopening of beaches and restaurants with outdoor seating.
“We are now 12 days away from Memorial Day weekend,” he said. “This is a make-or-break time for far too many of our local businesses. We need to show that the Cape is starting to reopen. There is a way for restaurants to reopen safely.”
McMahon also recently advocated for the reopening of places of worship and charter boat operations.
Moran has received the endorsement of the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund; state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Pembroke; and state Rep. Kathy LaNatra, D-Kingston.
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Barnstable County Commissioner Ronald Beaty Jr. often generates controversy with his social media posts, and one from May 7 was no exception.
“In Massachusetts, who is selling black face masks with white Germanic lettering that say “SIEG BAKER!” he wrote on Twitter.
On Monday, Beaty told the Times, as he has in the past, that he stands by his social media posts as well as his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
“I was comparing the ever-restrictive decrees being issued by Gov. Charlie Baker to those that would likely be issued by a fascist tyrant,” he said. “It seems as each week goes by, our constitutional rights are being violated more and more by this so-called leader.”
He cited a mandatory face mask order, religious liberty violations and the usurping of private-property rights as some reasons for his dissatisfaction with Baker.
“The state of emergency needs to be lifted step-by-step in a safe and responsible manner; however, the planning for this should’ve been done months ago. Charlie Baker had no ‘pathway out of this emergency’ and is only now starting to give us some idea of when we can expect to get things back to normal,” Beaty said.
Beaty is seeking a second term in the fall.
Ron Beaty's offensive comments generated campaign contributions from
Coronavirus Cape Cod: Protesters gather at Bourne Rotary to protest Barnstable County lockdown during COVID-19 pandemicc
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