Ready and waiting

The surprising Patrick campaign is excited about Saturday’s Democratic Convention

Howard Manly

Eighteen months ago, Deval Patrick was mulling over a run to become governor.

It was considered a long shot, not because he was African American, politically correct political observers were quick to point out. But rather, they opined, because he lacked political skills, lacked state-wide fundraising ability, and, most importantly had not paid his political dues in a state that has not elected a black governor, a black congressman or black senator since Edward Brook, a Roxbury Republican, became a U.S. Senator some forty years ago.

Run for Lieutenant Governor, he was told, and wait your turn.

Patrick couldn’t wait, and his political impatience has triggered an unprecedented grassroots campaign that has made those same political observers predict that Patrick will dominate this Saturday’s state Democratic Party convention in Worcester.

Like he did in February during the state Democratic caucuses, besting state Attorney General Thomas Reilly by a two-to-one margin throughout the state and in Middlesex County by a nine-to-one margin.

And just for a little added zip, Patrick is bringing in one of his friends, U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), on Thursday to address as many as 2,000 folks at the Hynes Convention Center.

Political consultant Mukiya Baker-Gomez has watched the gubernatorial race closely and marvels at Patrick’s ability to galvanize a wide range of people throughout the state.

“Deval did his work early on,” Baker-Gomez said. “He has already gathered a lot of delegates and getting the fifteen percent of the vote on Saturday should not be that difficult. What will be interesting to watch is whether Deval has the political strength to get the fifteen percent on the first ballot.”

Interesting indeed.

In the past, candidates were allowed two ballots to earn the 15 percent of the delegate vote to proceed to the Sept. 19 primary. That rule changed this year, now requiring candidates to receive the 15 percent on the first ballot. If all of about 5,100 eligible delegates attend, candidates will need 765 to qualify.

As it is now, Patrick could have as many as 2,500 delegates, or a little less than half of the estimated 5,100 delegates expected to attend the convention.

But there is one wild card. Since the February caucuses, millionaire Chris Gabrieli has entered the race, and whether he can gain enough delegates to run as a Democrat after this weekend remains to be seen. Gabrieli has spent about $2.1 million of his own money, blitzing the airwaves with political advertisements.

But Gabrieli is considered a bit of a political oddity. He ran as a Lt. Gov. candidate with Shannon O’Brien in 2002 but lost to Republican Mitt Romney. Gabrieli was also considered to be Reilly’s pick for lieutenant governor until Reilly left him at the altar and selected state Rep. Marie St. Fleur.

That turned out to be a mistake. St. Fleur withdrew the day after Reilly’s announcement, largely because of her unpaid tax debts and other financial problems.

Gabrieli’s candidacy has had little impact on Patrick.

“He is a nice enough guy,” Patrick said about Gabrieli, “but his candidacy doesn’t mean a thing. Just as the insiders’ strategy has failed to perform any magic, the money strategy has also failed. The only strategy that counts is the one on the ground. And that works both politically and philosophically. It’s the only way to get the people who have checked out to check back in.”

Patrick, the former White House civil rights lawyer and general counsel for Texaco and Coca-Cola, should know about the folks who have checked out of politics. He is one of them.

“They are just like me,” he said during an interview. “We are tired of the same old political leadership. We are ready for candor. We need creative leadership. It’s going to take unity, sacrifice, patience and determination to solve the state’s problems that so far have only received band-aid solutions and government by photo opportunities.”

“It’s a moral disgrace,” Patrick went on, “that we have candidates in the race that were in office when the Big Dig had millions of dollars of cost-overruns and gang-related street violence continues to plague the state’s urban areas. And they act as if they are entitled to serve. That has got to change. We are not acting as if we have a stake in each other. Great states should be like great companies. Yesterday’s greatness is not enough to assure the future.”

Patrick said that he remains a little nervous about Saturday’s convention. “I’m not taking anything for granted,” Patrick said. “I still have a lot of butterflies. This is a unique moment in Massachusetts history. Our challenges are enormous, everything from our soaring housing costs to the number of young people leaving the state. We need leadership that is willing to look at our challenges in the eye and find ways that are both honest and creative.”

Obama is one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars.

“Ours will be a long and, at times, trying fight,” Obama told Patrick’s supporters. “We are likely to see every play in the negative campaign book attempt to derail this grassroots effort. We must be ready to rise above it.”