My Journey With Deval Patrick

by Parwez Wahid

 

By end of December 2004 Democrats across the country were deeply depressed.  A month earlier the Presidency was lost when John Kerry fell short in Ohio.  To make matters worse for Democrats, the US Senate and House would see more Republicans in the new year and it seemed the Democratic Party was floundering badly.

 

I became a political activist in 2003 and had campaigned for John Kerry’s Presidential bid.  His defeat and the even stronger grip of the Republicans on Washington created a genuine feeling of emptiness and disappointment.  I left the country for a few weeks of rest in Karachi, returning by mid-January of 2005.

 

As a political activist I was Secretary of the Democratic Town Committee in my residential town of Framingham, Massachusetts.  (This year in 2006 I was elected Chair of this same Committee.)  Despite my own feelings of disgust following the 2004 debacle, I had to carry on my duties within the Committee and I also began planning a State Convention event with Muslim Democratic community leaders.  Soon I learned that one of the candidates in the next Massachusetts gubernatorial elections would be Deval Patrick.  Along with me, Mushtaque Mirza, Hanif Butt, Habib Rahman, Farooq Mirza and Shahid Khan (all members of the Democratic Party), began to discuss holding a Muslim community leaders dinner during the Convention weekend in May of 2005.  We would definitely invite Deval Patrick to this event.  About the only thing I knew about Patrick at that time was that he was African American. 

 

However those who had mentioned his name to me carried a certain excitement in their voice and I would soon discover why.  A friend from the Democratic State Committee, Russell Ashton, invited me to visit the Deval Patrick campaign office on Milk Street in Boston so that I might learn more about Patrick.  Unfortunately I was busy that day and could not attend, but I promised Russ that I would take a good look at Deval Patrick some time later on.

 

I first saw Deval Patrick in March of 2005.  He was speaking before a packed lecture hall at LaSalle College in Newton, Massachusetts.  He spoke very well and I was truly impressed.  Following the lecture I gave my card to one of his staff members, Brendan Ryan.  I began paying more attention to Patrick’s campaign.

 

A month later in April I met Deval Patrick very briefly during the Democratic State Committee meeting in Ayer, Massachusetts.  I extended to him an invitation to the Muslim community leaders’ event I was organizing at next month’s state convention.  Patrick expressed some interest but directed me to his campaign manager, John Walsh.  I chatted with John for a minute and gave him the information on the invitation.

 

The 2005 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention was held in Lowell, Massachusetts at the Tsongas Arena.  (Named after the late Democratic Senator Paul Tsongas.)  The convention was held on Friday May 13th and Saturday May 14th.  With other Muslims serving in the Democratic Party (mentioned above), I organized a dinner event where Muslim community leaders could meet with candidates and elected officials.  (A report on this event written by Kashif Ahmed was featured in the June 5, 2005 Pakistan Link.)

 

Deval Patrick was among the guests at the dinner party on May 13th.  He was accompanied with Congressman Jim McGovern, who represents the Massachusetts 3rd District.  The Congressman is from my neighboring district and I had met him several times in the past.  I also helped organize a fund raiser for Mr. McGovern the previous year.  I personally regard him as one of the most decent individuals I have met.  To see him accompanying Deval Patrick and giving endorsement for Patrick’s candidacy was very significant.  I would now pay very close attention to Patrick’s campaign.  Deval Patrick also wrote to me personally following the 2005 Convention expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to meet with some leaders of the Muslim community.

 

Now along this way I had also picked up interest in supporting a friend, Mike Festa, who was considering a run for District Attorney of Middlesex County.  Five months earlier I was in a post-election depression and now I found myself getting excited for some new contests.  As it turned out Mike would opt to withdraw from the DA race early into the next year and instead sought re-election to the State Representative position that he holds.  However my involvement in the Mike’s campaign was educational in learning more about the criminal justice system and the role of the District Attorney and also getting my political interests recharged.

 

As the Summer of 2005 began, I was helping my son with his college applications and attention shifted from political activities.  This began to pick up again after a few weeks.  In August I attended the Democratic State Committee meeting in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Here I listened to the presentation of one of the other gubernatorial candidates, Attorney General Tom Reilly.  After listening to Reilly and reflecting on what I had heard from Deval Patrick several weeks ago, I made my decision.  I would support Deval.

 

I was still buoyed by Deval Patrick’s charisma and eloquence, but as I learned more about this candidate I came to a deep belief that he was a true leader and would make for an outstanding governor if elected.  This would not be easy.  Poll numbers had Patrick at below ten percent and his campaign treasury with very little funds.  However Patrick moved his campaign office to its new location in the same building complex as the State Democratic Party offices.  The new location and growing interest among the activists indicated a campaign picking up steam.  His slogans “Together We Can” and “No Ordinary Leader” were catching attention.  Patrick’s grass-roots issues based campaign was working.  During the campaign trail I would hear former Governor Mike Dukakis explain how personal contacts from door-to-door canvassing and phone calling would make the difference.

 

Later in August 2005 I went for a visit to the campaign office where I was given a tour by Nancy Stolberg the Field Director for the Deval Patrick campaign.  A very nice lady, she welcomed me to the campaign as I offered to coordinate in the Town of Framingham.  One of my first tasks was to deliver box of campaign literature to a supporter in the Town of Natick on Pond Street; this was easy enough.  I would remain in touch with Nancy on other matters as I began coordinating in Framingham.

 

The weeks to follow would involve identifying members of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee and other Democrats who were interested in supporting Patrick.  I found several and we began planning standouts (holding signs on street corners) and spreading the word about Deval Patrick to our contacts.  We began holding regular meetings at a Starbucks to prepare for the Democratic caucus that would be taking place in February of the following year.  From early on the Framingham supporters were Chris Lorant, Elsa Aviza, Pam Roberts, Norma Shulman and Rochelle Sivan.  Others would join in as well and we worked together for the duration of the campaign.

 

In September 2005 Deval Patrick visited Framingham, appearing at the Civic League.  I was distributing mini-fliers to publicize the event and telling everyone I knew to come out and hear Patrick’s message.  Patrick greeted me with “Asalam alaikum” which I appreciated and also I thanked him for the letter he had sent me after the State Convention.  Among his gifts, Deval Patrick is an excellent public speaker and he easily warmed up to the audience present at the Civic League that evening.

 

Following the presentation a friend from the Democratic Party asked me for my thoughts on Patrick.  “I like him,” was my reply.  “He doesn’t have the money, but he has the charisma”; my friend agreed.  Nancy Stolberg, who was also at the Framingham presentation heard my comment and added, “The money is coming.”

 

Deval Laurdine Patrick grew up on the South Side of Chicago.  He never described his birth place as “poor” so much as it was “urban” and “challenging” and even “tough”.  But he appreciated the sense of community in which he grew up and in his talks he always told the “Ms. Jones” story.  Deval’s talents caught the attention of his teachers and through a program called A Better Chance he came to Massachusetts to attended Milton Academy donning a wind breaker.  (Students at Milton Academy are required to wear jackets; at the time Deval’s family didn’t know it meant a blazer!  But he figured it out.)

 

From Milton Academy it was on to Harvard and then followed a tour in Sudan with the United Nations in a youth training project.  He returned to Harvard for law school and practiced law during the 1980s.  He actually sued then Governor Bill Clinton on a voting rights issue.  This led to deep respect between the two.  After Bill Clinton was elected President, Patrick went on to become Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton Administration.  Following this he became an executive counsel with Texaco and Coca-Cola.

 

While in the Clinton Administration he was given the charge of leading the largest criminal investigation in the history of the United States prior to 9/11.  This was the investigation of the series of church burnings in Black communities during the mid-90s.  His efforts resulted in several arrests and convictions in the case.  The task was made all the more challenging by having to coordinate with various law enforcement agencies that traditionally do not communicate with each other.  His leadership abilities helped him to succeed in this major assignment.

 

Of course any good gubernatorial ticket needs a worthy running mate and the question of Lieutenant Governor was also to be considered.  I had heard the presentations from the three declared candidates and was mulling over whom to support.  Then a friend from the Democratic State Committee, Kate Donaghue, suggested that I wait to hear from Tim Murray who would likely be announcing later that year.  At the time Murray was seeking re-election as Mayor of the City of Worcester and would make any such announcement after the November 2005 elections.

 

I had met Tim Murray twice on previous occasions.  First was in August 2004 when we co-hosted the fund raiser for Congressman McGovern (mentioned earlier).  I saw him again in April 2005 at the State Committee meeting in Ayer where he gave me a baseball cap to promote the new Worcester Tornadoes baseball team that would be playing in his city.  I would need to learn more about Murray before I could decide; but I did appreciate the cap.

 

October turned to November and the Patrick campaign was steadily pickup up its pace.  His poll numbers had risen while his campaign finances were getting stronger.  It was not just that Patrick could speak well.  His well crafted and thoughtful words were coming from a man full of leadership, vision and courage.  Patrick supported the controversial Cape Wind project, a mission to establish an electric generating wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod.  Though the project was opposed by many, including Senator Ted Kennedy, Patrick was rightly pointing out that Massachusetts needed new sources of energy and the state could help its sagging economy by investing in alternate energy production.

 

In December of 2005 I met Patrick again at a library in Sudbury, Massachusetts.  In just over a month the Muslim community would celebrate Eid-ul-Adha in January 2006.  I drafted a good-will message and suggested to Deval that he issue this to the Muslim community.  I would provide list of mosques in the state to whom the message could be delivered and I could forward it to others in the community.  Deval agreed and the message was issued just prior to Eid wishing all Muslims a joyous celebration and a fulfilling journey to those traveling for pilgrimage.  The message was issued and received wide circulation in the Massachusetts Muslim community.

 

On the local front the interest in Deval Patrick continued to climb and I was preparing a slate of candidates pledged to Deval Patrick who would contest for delegate positions to the 2006 Democratic State Convention.  The Town of Framingham (being the largest town in the state) is granted 35 delegates by the State Committee.  As coordinator for the Patrick campaign in Framingham it was my task to pull together the interested individuals and form a slate to get elected at the caucus.

 

In Massachusetts the nomination of a gubernatorial candidate is as follows:  The nominee who appears on the ballot in the General Elections (held in November) must win the party’s Primary election that takes place the previous September.  In order to be on the Primary ballot, a candidate must secure a minimum of 15% support of the delegates at the State Convention.  Any candidate not securing 15% at the State Convention is knocked out and cannot contest the Primary.  The candidate securing 50% at the State Convention earns the party endorsement.  Delegates to the State Convention are elected at caucuses held in individual communities.

 

Interest in Patrick’s candidacy had grown and by mid-January 2006 the Framingham slate of delegates for Deval Patrick was at around 25 and there was the possibility of the entire slate going for Patrick.  I was contacted by John Stefanini who was coordinating for the Tom Reilly campaign on the suggestion of forming a unity slate with some Patrick supporters and some Reilly supporters.  While I was open to John’s suggestion, I knew this could become contentious within the Patrick camp.

 

A furious flurry of email messages, some with accusations, was exchanged among the Patrick camp.  I did my best to explain that all decisions were being made as openly as possible and all information was being exchanged as quickly as it was known.  A deal was struck where a unity slate would be formed with 26 Patrick delegates and 8 Reilly delegates.  (The 35th delegate would be the Democratic Town Committee Chair, which is an automatic delegate.)  The 3 alternates were all pledged to Patrick as well.

 

Most communities across the state held caucuses on February 3rd; however Framingham scheduled its caucus for February 4th at Framingham’s Cameron Middle School.  By caucusing on Sunday many of the candidates were able to attend the Framingham caucus and make their pitch.  Among them was Deval Patrick who received a standing ovation when he came forward to introduce himself.

 

In short Deval Patrick did very well in the Massachusetts Democratic caucuses.  In Middlesex County (where I live) Patrick delegates were in the majority by 9-to-1.  While I felt confident about Deval Patrick as a candidate, the outcome of the caucuses was the first true signal that he would be the candidate to beat in the 2006 elections.  Deval called me a few days after the caucus to thank me for my efforts in rallying the Framingham delegates.  Though when I asked him about his chances on getting the Party’s endorsement he cautiously stated that it tends to go to insiders.

 

A week before the caucus, I finally got to hear Tim Murray make his pitch for Lt. Governor.  With a very “ordinary guy” persona, Tim made it clear why his candidacy would be the best for the Democratic ticket.  In 2002 the Democrats lost in the western part of Massachusetts.  Being from Worcester and having his network spread in that region, Tim would give the Democrats a stronger chance to win in the west.  His work as Mayor of Worcester was impressive.  Under his stewardship the City of Worcester had seen some dramatic redevelopment.  I made my decision to support Tim Murray for Lt. Governor.  I informed Matt Gilman, who was one of Murray’s staff members, of my decision to support the campaign and he was delighted.  Matt is a college student in Worcester, but his parents live around the corner from my home.  Tim Murray attended the Framingham caucus as well in February.

 

A native of Worcester, Tim grew up in a working family.  His father was a teacher and his mother a nurse.  He appreciated what ordinary working families have to do and put up with to get by each day.  When I campaigned in Worcester for Tim Murray I would hear the locals of that city speak glowingly of Tim and how they appreciated what he had done for their city.  This was high praise given that many of Worcester’s previous politicians were never so well appreciated by that city’s residents.

 

Soon after the caucus my friend Mike Festa announced his decision to drop from the race for District Attorney.  It was in fact Mike’s campaign that had renewed my interest in political activities after the 2004 fiasco.  I spoke to Mike and expressed my respect for his decision and wished him well in his re-election to State Representative.  Mike also told me he would be supporting Deval Patrick and that he felt very strongly about Patrick’s chances.

 

I ran into Mike and his legislative aide, Fred Rich, about a month later when Deval Patrick held a rally at historic Faneuil Hall in Boston.  Congressman Jim McGovern and Deval’s wife, Diane Patrick were also on hand for the rally before a packed audience.  Although I had arrived almost an hour prior to the rally, I was one of the last two people to be admitted into the building.  Several of the core supporters from Framingham made the trip as well.

 

At the end of March I attended Tim Murray’s St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in Worcester at Union Station.  I just sat down with some other Murray supporters to enjoy breakfast and talk about the campaign.  Congressman McGovern was at the breakfast as well.  Tim had a bit of embarrassment when he admitted that the breakfast was scheduled the same day as his daughter’s christening, but his wife, Tammy was being very patient and understanding.

 

By this time I also got some medical news that was not too cheerful.  It was clear that I would need to slow down and so I informed the Patrick campaign that I would have to discontinue my role as coordinator in Framingham.  This task would be shared for the remainder of the campaign by DTC members Bob Berman and Valerie Mulvey (who is also the Framingham Town Clerk).  I would remain involved with the Patrick campaign but in a much smaller role.  My need to stop as coordinator would also have been necessitated a bit later as in April 2006 I was elected Chair of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee.  It just would have been too much to coordinate for the campaign and also handle duties as Committee Chair.  I would assume the Chairmanship role in July.

 

While the focus had been mostly on the Governor’s race there were also municipal elections in the Town of Framingham.  Several members of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee were elected to Town Meeting, School Committee and Planning Board.  Campaigning for a municipal seat has its own challenges.  Most residents do not pay attention to municipal elections although it is the municipal positions that have more direct impact on decisions affecting day to day life.

 

The weekend after the Town Elections, I had the Saturday “off” in a sense.  My wife was taking a weekend class and my sons were off on a school trip to New York.  So I decided to attend a political breakfast in Attleboro, south of Boston.  Congressman McGovern and Secretary of State William Galvin were in attendance.  I mentioned to the Secretary that my son would be visiting the State House later during the week as part of a school trip.  (His high school drama club finished first in State competition; earning a tour of the State House.)

 

The Primary candidates were featured at the Attleboro breakfast, all making their pitch.  By this time a third candidate had entered the Democratic Primary for Governor.  This was Chris Gabrieli who had been a candidate for Lt. Governor in 2002.  Chris spoke very well and had some great ideas that he would pursue.  I was actually glad that he entered the race so late, because a year earlier he would have been a greater challenge for Deval Patrick.  He was a guest at the Framingham DTC meeting the next day and I got a chance to chat with him before the meeting.  With a big campaign treasury to rely on Gabrieli would begin airing TV and radio ads in June.  His ads were effective and helped him climb up in the polls; but not enough as it would turn out.

 

Also in April 2006 I approached two mosques in the City of Boston to host Deval Patrick.  Patrons from Masjid-Al-Hamdulillah and Masjid-Al-Quran would welcome Deval Patrick during their voter registration drive.  This was held at Masjid-Al-Quran located off Blue Hill Avenue in Boston.  This Masjid is actually on Intervale Street and I mentioned a curious fact to the Masjid’s Imam, Talib Mahdee: Intervale Street in Worcester is the address of Tim Murray the candidate for Lt. Governor.  If for no other reason, I quipped, he should support Murray for living on a street with the same name as the Masjid’s address!

 

Patrick arrived at Masjid-Al-Quran to a warm welcome.  He gave his usual fine presentation and took questions.  Mushtaque Mirza of the State Committee was in attendance as well.  Imam Farooq Abdullah had some straight forward questions for Deval concerning his beliefs and Patrick described himself as “a man of faith”.  There seemed to be a bit of friction on the gay-marriage issue but this did not boil over.  Following the presentation, Deval was presented with a copy of the Holy Quran by Imam Mahdee.

 

A week later I met Deval Patrick at the delegates’ breakfast in Hopkinton and he appreciated my efforts for bringing him to the Masjid the previous week.  Many of the Democratic Primary candidates were present at this breakfast.  Also on hand was Congressman Jim McGovern and he was taking some light hearted ribbing over his arrest the previous day.  Congressman McGovern along with Congressman John Olver was arrested in Washington DC for disturbing the peace.  They were in fact outside the Sudanese Embassy protesting the genocide in Darfur.  (Both were released after paying a fine.)

 

By this time the race for Middlesex County District Attorney had been decided for all intent and purpose.  When the year had started there were four candidates and now there was just one remaining: Gerard Leone.  Unchallenged in the Primary and General Elections, Gerry would become the County’s next DA.  With a record of solid professionalism as a prosecutor and also having tried some high profile cases including the Shoe Bomber, it was clear that Gerry would be an excellent District Attorney.  Gerry Leone was also at the Hopkinton delegates’ breakfast and I briefly chatted with him.  I broached him on the subject of visiting the Islamic Center of Boston where I am a member and he expressed his interest.  We were able to arrange his visit and presentation to the Center’s patrons later that year.  (Reported in the Pakistan Link, October 6, 2006).

 

It was time to begin telling more people about Deval Patrick and Tim Murray.  Through my own involvement in the Pakistani/Muslim community of Massachusetts I had built up quite a contact list.  I began sending emails and also direct mails giving information about Patrick and Murray as my choices for Governor and Lt. Governor.  People began paying attention.  In an effort to identify voters the Patrick campaign had launched an effort for supporters to get their friends, neighbors and just about anyone to fill out pledge cards in support of Deval Patrick.  Each supporter would have their own page on the Patrick website to show how many pledges they had collected.  The first target level was for 35 and I passed this easily gathering over 50 pledges.

 

Towards the end of May 2006 my son’s high school graduation was coming up.  We did a party for him over Memorial Day weekend, prior to the commencement.  I had a bit of a dilemma for commencement weekend as that would also be the weekend of the 2006 Democratic State Convention.  Having supported Patrick for so many months I would be truly upset were I to miss the chance to give nomination for him at the Convention.  Friends from the Democratic State Committee felt that the nomination process would be over before 4pm and would give me enough time to get to the graduation exercise scheduled for 5pm.  However a gift from nature brought heavy rains for the two days of the Convention on Friday and Saturday.  The graduation was moved from Saturday to Sunday June 4th.

 

The same group that had organized the Muslim community leaders’ dinner in 2005 did a similar event for the 2006 Convention.  And we were able to get Deval Patrick to come to our program this year again.  There was some disappointment in that some of the community members who had attended in 2005 did not come this time.  Possibly weather was a factor with the heavy rains, but a few admitted they had completely forgotten about the program.  It was too bad really.   Several members of the Framingham DTC came over and managed to say hello to Deval Patrick just as he was leaving the reception.

 

The 2006 State Convention was held at the DCU Center in Worcester, home to Congressman Jim McGovern and Tim Murray.  Senator George McGovern (who lost the 1972 Presidential Elections) was a special guest of the Convention and he minced no words in speaking out against the Bush Administration and its failed policies concerning Iraq.  Senator Ted Kennedy accepted nomination to the US Senate for what would be an unprecedented 9th term.  Martha Coakley was nominated for Attorney General.

 

In an interesting re-positioning of players was taking place.  The current Attorney General Tom Reilly made his decision to run for Governor.  This opened up the Office of Attorney General and District Attorney Martha Coakley expressed her interest in this office.  She would be unopposed in the Primary and faced a weak opponent in the November elections.  As such she would easily win election as the next State Attorney General.  By vacating the Office of District Attorney for Middlesex County, Coakley launched what was initially a four-way race for the DA’s office, but this was settled long before the Primary as mentioned above when three of the candidates withdrew to leave Gerry Leone as the last candidate unopposed.

 

Saturday June 3rd was the big day that Deval Patrick delegates had been in high anticipation for.  I was among the 34 elected delegates from Framingham, of which 26 were pledged for Deval Patrick.  The Chair of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee, Norma Shulman, was also pledged to Deval Patrick as were the 2 add-on delegates.  One of the add-ons was Farooq Mirza, who qualified under the minority category.  In all Patrick would receive nomination from 29 Framingham delegates.

 

State Committee member Bill Dooling was assigned as teller for our Senate District (the Second Middlesex Norfolk).  He would poll each delegate for their nominations.  There were three offices for which delegates would give nomination: Secretary of State, Lt. Governor and Governor.  When I was polled I proudly stood up and announced my nominees: “Galvin.  Murray.  Patrick”.

 

It would take several hours to count the totals but the results were never in doubt.  Deval Patrick earned the Democratic Party’s endorsement as candidate for Governor in the Primary Elections.  Patrick claimed 58%.  All candidates in the Convention made the 15% threshold and thus qualified for the Primary ballot.  Tim Murray won the endorsement for Lt. Governor on a voice-vote, second ballot.  (Murray got 49.9% on the first ballot.)  Thus a fun summer of campaigning would ensue with three candidates for Governor, three candidates for Lt. Governor and two candidates for Secretary of State.

 

At the convention I met Mike Firestone who had been hired by the State Committee to organize Victory 06 field work in different parts of the state.  Mike was assigned to the Senate District that included Framingham and we would get together for some tasks over the summer.  Victory 06 was the State Party’s coordinated campaign to organize grass-roots efforts across the state and be prepared to hit the ground running immediately after the Primary.  We canvassed and also organized a Victory 06 barbeque that was among the best attended events of its kind.  Shahid Khan hosted the barbeque at his home; Cameron Kerry (brother of Senator John Kerry) was among the guests.

 

With victories in the February caucuses and the State Convention, Patrick had the grass-roots support that he very much sought in order to run an effective campaign.  To this point, the campaign was reaching most of its targets.  New poll numbers would put Deval in a statistical tie with Tom Reilly and Gabrieli not too far behind.

 

The day after the Convention as the rains finally let up, my son’s graduation exercise took place at Bowditch Field in Framingham.  I saw Dave Magnani (a former State Senator) who was at the Convention as well.  He asked me what was more fun, “The Convention or the graduation?”  I replied, “The graduation!”  It is a moment every parent cherishes.

 

A couple of weeks later I attended the summer cookout for the Wayland Democratic Town Committee.  (Wayland is one of the communities next to Framingham.)  I had become friends with Jon Saxton, the Chair of the Wayland DTC when we were both supporting Mike Festa’s campaign and extended the invitation to Democrats in the neighboring communities.  Russ Ashton and his wife Cathy were there as well.  During the cookout I was introduced to Tom Conroy, a Wayland resident, who would be seeking election as State Representative to the 13th Middlesex seat in the Massachusetts House.  The district is comprised of Wayland and the communities of Sudbury and Lincoln.  The seat was held by an incumbent for ten years and was controlled by Republicans for decades.  In the Bluest of Blue states, this was one district that consistently voted Republican.

 

I also chatted with Matt Harutunian, who was managing Tom Conroy’s campaign.  As it turned out, Matt had been involved with Mike Festa’s campaign earlier in the year.  I mentioned to Matt that I had a friend in Wayland whom I might approach on the suggestion of hosting Tom Conroy for coffee and meeting people.  We were able to set this up for later in August at the home of Omar and Nigar Khalidi.  It was a nice living room sized gathering where Tom got to talk about his campaign.  The Honorary Consul General, Barry Hoffman attended this as well and he too was impressed with Tom’s background. Barry offered some support and promised to mention Tom to friends in the district.

 

Now at the time, the legislators in my own district were unopposed for re-election.  I learned that Tom Conroy had set up his campaign office across the street from the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland.  This presented a good opportunity to help the campaign on weekends when I would be going to the Center on Sundays.  I also asked Tom if he would visit the Islamic Center in September and he expressed interest.  (This was the joint program with Tom and Gerry Leone.)

 

As the summer began I would transition from Secretary of the Framingham DTC to its new Chair.  The out-going Chair, Norma Shulman, would continue an effort she had started: running an information table at the Framingham summer-time concerts.  The Town of Framingham holds free Friday night concerts on the lawn by the historic section of town.  The Framingham DTC set up an information table to distribute literature about candidates, campaign buttons and stickers.  We invited all candidates to visit on any Friday night and greet the people before the concert.  Tim Murray was the only one to do so.

 

The TV and radio ads were increasing.  This was benefiting Chris Gabrieli who had climbed up in the polls to pass Reilly and nearly overtake Deval.  The Patrick campaign had yet to air any ads.  Each day they could get by without spending money on the expensive TV and radio spots would leave more available for the days leading up to the Primary.  One of the Reilly TV ads featured a shot of Shahid Khan who was fund raising for the Reilly campaign.  (Shahid has earned the reputation of a masterful fund raiser for the Democratic Party and he worked on the campaigns of Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey and several candidates for the US Senate.)

 

Early in August I took a few days off and journeyed to Newport, Rhode Island for some relaxation with the family.  While at Newport I was checking my email and got a reply I had been awaiting.  The same group with whom I had organized events at the last two state conventions was now hoping to have a direct meeting with Deval Patrick and Muslim community leaders to discuss issues of importance to us.  The scheduling staff for Patrick could not find a suitable time, and then offered to have the campaign manager meet with us in place of Patrick.  We felt a little bit of let down at not getting to meet with the candidate himself, but we thought it would still be useful to have the discussion with John Walsh.  This meeting was setup for August 19th.  In attendance were: Imam Talal Eid, Kemal Bozkurt, Hanif Butt, Mushtaque Mirza, Farooq Mirza and myself.  We discussed several subjects and pledged to engage the Muslim community into the Patrick campaign.  We also met with one of the staffers, Samantha Shusterman, and we would arrange several phone banks with her.

 

Also in August was the Victory 06 barbeque.  Several members of the Framingham DTC stepped up to help the planning and organizing for this event.  It was well attended and helped to create the interest and momentum needed to launch the full force of the grass-roots campaign efforts.  This effort did not focus on any single candidate.  Rather it was to urge more support for the Democratic ticket so that supporters would be ready to start working for the General Election right after the Primary ended.

 

The week of August 21st I decided to commit several days to the Tim Murray campaign.  The Lt. Governor’s race was a difficult one to call.  With attention on the gubernatorial candidates, hardly anyone knew the three people in the Lt. Governor Primary.  While some polls had given Murray a slight lead, the majority of voters were undecided.  Tim was in three-way race with Andrea Silbert and Deborah Goldberg.  (Prior to the June convention there was a fourth candidate for Lt. Governor, Dr. Sam Kelly, but he withdrew before the convention.)  Like Deval Patrick, Murray would be out-spent by his opponents.  But Murray’s message was getting across, because just like the Patrick campaign, Tim Murray had the best field organization of the three Lt. Governor candidates.  At the Murray campaign office I finally met Tim’s campaign manager, Joe O’Brien with whom I had spoken to on the phone.

 

August 22st was a Murray standout out the Worcester Tornadoes baseball game.  I wore the Tornadoes cap that Tim had given me a year ago as I joined his staffers to hold signs outside Fitton Field.  The next day featured letter writing at the Murray campaign office.  These are hand-written notes sent to potential voters telling them about Murray and his campaign.  My nephew Khurram Khan came to the campaign office to volunteer as well.  Then on Thursday was a fund raiser for Murray at a club in Lowell.  Since I work in the City of Lowell, I felt I could easily attend after leaving the office at days’ end.  During the event in Lowell I met that city’s Mayor, William Martin.

 

Some fun to be had in August 2006 as a major fund raiser for the Patrick campaign would be organized in Framingham.  After some discussion on the location, we settled on an office building in Framingham.  A Patrick supporter, Phil Jack of Ashland, worked in that building and he was agreeable to offer the space for the function.  It was a rather enjoyable event and drew nearly 200 participants and raised over $20,000.  I was able to get several friends from the community to attend: Tariq Malik, Hameed Pervez, Iftikhar and Naheed Kazmi and their daughter Mariam.  Farooq Mirza and his wife Farhana were also present.  A colleague from my work place, Amrut Tailor, also attended and brought two friends along.  It was this type of networking and involvement of new supporters that had boosted the Patrick campaign into the lead.

 

A friend from the Framingham DTC, Jerry Desilets began the program by introducing the first two speakers.  My State Representative Deborah Blumer and State Rep. Tom Sannicandro from the neighboring 7th Middlesex District made some welcoming remarks.  Congressman McGovern was in attendance and introduced Deval Patrick who gave another stirring presentation.  Following the presentation and questions, Deval graciously met the audience, shaking hands, posing for photos and signing autographs.

 

Towards the end of the event I was interviewed by Lisa Wangsness of the Boston Globe.  She asked my thoughts on why I felt Patrick had drawn so much attention and interest and I shared comments similar to what has already been written in this article.  Lisa then asked straight out if I thought Deval would be elected Governor.  For a moment I was going to say “I believe he will”, but then I replied with firm conviction, “Yes he will”.  While my comments did not make the Globe article, my picture did.  And as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!

 

Labor Day weekend was upon us and the City of Marlboro would be having a parade.  Deval Patrick and Tim Murray, as well as other candidates would march in the parade.  The Patrick and Murray groups would march in succession.  Congressman McGovern joined the parade as well supporting both Patrick and Murray.  I joined the Deval Patrick group and we were quite visible in the neon-green shirts that Patrick supporters wore that day.  Deval arrived a little late and joined the group in the parade route.  He went from side to side, shaking hands with the spectators.  I took the assignment of distributing Patrick lapel stickers which many people took with enthusiasm.  At the end of the parade, Deval was joined by Marlboro’s Mayor, Nancy Stevens.  It was fun day and Deval thanked every supporter who marched with him.

 

By this time campaigning for two candidates was truly keeping me busy.  A week after the Patrick fund raiser in Framingham I had to organize an event for Tim Murray also in Framingham.  Shahid Khan agreed to host the event at his home, where he has hosted several fund raisers for various candidates.  However many of our usual contacts were expressing donor fatigue.  Shahid and I became concerned if the event would be successful or not.  We did get a small gathering together and Tim Murray gave a nice talk on his background and his plans for the office of Lt. Governor.

 

The polls now had Deval Patrick in firm command of the Primary.  His TV ads began airing in late August and were catching the attention across the state.  Something special was in the making.  I knew it and wanted to alert everyone that I knew to pay attention.  I just hope they paid attention in time.  The Patrick campaign was stressing that the key to victory was to identify voters committed to Patrick.  This would be accomplished mainly through phone banks, and person to person contact.  In addition I was posting lawn signs and distributing literature.  My sister, Yasmin Khan, and my brother, Jawed Wahid, agreed to lawn signs as well for Patrick and Murray.

 

Deval’s last major event before the Primary would be on September 12th at the State Room atop 60 State Street in Boston.  It was a jam packed gathering and the campaign took the effort to thank the fund raising committee for its efforts.  While the Patrick campaign had been outspent, the campaign had out raised its opponents during the past year.  The average contribution was under $100, so it was not just the big check writers who were supporting Patrick.

 

Imam Talal Eid and my friend Aijaz Balcoh and his wife Saadia attended the event on September 12th.  My brother and sister-in-law, Jawed and Iffat Wahid, attended this as well and got the chance to say “Hello” to Deval; he was very glad to meet them too.  Eighteen months ago Deval Patrick had announced his candidacy for governor and now the man with no chance was in the lead.  However the campaign was emphasizing all supporters to “Ignore the polls” and “keep up the fight”.

 

The weekend prior to the Primary I attended a political breakfast in Marlboro.  The major Primary candidates were not in attendance but I did get to say hello to some new contacts in the Party.  The following day on Sunday September 17th was the program at the Islamic Center of Boston featuring candidates Gerry Leone and Tom Conroy.  They spoke on community outreach and civic participation and also took questions on their candidacy.

 

Later that day was the one and only Lt. Governor’s debate.  It was held at a high school in Framingham and organized by the Democratic State Committee.  I had been contacted by Bob Cassidy of the State Committee to help publicize the event in Framingham and also to provide some food for the debate staff.  Several members of the Framingham DTC pitched in to buy sandwiches and beverages.  The debate featured only two of the three candidates, Murray and Silbert.  It was moderated by State Party Chair Phil Johnston who ended the program with a reminder for the Primary upcoming in two days.  Then he finished with a wisecrack: “Vote early and often!”

 

On Primary day, September 19th, I was “banished” to cover the morning shift at Woodrow Wilson School on the far side of Framingham.  The polling station at this school tends to see low voter turnout and I was the only supporter standing outside holding Patrick and Murray signs.  But I did my part until 9am then went off to the phone bank at Phil Jack’s office.  For the rest of the day we would make phone calls to Patrick supporters to make sure they had voted.  I took some time out to take my mother to vote and made sure my sister-in-law had the right voting information.

 

We felt confident and the results were not even close.  Patrick won the Primary easily.

 

For the Primary Night celebration I first went to Gerry Leone’s victory party in Cambridge.  I opted to skip the Patrick campaign party as it would be too crowded.  (The location they picked was too small, so I went to Leone’s party.  The campaign later admitted they had not planned the Primary Night celebration too well.)  Mike Festa, who had been an opposing candidate earlier in the year, was in attendance at Leone’s victory party.  After withdrawing from the District Attorney race, Mike had given his endorsement to Leone, and as a legislator pledged to work with him on law enforcement issues.

 

Mike actually got to speak to the gathering and introduced the out-going District Attorney Martha Coakley.  She then introduced the new DA, Gerry Leone who thanked everyone for their support, and introduced his campaign staff.  There was a big TV screen setup showing the Primary results and Patrick was comfortably ahead.

 

Meanwhile the Lt. Governor race appeared to be a close call and I felt I could leave the Leone party and drive out to Worcester to catch the Tim Murray event.  As I was driving to Worcester the radio reported that the race remained close with Murray in the lead.  The expectation was that once Tim’s own city, Worcester, reported its numbers that would give him an insurmountable lead.  It sounded like Worcester would take a little while to finish its counting.  “Good,” I thought.   I probably could arrive in Worcester just in time to hear Murray’s victory speech.

 

However by the time I reached the event it was over.  Murray was declared the winner and had left for Boston to join Deval Patrick for his celebration.  It seems the radio station was behind in its reporting.  A bit disappointed but I did get a chance to congratulate the Murray staffers whom I had come to know during the campaign.

 

Four days after the Primary the Muslim community world-wide would be observing the month of Ramadan.  That means changes for many people in the Muslim community.  My own campaigning activities would slow down.  Ramadan would fall right into the General Election cycle, ending with about two weeks before the November elections.  I did get my brother-in-law, Siraj Khan, to join me for a phone bank after an Iftar one evening.  However I found myself quite tired from this, at times getting a migraine; I had to keep the pace very limited.

 

The State Party opened a campaign field office in Framingham.  Its official opening was on September 30th.  Deval’s wife, Diane Patrick attended the opening where a large turnout welcomed her.  The State Party assigned Clare Kelly and Rob Boutwhall to handle the phone calls from this office.  In addition to the field office we still had the phones at Phil Jack’s office which was just down the street.  Between the locations we were well armed for some heavy duty phone banking during the course of the General Election campaign.  And we would make good use of these resources.

 

Following the Primary, Deval Patrick was the clear front-runner with a huge lead in the polls.  This began to dwindle as the opposition began to air negative ads against Patrick.  Deval was facing Lt. Governor Kerry Healey of the Republican Party in this race for the Corner Office.  There were two other candidates in the race: Christy Mihos, an independent, and Grace Ross of the Green-Rainbow Party.  Their poll numbers had them well behind Patrick and Healey.

 

Patrick’s lead slipped to 13 points but never dipped below 10.  He himself refused to go negative and withstood the broadside attacks from the Healey campaign.  One of these ads criticized Patrick for defending a convicted murderer.  As a civil rights attorney Patrick was doing his duty and in doing so he was defending the Constitution.  However the Healey ad questioned if such lawyers are fit to be governor and this backfired.  The Massachusetts Bar Association, which never gives political endorsements, gave its endorsement to Deval Patrick and in turn criticized Healey for labeling all lawyers with her negative ads.  Patrick stayed positive and his poll numbers rose again.

 

October 13, 2006.  This day should have been just another birthday for me and at this age, I do not need to be reminded I am another year older.  However on this day my disdain for the subject was soon erased when I received a phone call from DTC member Cheryl Tully Stoll.  She had some sad news: our State Representative, Deborah Blumer, passed away that same morning from a heart attack.  I had just seen Debby the night before making phone calls at the Patrick field office in Framingham.  I was stunned.  I went to the field office right after work where others had gathered.  Tim Murray was to have made a visit to the field office that evening, but he canceled due to the circumstances.  We were in disbelief as we exchanged embraces for support and fought back tears.  This did create a troubling question on how to fill Debby’s seat in the House with the elections in about three weeks.

 

On Sunday the 15th would be the monthly Framingham DTC meeting.  I consulted with a couple of senior members on how best to proceed and the opinion was that the meeting should go ahead as scheduled, however the agenda would be differed to address the issue of filling Debby’s seat in the State House; she had been unopposed on the ballot.  On the afternoon she died, Secretary of State Galvin ruled that the seat would be decided by write-in candidates.  This could lead to a free-for-all.

 

The afternoon of October 15th I headed to Boston for the Deval Patrick “No Ordinary Rally” on Boston Common.  Thousands surrounded the Band Stand where Patrick would be speaking.  As I reached the Stand I heard my name and saw the “usual suspects” from Framingham: Chris Lorant, Norma Shulman, Rochelle Sivan, and Pam Roberts.  They were also joined by Lee Mason and Sarah Micciche.  (Other Framingham supporters, Elsa Aviza and Stephanie Mercandetti arrived later.)  The Framingham group would be among several to go on stage and stand behind Deval Patrick.  What a thrill!!!  I ended up standing right behind the podium when Deval Patrick spoke.  At the back of the rally I saw the TV cameras and I was thinking that I might get some air time out of this.  In fact the scene did air on the nightly news and was also featured in the final Patrick TV ad.  I got lots of compliments for this one.

 

Scheduled to begin at 3:30pm, we waited an additional 30 minutes for Patrick to arrive.  It was a mostly cloudy day and getting a bit chilly.  Then the sun broke through the clouds to warm us up and Sarah commented, “That is Debby smiling down on us!”  As we left the Band Stand we met Diane Hwang, who was legislative aide to Debby Blumer.  She was grieving over Debby’s passing and we consoled her.  It brought to mind what was to follow later that day: the DTC meeting to discuss the future of Debby’s vacant seat.

 

For the rest of the week my focus would shift from the Patrick campaign to the 6th Middlesex State Representative seat.  The October 15th meeting saw a large attendance of DTC members and interested Democrats.  We discussed the subject at length with no conclusion.  The meeting adjourned with a pending motion on organizing a caucus to select a candidate; the meeting would reconvene on Tuesday October 17th.


Services for Deborah Blumer were held at Temple Beth Am on Monday October 16th.  The Temple was filled to capacity and I met Tim Murray on my way in.  We were both glad to see each other but certainly regretted the circumstances.  The services were simple and respectful according to the family’s wishes.

 

That evening on October 16th I met with John Stefanini, Dave Magnani (both former legislators), Jerry Desilets (former Town Moderator), Steve Joyce (of the carpenter’s union) and Cheryl Tully Stoll (long time DTC member and spokesperson).  We put together the framework for a caucus that would take place the following Sunday, October 22nd.  The caucus would be non-binding since it was not sanctioned by the State Party, however all candidates participating in the caucus were asked to abide by its outcome.

 

The DTC meeting reconvened on Tuesday night October 17th.  Several other motions were either withdrawn or voted down and the DTC membership accepted the motion to hold the caucus on Sunday October 22nd for the purpose of selecting a candidate for the 6th Middlesex House seat.  A caucus committee was appointed by me (as Chair of the Framingham DTC).  Including me, the caucus committee consisted of Nancy Coville Wallace (the DTC treasurer), Cheryl Tully Stoll, Steve Joyce, Helen Lemoine (Town Planning Committee), Mike Dineen (former Superintendent of Schools) and Adam Blumer, son of Debby Blumer.  We would spend the rest of the week in preparations, issuing a press release, preparing a candidate questionnaire and setting up the caucus rules.  All of this was quickly posted on the Framingham DTC website and made known to the members as fast as it was released.

 

Before the caucus, on October 21st I had invited the Patrick Committee to send a surrogate speaker to the Islamic Center of Boston and address the members during the weekly Iftar gathering.  In fact invitations had been sent from the Center to all four gubernatorial candidates.  As a Patrick supporter I pursued the matter with the Patrick Committee.  For that evening we had four speakers, three on behalf of Deval Patrick and we were joined by Green Party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross.  On behalf of the Patrick campaign were Sheriff Jim DiPaola, State Senator Susan Fargo and my friend Russ Ashton from the State Committee.  All four briefly addressed the gathering after the Iftar, Russ and Grace stayed for dinner.

 

The caucus was on Sunday October 22nd.  It was held at Cameron School in Framingham.  It was also the last day of Ramadan and with the caucus scheduled to start at 5pm I would be ending my fast in the middle of the caucus.  The interest and passion shown by the Framingham Democrats on this day was truly impressive.  The caucus itself (which can take over a month to plan) was organized in less than a week and had an attendance of nearly 200.  Many non-voting participants sat with interest in the gallery of the auditorium.  We were also joined by Irwin Blumer, widower to Debby and Adam Blumer.  Around 6pm as the candidates were answering questions from the moderator (and I was keeping time), I quietly sipped some water to end my fast.  (About an hour later I got some food that Farooq Mirza had brought for me.)

 

Following the questions voting took place.  There were three rounds of balloting as the rules stipulated that the caucus winner needed to carry a majority of 50% plus one vote.  Five candidates were nominated at the caucus.  Two candidates were eliminated after the first ballot and one more was eliminated on the second ballot.  On the third ballot Pam Richardson emerged the winner with around 59% of the votes.  She would be the Democratic write-in candidate for the 6th Middlesex State Representative seat.

 

I offered to host a gathering for Pam Richardson at my home on November 4th.  This would be just three days before the elections, but it would still give Pam the chance to meet more voters.  The Framingham DTC held a special meeting the week after the caucus to get the DTC members more involved in Pam’s campaign.  Pam’s campaign manager Rob Arcangeli addressed the meeting to discuss strategy.  He stressed the point that for Pam to win, voters would have to either write her name on the ballot or attach her sticker in the write-in space.  Deborah Blumer’s name would still appear on the ballot (since these had already been printed), but any vote cast for Blumer would not be counted.

 

The day after the caucus was Eid-ul-Fitr.  It was a pleasant day with much of the same celebrating that we engage in.  That afternoon my wife decided that she wanted to buy a new car so we headed over to a dealership to check some cars.  On the way over we stopped at a hotel in Framingham where Deval Patrick was appearing.  I had hoped to get a chance to chat with him but the program was running too long, so we had to leave.  I had taken Monday and Tuesday off for Eid, so on Wednesday it was back to campaigning for Patrick/Murray.

 

On October 25th there would be a rally for the Patrick/Murray ticket at the DCU Center in Worcester.  (This was the location for the 2006 State Convention a few months earlier.)  There was a pre-rally reception and fund raiser where Senator Ted Kennedy appeared with Congressman McGovern, Deval and Tim Murray.  At the reception I also chatted with Deval’s wife, Diane Patrick.  I had sent her a photo that I had taken of her and Debby Blumer during the opening of the Framingham field office and she appreciated the picture.  From the reception we moved to the arena of the DCU Center for the main program with the featured guest speaker: President Bill Clinton.  Patrick had worked for the Clinton Administration so it was quite obvious the former President would be stumping for his one-time Assistant Attorney General.  Clinton was magnificent; he still had the charm that had warmed the nation during the 1990s.

 

Now under two weeks to go before the elections.

 

October 28, 2006.  With some ten days remaining before Election Day and it was clear that Deval Patrick was well in command.  Barring any mishaps, his election seemed eminent.  The campaign office was still hammering across this message to all supporters: “Forget the polls and keep campaigning.”  On October 28th Patrick, Tim Murray appeared at Natick High School, joined by Congressman Jim McGovern and my own Congressman Edward Markey.  It was wonderful to see Markey stumping for Deval Patrick as Ed seemed to be missing for most of the campaign.  Prior to the presentation I chatted with Nancy Stolberg.  I declared to her “The campaign has now come full circle”.  When I first met Nancy, over a year ago, she had asked me to deliver a box of campaign literature to a supporter in Natick.  I mentioned to her that the supporter’s home was on the street just outside the high school.

 

By this time the Patrick Committee had printed “Dear Friend” cards and I distribute many sets of cards to friends at the Islamic Center.  I was very grateful for their willingness to take the cards, address them and mail them out.  I provided pages of addresses from the long list of contacts I had developed over the years.  Close to 500 cards were mailed out.

 

The final week of the campaign featured calls for Patrick/Murray.  Calls for Richardson.  A coffee gathering at my home for Richardson.  Breakfast with Tim Murray in Worcester.  More calls for Patrick/Murray.  Campaigning day and night. Then it was Election Day.

 

November 7, 2006.  History will record that that first African American to hold office of Governor of Massachusetts was elected on this day.  It was a landslide.   The Deval Patrick/Tim Murray ticket won by 56%; they finished some 21 points ahead of the competition.  One of the local TV stations declared for Patrick a minute after the polls closed.  I heard this on the radio as I was driving to Boston for the election night party.  The party itself was a thrill at the Hynes Convention Center with Boston Mayor Tom Menino, State Treasurer Tim Cahill, Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator John Kerry addressing the audience before Tim Murray and finally Deval Patrick appeared to give their acceptance speeches.

 

This journey was over.  It ended with smiles and embraces and exhaustion and overloads of “Congratulations” and “Thank yous”.  That lecture I attended at LaSalle College now seemed like such a long time ago.  In the four years I had been a political activist this campaign was easily the most satisfying; perhaps difficult to surpass.  That remains to be seen.  As this journey ends another will surely being.

 

In an epilogue to the Patrick/Murray victory, Pam Richardson won the write-in campaign and she would be my new State Representative.  Then add to this, Tom Conroy won his election to become State Representative from next door in Wayland.  Tom’s win was quite significant as he unseated a ten year incumbent and claimed a House seat that had been held by Republicans for decades.  Ted Kennedy was re-elected easily to the US Senate.  Bill Galvin re-elected Secretary of State.  Martha Coakley was elected Attorney General.  Across the country Democrats unseated Republicans to claim the US Congress and after close one in Virginia the Democrats took that Senate too!  More history to be made as a woman, Nancy Pelosi, would become the new Speaker of the US House.  Shahid Khan had much to celebrate as well.  His fund raising efforts on the national scene helped several Democrats win seats in the US Senate.

 

The day after the elections I called Russ Ashton, my friend on the State Committee, just to thank him for getting me involved initially with the Patrick campaign.  He in turned thanked me for taking interest and supporting Deval.  In time attention will be shifting to 2008 and the White House, but for now it is time to enjoy this victory.  No one is naïve enough to expect changes overnight, but the election of Deval Patrick and the Democrats win in the US House and Senate do give hope for a government that will help to bring better quality of life for more people.  Yes I can proudly say that I was part of this journey.

 

 

-Parwez Wahid, December 2006

 

This article was written after reflection of the past two years since the end of the 2004 elections.  I did not have notes and have prepared this from what I remember.  I have tried to mention as many people as I could and probably have failed to mention many others.  However these notes do describe, as accurately as I can recall, my involvement with the Deval Patrick campaign, as well as other campaigns during the 2006 elections.