Follow
the Money, (part IV)
"Uptown Girl"
Over several
weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to scrutinize Rachel
Kaprielian’s campaign finances. I won’t bother to conduct
another detailed review. It’s enough to say that Kaprielian has
yet to credibly answer the many serious questions that have been raised.
So for
now, let’s
just pick up the saga where we left off.
I ended
my last column by mentioning that Rachel has engaged the services of
a Boston born) Washington D.C. politico to manage her campaign. That
person is Michael Moschello. Prior to this current effort, Mr. Moschello
worked on the failed Gabrielli campaign. Before that, he was associated
with the “New Democratic Network” (NDN) which is a Washington
D.C. based “think-tank”.
Let’s think about this folks: Rachel’s money comes from
outside the district. Now, we find out her top campaign brass comes from
outside the district. What’s she going to do next? Get her votes
from outside the district?
I won’t bother discussing what Michael Moschello did with
NDN. This column is not intended to be rap sheet about “D.C. Scooter,
the Beltway Boy”. Like every other think-tank, NDN plots strategy.
A bunch of elitist policy wonks sit around figuring out angels designed
win over certain special interest voters. They search for just the right
buzz-word or sound bite. They teach politicians how to speak, without
saying anything, especially avoiding any direct answers to voters’ questions.
That’s exactly what they’ve
done for Rachel. Her new literature is a prime example.
Recently, the Massachusetts Democratic Party sent out a series of mailings,
on her behalf. One flyer shows Rachel standing in front of our
new library telling us that it makes common sense to take advantage of
state grants. Well duh! No kidding!
Oh, Rachel
plays it cute. She never comes out and says she got us the funding.
But as they say, ‘a picture paints a thousand words’.
The inference is clearly there.
The fact is, Rachel Kaprielian had little if anything to do with the
library grant. Her biggest connection to our new library is in fact,
infamous. At the grand opening, much to the embarrassment of those in
charge, she weaseled her way to the podium even though she had neither
been scheduled nor invited to speak.
For the record: The State legislature and Rachel Kaprielian did not
vote for this funding.
The grant for the library came from the Capital Budget, which is entirely
controlled by the Governor. Lt. Governor Healy, who has a long
record of supporting libraries, was the one who went to bat for us. Governor’s
Councilor Devaney, knowing this and having a working relationship with
Kerry Healy, lobbied the Lt. Governor on Watertown’s behalf. So
much so, that when the grant money was approved, Healy called on Devaney,
not Kaprielian to announce the good news to Watertown.
The bottom
line: the credit actually belongs to Lt. Governor Healy and ultimately
the Governor. Kaprielian’s thinly veiled attempt
to take credit for this grant only highlights her lack of accomplishments
during her 12-year tenure. Moreover, what does it say about her character?
Let’s
talk about that 12-year record. Shall we?
With a
$1 billion budget surplus in 2005, she voted to increase taxes another
$85 million retroactively. How can she justify that? Seriously, “Uptown
Girl”! The state took in more than enough money to fund the budget,
why did you vote to increase taxes retroactively?
Tell us, is it some kind of instinct? Can we get you some help?
According
to Citizens for Limited Taxation (CLT), Rachel has voted for a billion
dollars in tax increases. She actually got a 0 % rating from CLT. That’s Zero percent! That means it can’t
get any worse!
And how
does she want to spend our money? Hey! Let’s give illegal
aliens in-state tuition subsidies.
Plain and
simple, Rachel Kaprielian has lost touch with Watertown. Be it her
failure to assist Lowell School parents trying to preserve a 50-year
tradition or her abstention from a vote affirming the words “under
God” in the pledge of allegiance, Rachel no longer espouses the
core values of Watertown’s common sense majority.
So much
for Watertown, what about Cambridge? The Democrats sent out a special
mailing to those poor folks. Get this; it says “Meet
Rachel Kaprielian”. She’s been their state rep for 3 terms
and the state committee has to send out a flyer that says “Meet
Rachel Kaprielian”! After 6 years! You’ve gotta to
be kidding! “Meet Rachel Kaprielian”??? How pathetic
is that?
Come to
think of it, after 12 years of representing Watertown, that flyer would
be just as appropriate here. We sure as heck don’t
know who she is anymore. I guess D.C. Scooter didn’t quite
realize the extent of Uptown Girls estrangement.
This commentary
concludes this series. I hope there’s no reason
for a Sequel. Over the past few weeks, Kaprielian’s only response
has been a blatant denial of facts in a recent TAB interview. This denial
has since been easily and quickly discredited.
Will Rachel
ever answer the serious and legitimate questions that have been raised?
Why does so much of her money come from outside the district? Why did
she take Big Dig Money-- Big Tobacco money? Why did she take a campaign
contribution from someone who stood to gain financially from legislation
she should have sponsored anyway? Will she release her tax forms so
we can see just what she deducted? Why did she enlist a
Washington D.C. Politico to tell her how to talk to us ? Why did she
forget about Watertown?
If On Nov. 7th, Watertown says loud and clear, “Hey,
Rachel !! Meet Watertown…”, will Rachel even understand
why?
John DiMascio
Communications
Director
Watertown Citizens for Common Sense Government
www.citizensforcommonsense.com
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