Marie St. Fleur's money woes.

We're in trouble (0.00 / 0)

Strike two.

I can only imagine the smile on Kerry Healy's face.

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by: Metrowest Mike @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 07:35:44 AM CST

We need to regroup (3.00 / 1)

Reilly and Patrick are strong democrats, good men, and great fathers.  They are horrible politicians.

We need somebody to step into this race who has good name recognition, who has a solid fundraising base, and who can beat Kerry Healy.  The only candidate in that race is Martha Coakley.

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by: Accountability2005 @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 17:22:08 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yes, it's on Reilly (0.00 / 0)

There is a key line in the Globe story today, that St. Fleur told Reilly she had these issues and he only asked for reassurance they were being dealt with. So the conclusion is correct, this instance is not one you point out to demonstrate confidence in Reilly.

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by: Steven Leibowitz @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 07:56:37 AM CST

You've got to be kidding me. (4.00 / 1)

I almost choked on my cornflakes this morning.

Are you kidding me?  This is all that Reilly could come up with?  What is it with him?  And, she TOLD him about it, and he said it was no problem.

I'm done.  I am sick of Democrats who are STOOOPPPPIIIIDDD.

I am lucky to be represented in the State Senate by a zealous advocate, but I am unlucky to be represented by a tax delinquent: Sen. Diane Wilkerson.  It KILLS me that these stars have to blow it by not keeping their end of the American bargain.

Can you imagine trying to sell St. Fleur to the electorate when she can't pay her own damn bills?  I know, I know, we can say "she can relate to the struggles of ordinary people."  Well you know what?  Most ordinary people PAY THEIR DAMN BILLS.  Even those who are a paycheck away from ruin still make it happen.  There is NO EXCUSE and if she gets the nomination, kiss it goodbye and say hello to Gov. Kerry or Christy. 

Maybe Marie should drop out and go get some education from Andrea Silbert's Center for Women and Enterprise, at least there she can learn how to deal with money.

Ugh.

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by: daclerk @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:10:53 AM CST

Is this all to prove that Tom Reilly isn't the insider? (0.00 / 0)

From the Globe... "[St. Fluer] has no intention of stepping aside nor any sense of whether her debt will be a political liability."

Ummm... Ma'am... it will be a political liability.  It amazes me that you would say otherwise.

Is this all rope-a-dope on the part of the Reilly campaign?  Makes Deval's swings at Reilly as the "insider" ineffective.  Could be part of some devious strategy that goes hand-in-hand with Reilly's plan to lose the Democratic caucuses?  Or am I just starting conspiracy theories for no reason and this was just a careless blunder?

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by: Croaky2 @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:17:28 AM CST

broken link (0.00 / 0)

That link to the Globe article has an extra space at the end, so it leads to an error page.

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by: Cos @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:19:12 AM CST

Sorry, didn't see that 'til now (0.00 / 0)

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Blue Mass. Group
So what politics do you deserve?

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by: Charley on the MTA @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 18:49:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

ARGH!@#$ (0.00 / 0)

The moment I saw this was the moment I became a Deval Patrick supporter.  My GOD, is he thinking or just doing?  20 years and Romney will be acting like a conservative whack job to run for president, and yet we still can't get our bloody acts together to put forward a proper candidate for governor.

This is shameful.

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by: auronrenouille @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:24:45 AM CST

Clarification (0.00 / 0)

I feel pity for St. Fleur and I like her as a legislator, I worked with a group in law school who had some interaction with her office regarding some legislation.  She's a good person and her heart's in the right place, and she's knowledgeable about the issues.  I was happy to see her name on the ticket yesterday.  I'm in no place to second-guess her financial circumstances.  I don't know how much MA legislators are paid, but I do know that NH legislators aren't even paid a living wage, it's shameful.  I suspect that it's higher here, but I'm not too sure.

My issue is with Reilly's inability to grasp these situations and get in front of them.  He could've addressed this in an appropriate fashion, but instead he just apparently shrugged and said "whatever."  He doesn't seem to have the sort of radar necessary to identify problems on the horizon and take appropriate action.  Kerry's campaign became an exercise in damage control in the long, hot summer of 2004, and that's probably where we lost it.  Does Reilly want to play the same game?

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by: auronrenouille @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:56:47 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Don't Default to Deval (3.00 / 1)

I'm tired of choosing the lesser of two evils. 

Martha Coakley is the only option that we have to beat Kerry Healy.  She is smart, beautiful, tough on crime, and brilliant.  She is devloping a statewide political organization and is the only person that could step into this race.

Draft Coakley--  Don't Default to Deval.

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by: Accountability2005 @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 17:35:06 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I live in a glass house, so no stones from me (0.00 / 0)

I'm going to be the last person griping about other people's student loans.  After paying my own way through most of college and then law school, I've racked up an insane amount with Sallie Mae.  All so I could improve my life and my families lives.  And, no joke, it's quite a burden.  Along the way, I've had to make late payments.  So, before you pile onto Marie's woes, remind yourself that there but for the grace of god go you, and that at this point we don't know if its financial hardship or irresponsibility that have resulted in her problems.

www.prizblog.blogspot.com

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by: evileddie @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:37:35 AM CST

Good point but, are you a candidate for office? also, the insider malaise (0.00 / 0)

It's a good point, many of us have such burdens, but then many of us aren't telling everyone how we are going to manage the state successfully.

St. Fleur needs to get out and get out now and while she's at it, quit the Ways and Means committee (the legislature's check book managers).

Also, this is a great example why we should be head over heels that a woman like Andrea Silbert is running for statewide office.  She has dedicated her life to creating job opportunities and fixing financial problems.  But she hasn't been surrounded by folks telling them how great she is just because they won an election, as clearly St. Fleur has and probably Tim Murray as well.  Rather, she's been working hard.  It doesn't mean Tim's a bad guy, it's the nature of the beast - when you're in office, people who work for you tell you how great you are when it isn't necessarily merited.

Meanwhile, the Healey crowd are going to continue to beat our tickets up for their "insider" status so long as their are insiders on the ticket.  Someone like Andrea, while certainly politically active, is no insider and would further steel our ticket against such attacks.

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by: FieldGuy @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:48:29 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Problem is not so much the debt (0.00 / 0)

As far as I'm concerned, the problem is not that St. Fleur has debt or has missed payments.  When I was out of work not too long ago, I was about a month away from the same situtation before I finally got a job.

The owed taxes are more of a concern.  Legislators who miss filing their taxes are the Boston Herald's bread-and-butter.  That's why I don't think this issue is going to go away.  Not only that, but the state GOP will peg her as a legislator who refuses to lower your taxes, but doesn't pay her own.  Yes, it's dishonest, but it has the potential to stick.

The worst thing about it, though, is that it makes Tom Reilly look terrible.  If he's going to go out of his way to pick someone new, don't you think he'd better make sure that it's someone without obvious liabilities like this?  It took the Globe less than a day to find this out.  Why didn't Reilly's people bother to do a cursory check to see if there was going to be anything that took the shine off of what could have been a moment of great publicity?

.08 Acres
.0000016% of Massachusetts Political Commentary

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by: sco @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:01:31 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Me too Eddie (0.00 / 0)

My wife and I have debt from student loans in the six figures.  Mine is the biggest share, I paid for college and law school exclusively by using Sallie Mae.  I don't think the issue is that she is having trouble paying back her loans, because I don't think that is the case, I think the issue is that Reilly didn't seem to care one bit about the why she is in the position she is in.  Reilly didn't care if she was there for reasons of laziness or because she is struggling, like a lot of people, to meet her responsiblities.  He is showing poor judgment and giving us tons of reasons not trust him to be our governor.

A blogger no more.

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by: Andy @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:09:46 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You missed the point (0.00 / 0)

Everybody misses a payment every now and again.  There are many more points at play here:

1.  Reilly didn't vet this candidate.
2.  St. Fleur was a hasty decision.
3.  St. Fleur's husband is an ACCOUNTANT.  What is he hiding?

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by: Accountability2005 @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 17:48:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

St. Fleur (0.00 / 0)

I think I made clear yesterday that I don't like Marie St. Fleur (http://bluemassgroup.com/showComment.do?commentId=4789).

But I'm much more upset by her record than by these reveleations.  Yes, they do put a target on her back, and yes, they'll make things harder for the Dems.  And that's frustrating and draws Reilly's strategic sense into major question.

But which are we more pissed about?  St. Fleur selling out her constituents and showing duplicity toward those she'd already endorsed?  Or St. Fleur being one of many, many Americans who's had trouble paying off student loans?  No, I don't have a hell of a lot of sympathy for her, as most people pay their loans off without making nearly what a state rep makes.  And it makes her tough line toward women on welfare all the more hypocritical.

But I just wonder: are we more concerned about her stances and politics, or her perceived electability?

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by: fieldscornerguy @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:49:23 AM CST

how much does a state rep. make (0.00 / 0)

somebody please correct me, but I'm pretty sure state reps make $44k/yr plus benefits... St. Fleur might also get an annual stipend for her work as vice-chair of House Ways and Means...

that said, she got her JD from BC in '87 and didn't start the House until '99. does anyone know what she did b/t '87 and '99?

here's her house website
http://www.mass.gov/legis/member/mps1.htm

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by: drgonzo @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:01:16 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Rep salary (0.00 / 0)

Rep and Sen salaries are about $58,000 per year.  In addition, St. Fleur gets about $7500 additional as Vice Chair of Ways and Means.  On top of that, she gets per diems and office expenses. 

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by: FieldGuy @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:09:30 AM CST

[ Parent ]

third time's a charm (3.00 / 1)

anyone want to comment on the fact that this is the third, relatively-prominent black woman in state politics (Cabral, Wilkerson, St. Fleur) to get run through the media grinder?

notice her response in the Globe:

''This is embarrassing to me; I knew this was going to come out," St. Fleur said, adding later: ''I knew that when I stepped out like this that it might be the end of my career."

nevermind the Reilly campaign's seeming bumbling of the LG pick.

also, I'm guessing anyone under 30 with a bachelor's degree or higher can appreciate her student-loan situation. Are they really delinquent loans? what defines delinquent? I've got some outstanding loan debt which is being repaid; is that delinquent? Thank God I'm not a black woman running for office, otherwise my "delinquent loans" would make front-page news.

perhaps this is some bizarre stunt to get young voters out to the polls. loan debt is as likely to get us out to the polls as the Vietnam War was for our parents' generation 35-40 years ago.

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by: drgonzo @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 08:55:52 AM CST

Save the race card... (0.00 / 0)

...for when it matters.  This isn't about race, this is only marginally about St. Fleur.  This is about Reilly being unable to do his job as a candidate and his staffers as campaign managers, that is, to anticipate reasonably anticipated issues and deal with them in an appropriate fashion.

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by: auronrenouille @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 10:58:00 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Give me a break (0.00 / 0)

She's a lawyer, her husband's an accountant. You can't claim ignorance or poor mouth, as far as I'm concerned. And the arrogance about saying everyone poor knows what its like and can relate.  Most people play by the rules and bust their butts to pay their bills and their taxes. It's a slap in the face.

The Mayor in North Adams is jumping ship from Reilly-- I'm sure he won't be the last.

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by: Metrowest Mike @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:09:58 AM CST

I Wonder (0.00 / 0)

I wonder if Bill Galvin is suddenly regretting his decision after all that's happened in the last month.

.08 Acres
.0000016% of Massachusetts Political Commentary

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by: sco @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:18:19 AM CST

Hey -- me too! (0.00 / 0)

I got some issues with Reilly not knowing the details of this before it hits the newspaper -- even if he wants to disregard this, he needs to demonstrate to us "why." 

Anyone who's had contact with St. Fleur knows why -- she is among the hardest working legislators most have ever seen.  And from what I know of her bio, the question of what she was doing between law school and becoming a legislator is working as an assistant district attorney, and then an assistant attorney general -- two positions that pay next to nothing.  ADA's in particular, factoring in that they all have students loans make salaries we should all be ashamed of -- they make far less than even the court officers despite coming into the job with tens of thousands in loans to be qualified.  I was furious when I read the story this morning, but then realized I got caught with a tax bill once myself, and I don't know too many people that haven't put off student loan payments to pay other bills.  I also didn't see in the story where she tried to get away with anything -- the bills got away from her, and she's on payment plans and trying to do the right thing.  She's tight with Menino, andthe City of Boston put liens on her house, and she didn't use a connection to "fix" it.  I find it funny that we constantly get angry at pols who use their position to fill their own pockets, mysteriously get rich while they're there -- We find out someone actually has had to decide whether to pay the mortgage, uncle sam, the gas company, because she couldn't do it all.  I've been there -- we all have.  I also see she's simply trying to take care of things and make good on her obligations -- I don't see where she's tried to get away with anything.

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by: Dude @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:27:05 AM CST

Again, this isn't about her not paying (0.00 / 0)

This will be my last comment because I don't want to beat a dead horse.  I am not making hay of the fact that she didn't pay her bills, I do think she deserves to undergo a little scrutiny because she is running for office.  My beef is with Reilly's nonchalance on the issue.  He didn't care to interview her, he didn't care what sort of liability this may be for his campaign.  He is looking like an amateur and that is what I care about.  This guy isn't proving he is qualified to lead and make decisions.  If he can't get the politics right now how do we expect him to stand up to the super financed Healey?

A blogger no more.

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by: Andy @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:41:13 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Sympathy, but politics (0.00 / 0)

Trust me, I empathize with her situation. From a human standpoint, that is understood.

Failure by Reilly to fully vet and/or St. Fleur to fully disclose left them in the position of having to react to the story and explain why Reilly failed to do what he needed to do. Whatever the reason, it reflects poorly on them. No way this goes away IF St. Fleur survives the primary.

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by: Steven Leibowitz @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 09:42:23 AM CST

Dude... (0.00 / 0)

You can't be serious. You think St. Fleur actually deserves credit for not using her "connections" in attempting to hide her financial problems.

I am not buying that spin and I doubt John Q. Taxpayer who pays what he/she owes is either.

Seems to me you set the bar extremely low for our elected officials.

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by: WorcesterDem @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 11:28:10 AM CST

Patrick/Goldberg can WIN (0.00 / 0)

PATRICK/GOLDBERG !!!! 
Honest, courageous, street smart, experienced where it counts, fiscally responsible, lawyers, successful in business, good listeners, kind, in touch with common and uncommon people.... lets stop wasting our time on Reilly and St. Fleur. They are a suicide bomb for the democrats.
Reilly, for a lawyer and politician it is inexcusable that he didn’t ask the right questions of both Gabrieli and St. Fleur to know what he was getting into before it became a public problem. St. Fleur should be ashamed of herself for burdening both the Massachusetts State Legislature and Governor's Race with her financial incompetence. Excuses may be okay in private but shouldn’t be in the mouths of our leaders. Shame on her for taking someone's seat at law school and then unlawfully not paying her debts to both the school and government. Lets walk away from Reilly and St. Fleur before we all get burned...

PATRICK/GOLDBERG NOW!!!!!!

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by: JeanMoss @ Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 14:05:07 PM CST