You've seen the bumper-stickers and yard signs; now it's time for the facts. A number of races that will be decided today have an impact on the Tufts community. Here is a summary of some of those contests.
The most publicized race has been the battle to represent the 34th Middlesex District, and the fight has recently been marred by charges of dirty campaigning. Incumbent Vincent Ciampa is running as an independent on a write-in campaign. He claims that Tufts alumnus Carl Sciortino was elected in the Democratic primary after falsely distorting Ciampa's record, an accusation Sciortino denies.
Interest groups from outside of Somerville have campaigned on behalf of both candidates. Some of the most vitriolic campaign literature has come from the Parents Rights Coalition, whose founder and President Brian Camenker spoke at Tufts last Wednesday night.
Camenker accused Sciortino of being a "militant homosexual activist" and endorsed Ciampa. Sciortino condemned the flyers as "hate mail;" Ciampa said the mailings "brought out an issue of grave importance."
Sciortino has no Republican opponent and beat Ciampa by 93 votes in the primary. Sciortino is pro-gay marriage, while Ciampa voted for an amendment that would ban gay marriage but establish civil unions. The Somerville Journal, which endorsed Ciampa in the primary, has shifted its allegiance to Sciortino.
Another Tufts alumnus on tomorrow's ballot is Scott Brown, a Republican state senator representing a nearby district that includes parts of Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex counties. Brown is running against Democrat Angus McQuilken.
Brown beat McQuilken in a special election last March held to fill the seat left vacant by Cheryl Jacques, now the president of the Human Rights Campaign. The special election was decided by 349 votes among the 37,665 cast.
Brown has consistently supported the agenda of Governor Mitt Romney. Brown would be an important ally in Romney's quest to gain enough Republican votes in the State House to keep a Democratic majority from vetoing Romney.
McQuilken supports gay marriage, and Brown does not. Neither would increase income taxes, they say, but Brown supports income tax reduction.
In nearby Portsmouth, N.H., Republican and Tufts graduate Jeb Bradley is running for a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is opposed by Democrat Justin Nadeau. A University of New Hampshire poll showed Bradley in the lead, with 58 percent of the vote, to Nadeau's 25 percent.
Locally, 12-year Democratic incumbent Tim Toomey is expected to beat Republican challenger David Slavitt in the 26th Middlesex District, which includes parts of East Somerville. Unlike Slavitt, Toomey opposes lowering the state income tax. Both candidates are in favor of gay marriage and extending the Green Line into Somerville.
Toomey won 54 percent of the vote in a primary contest against local activist Avi Green's 46 percent. Green opposed Toomey's anti-abortion voting record and said that Toomey did not do enough to bring the Green Line to Somerville.
Democrat Pat Jehlen, who represents wards 3, 5 and 6 and parts of wards 2 and 4 of Somerville in the state legislature, is running against Republican Dane Baird. The Somerville Journal has endorsed Jehlen, largely on the grounds that Baird distorted Jehlen's record during the campaign. Jehlen supports extension of the Green Line into Somerville and is in favor of gay marriage.
Democrat Paul Donato, the incumbent in the 35th Middlesex House district, which includes most of Medford, is being challenged by Independent John Carey. Donato beat Carey in the 2000 Democratic primary. Carey is in favor of rolling back the state income tax to five percent, while Donato is not.
U.S. Representative Edward Markey is also up for reelection. Markey, a Democrat, has represented the 7th congressional district - which includes Medford - for 28 years. He is running against Republican Kenneth Chase and Independent Jim Hall. Markey is considered a favorite to fill John Kerry's Senate seat if Kerry is elected president.
Running unopposed are U.S. Congressman and former Somerville mayor Mike Capuano, State Senators Jarrett Barrios and Charlie Shannon, and Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola, all Democrats.
