Hi everyone — There’s a lot going on out there.  First of all, we just launched our first TV ad of the campaign.  We tried to capture three messages in thirty seconds (not an easy task):

• I’m a Massachusetts kid – always have been and always will be;

• I know something about turnarounds – which we need – now more than ever, and;

• Unlike the crowd up on Beacon Hill, my primary focus will be creating jobs, cutting spending and cutting taxes.

I look forward to your feedback!

If you’ve been following the campaign on Facebook (and if you’re not, you should try to), you know we’ve been crisscrossing the Commonwealth on our “Had Enough?” Tour.  And while the stories vary from place to place, the overwhelming message from the voters we talk to is the same – they’ve had enough – of tax increases, over-spending, local aid cuts, bad behavior and no real reform on Beacon Hill.

We’re posting weekly video updates from the campaign trail on our Facebook and campaign page every week.  Here’s our most recent recap of last week. Be sure to check it out!

We had the first debate this week between Governor Deval Patrick, Treasurer Tim Cahill and me, hosted on WRKO by Tom Finneran and Todd Feinburg.  We covered a bunch of topics – jobs, spending, taxes, education, immigration and health care among them – using a pretty unstructured format.  My message was pretty simple – I’m not part of the team that delivered the mess we’ve got on Beacon Hill, but my two opponents are.  I have plans to cut spending and reform state government, they don’t.  And I have the experience to get it done.

There have been many other highlights for me on the campaign trail, but I thought I’d mention just a couple of items this week.  The first was our visit a few weeks back to Brockton High School, which has done a terrific job of delivering a high quality education for the kids in that community.  Almost everyone who graduates from Brockton HS goes on to some form of higher education, and their kids perform at the statewide average on the MCAS English and Math tests.  This sets Brockton apart from most other urban school districts.  It’s a tribute to the administrators and the teachers, and the kids and their parents. But this progress wasn’t easy and it took a “we have to be better than that” approach. They did it, and we can’t backtrack from that progress. That’s why I push back when Governor Patrick talks about abandoning the MCAS. And that’s why we say Beacon Hill needs to give cities and towns the tools they need to better manage their budgets and spending.

We visited Gloucester recently and I got into a pretty serious conversation with a fisherman who had not been fishing for several weeks because of the new federal standards around both the process for catching fish, and the limits on how much and what they can catch.  I’ve been doing anything I can to fight for the fishing industry in MA since last fall.  The federal rules are not based on good data or good science – and the cities of Gloucester and New Bedford have sued the federal government on behalf of their fishing communities to seek a moratorium on these new rules.  After a lot of prodding – from these communities, me and others – the Patrick Administration finally decided to join the lawsuit.  His decision was long overdue.

The feedback on my message has been very positive, and I’m looking forward to having other opportunities to discuss the future of this great state with the other Gubernatorial candidates.

Some other observations from the campaign trail…

• We had a blast marching in the Dorchester Day Parade a couple of Sundays ago – 3.2 miles of handshakes, photos, and lots of running. In fact, all of the parades Senator Tisei and I have marched in have been really fun.  He and I each take one side of the street and then we work it – handshakes, photos, and small talk all the way through.  Then we end up racing back to the horde of supporters we’ve got marching with us – who just keep going while we’re lollygagging with the spectators.

• Our standout outside Boston Garden before Game 3 between the Celtics and the Lakers was also a lot of fun.  Great buzz that night.

• Sometimes, politics is about small victories.  Richard Tisei managed to secure a major win for a major guy – Major Steve Godin – in a silly dispute he was having with the teacher’s union and the school system in Worcester.  The Major has been an ROTC instructor there for 14 years, and was suddenly being forced by the teachers’ union to choose between paying a fee to the union for representation he doesn’t need or get, and the job he’s been doing educating kids.  Unfortunately, the school system sided with the union, so Richard and I decided to pursue other options.  A couple of days later (really!), Richard managed to get legislation passed that exempts ROTC instructors from paying agency or collective bargaining fees.  The Governor signed it and we’re happy to have helped in any way we did.

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENT
Please join me on Tuesday, June 29th at 7pm at the campaign headquarters for a Social Media Bootcamp.  Find out how you can spread our campaign message using Twitter, Facebook, and our new Team Baker Online Action Center.  Click for details and to RSVP.

Thanks for your ongoing support.  Please check out our brand new online volunteer system, the Team Baker Online Action Center.  This program will allow you to stay involved with the campaign right from your computer.  With your help, we’ll win in the fall and take this state in a different – and better – direction.

Charlie