Democratic Senate hopefuls hone pitches
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BROOKLINE - It wasn't exactly a debate, but the four Democratic candidates for the late Edward Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat met for the first time on the same turf Monday to woo party die-hards.
U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano tried to paint himself as the true liberal in the race, saying he stood up against going to war in Iraq at a time when opposition to the invasion was seen as a political risky move.
He said other candidates for the senate seat failed to come out strongly enough against the war at the time - a thinly veiled criticism of Coakley, whom he has tried to portray as cautious and conservative.
"People were speaking out (against going to war)," Capuano told the packed house of party loyalists. "If you can do it, I think every candidate for the United States Senate should have done it."
Capuano later turned to the assembled television cameras and said: "I'm very proud to say it, even with the cameras here, I'm a liberal."
Coakley rejected the notion that she is less progressive than Capuano and said her record on everything from health care and energy to green jobs and fighting foreclosures shows she's championed causes close to the hearts of liberal Massachusetts voters, who are the core of Democratic primary voters.
"You have to look at people's records ... what have they accomplished, what have they stood for, what kind of battles have they taken on," she said. "My whole life has been in the public sector keeping people safe, as a D.A., as an attorney general and particularly after 9/11."
The sparring came as Capuano is hoping to close ground on Coakley. As a candidate for attorney general, Coakley mounted a statewide campaign, while Capuano has only had to court voters in one of the state's 10 congressional districts.
During the first reporting period of the special election, Coakley said she raised more than $2 million compared with around $300,000 for Capuano.
The two other candidates for the seat also tried to appeal to core liberal Democratic voters.
City Year founder Alan Khazei said he'd bring to the Senate the same organizing skills he used to build the community service organization. He said challenges like climate change should also be seen as opportunities for new technologies, new businesses and a way for the country to wean itself off its dependency on foreign oil.
"We need to recapture our sense of America as an opportunity society," Khazei said.
Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca, occasionally relying on written notes, said his first focus would be bringing jobs back to the state and stabilizing the economy.
"I will work like a dog in Washington to bring back those jobs," he said.
Also Monday, Capuano announced the endorsements of fellow U.S. Rep James McGovern and Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis as he tried to expand his base of support to parts of the state where he isn't well known.
Capuano acknowledged that while Glodis is more conservative than he is, they both share a drive to get things done, especially when it comes to helping restore jobs.
State Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican, spent Monday morning greeting voters in Southborough and collecting the signatures needed to secure a spot on the ballot, aides said.
The Brookline forum was a chance for candidates to meet face-to-face with voters - something that will become increasingly difficult with the special election's abbreviated schedule.
Party primaries are Dec. 8. The special election is Jan. 19.
