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The art of politics by Laura Kiritsy
Editor-in-chiefThursday Apr 23, 2009 Michlewitz makes good use of precious time in 3rd Suffolk sprint
For the candidates who choose to run in them, special elections are a unique brand of hell. After an officeholder passes away, resigns, or is otherwise forced from office before his or her term expires, would-be successors must make a snap decision on whether to upend their normal lives to mount a high-pressure sprint down the campaign trail. Since such elections are aimed at filling empty positions as quickly as possible, candidates must wage a full-scale political campaign, usually in a matter of a few months, and engage an electorate that most likely isn’t paying much attention to off-election-season politics. Not exactly ideal conditions for assembling a campaign staff, developing a platform and strategy, raising lots of cash, meeting thousands of constituents and getting them to the polls on Election Day.
With so little time to campaign, it’s not surprising that conventional wisdom holds that the special election candidate with the greatest name recognition is best positioned to pull off a win.
In the 3rd Suffolk District special election, lifelong North Ender Aaron Michlewitz is not that candidate. At least not in the South End, which comprises about 35 percent of the district. Here, voters are much more familiar with Michlewitz’s chief rival, Susan Passoni, a neighborhood resident who made an impressive showing with South End voters during two previous runs for the District 2 Boston City Council seat.
That was apparent during an April 13 house party at the West Canton Street home of Susan Park.
"You have a less familiar name," guest Leslie Warshaw told Michlewitz minutes after he arrived at the party bearing a white cardboard box from Mike’s Pastry, the beloved North End bakery.
"I do," conceded Michlewitz, before quickly adding, "It’s a name that’s hard to pronounce, but it’s a name you can trust."
But if the 30-year-old is at a disadvantage in the name game, he’s making up for it with some savvy campaign strategy. For starters, Michlewitz announced his candidacy on Jan. 27, the day that his former boss, House Speaker Sal DiMasi, resigned from the seat that he had held for 30 years, giving the candidate a jump on his competitors in the May 19 Democratic primary.
On top of that, in three short months, the Northeastern grad’s campaign has amassed a substantial war chest, a critical necessity for maximizing voter contact in an abbreviated campaign.
"To date, the Committee has received contributions from more than 500 supporters throughout the neighborhoods of the entire Third Suffolk District, which total more than $100,000," said Michlewitz’s Campaign Manager Richard Lynds in an April 21 e-mail to South End News.
Michlewitz is also a creative campaigner. With the help of South End activist Harriet Finkelstein, Michlewitz transformed his Washington Street headquarters into an art gallery on April 17, with "Aaron/Aart," an art auction that donated 10 percent of its profits to United South End Settlements - a smart move considering the SoWa District’s reputation as an artist’s hub. The exposed brick walls of Michlewitz’s office showcased a diverse collection of work, from watercolors by Eliane Markoff of Studio 222 on Harrison Avenue to the irreverent pen and ink drawings from Jose Vasquez, an artist who is homeless. Michlewitz was partial to a pair of South End streetscapes painted by another local, Charles Tersolo. The candidate also didn’t mind the many maroon and white "Aaron Michlewitz, Democrat for state representative" signs hanging among the artwork - nor did the enthusiastic crowd that filled the narrow but lengthy space from end to end on a balmy Friday night.
While Passoni, a former financial analyst who lives on Chandler Street, has leveraged her previous electoral showings to snag a slew of coveted endorsements from progressive political powerhouses like the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, Mass Alliance, Neighbor to Neighbor, and the American Federation of Teachers, Michlewitz has gathered substantial grassroots support by leveraging the relationships he formed with a number of activists and leaders in the district during his four-plus years as DiMasi’s director of constituent services, a post that put him in regular contact with advocates working on a range of neighborhood issues, from groundwater to the Silver Line expansion, the Columbus Center debacle, and the renovation of Peters Park.
As Michlewitz is fond of saying in interviews and on the stump, "If you’ve done work with me, chances are...that you’re with me in this race because you know what kind of elected official I would be."
Notably, Michlewitz has earned the support of several members and past leaders of the Ellis South End Neighborhood Association, of which Passoni is currently president (Passoni is on leave from the post while she campaigns), among them former presidents Kathy Emrich, Dave Crowley and Bill Gregor, as well as Peter Pogorski, who chairs the association’s groundwater committee.
Emrich, who helped organize the house party at Park’s West Canton Street home, said her decision to support Michlewitz came from her experience working with him during and after her tenure leading the Ellis on issues like groundwater and the proposed Silver Line portal on Columbus Avenue.
"He shows up, he listens, he takes the step," said Emrich, who also praised Michlewitz’s work ethic and his understanding of the importance of constituent service. "He understands that this job is not exactly 24/7, [but that] there’s not a lot of down time."
Emrich also believes that Michlewitz’s experience with the legislative process makes him the best candidate to fill the power vacuum left by the departure of DiMasi, who held the seat for 30 years and, as House Speaker, was one of the state’s most powerful politicians.
"He knows people well in all parts of the district and that’s a real plus for us," said Emrich. "We are really going from the top of the heap to have the speaker be your representative to having a new person. It’s really important to have somebody who knows your issues, who knows who to talk to on the constituent side and has a track record for plugging them in."
Is the support that Michlewitz has among Ellis South End Neighborhood Association leaders a negative reflection on Passoni’s ability to be a state representative? Emrich chooses her words carefully on that question.
"I think we’re all grownups about this," she said. "I think there’s a real positive set of reasons for endorsing Aaron. If you put those two candidates head-to-head on a constituent service orientation I think he’s much stronger. ...And I think that based on having worked a lot with each of them."
At the Park/Emrich house party, Michlewitz played up the opportunity working for DiMasi gave him to become acquainted with South End issues. He used the example of groundwater, an issue he said he knew nothing about before he took the job of constituent services director. Deciding it was an issue he should sink his teeth into, Michlewitz recalled reading Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston, Nancy Seasholes’s exhaustive chronicle of the city’s construction on landfill, the heart of the groundwater issue.
"It was this big book; very intimidating to say the least," Michlewitz told the crowd of about 35, adding that he then worked with residents on the issue when the MBTA began working on new recharge systems, which impact groundwater levels, one of which is in the area of Cazenove Street.
"My hard work paid off," said Michlewitz, "because last year I was appointed to the Boston Groundwater Trust and it was an honor because that was a real significant showing of me not knowing an issue, really working really hard on it, getting involved in the neighborhood aspect of it and somewhat being rewarded on it, you know, with an appointment."
Though Michlewitz often emphasizes his experience working for DiMasi on the stump, the former speaker, who resigned amid questions about unethical political dealings, has been nearly completely absent from the Michlewitz campaign. Michlewitz was happy to distance himself from DiMasi during his recent house party when asked by a guest to outline the differences between him and his former boss.
"We could talk about that - there’s a lot of differences that we’ve had," said Michlewitz, noting that he’s not completely opposed to casino gambling in Massachusetts, as was DiMasi.
Though the question of ethics didn’t come up, state Rep. Marty Walz of Back Bay, another Michlewitz endorser, said Michlewitz should not be judged on the alleged sins of DiMasi.
"Aaron is his own person and should be evaluated based on his own skills and abilities and who he is as a person," said Walz, who, because her district shares a border with the 3rd Suffolk District, has worked closely with Michlewitz on a number of issues.
"I have no concerns about Aaron’s integrity," added Walz, a former member of the legislature’s ethics committee. "I would never endorse a candidate if I had concerns and I have no concerns at all about Aaron’s integrity and ethics."
For Michlewitz’s stances on various issues check out "Aaron on the issues."
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