To give a brief summary of this race, there's been a Secretary of State in Massachusetts named Bill Galvin who's been in office for 12 years. He's never faced a primary opponent and rarely any opposition at all. Over that time period, he's felt an aristocratic-like entitlement to the position.
As the Chief Elections officer in Massachusetts, he won't even debate his primary opponent - John Bonifaz. Bonifaz is an elections-right leader who has gone across the country using the courts to protect the voting rights of citizens.
The whole interview is here, below the fold is a few highlights on majorly important campaign issues.
Why does Galvin not seem interested in enacting policies that increase voter turnout?
"He's a machine politician," he's "more focused on protecting the status-quo than reaching out and expanding" election day services. In fact, Bonifaz didn't seem to think Galvin was all that into his Secretary of State position - he "looks at the office as a basis for broadening" his machine.
Galvin's amassed 1.8 million in the bank and was openly considering a run for Governor not too long ago, yet decided to run for reelection instead - too many debates.
Bonifaz?
I don't think the position should be seen as a stepping stone or a fall back [position].
With Bonifaz, you know there are no alterior motives. He's been working on voting rights for years; now, he's just looking at a new way to tackle the problem. Isn't it easier to fix the problem at the source than trying for years to get the most basic voter rights through long and costly court battles?
Bonifaz wants a Secretary of State who will respond to voters and protect their rights, he wants to "defend voters, instead of attack" them - like Blackwell and Harris did in Ohio and Florida. The sad thing is Bill Galvin can be added to that list after his clear disregard for Democracy in Lowell, Springfield, Boston and other cities regarding HAVA.
Why do you think Bill Galvin is so afraid to debate you?
He's "unwilling to engage in answering questions - difficult ones he doesn't have answers for." Galvin thinks he's "entitled" to the job, "it's an insult to the voters, complete disrespect to the institution of Democracy."
Bonifaz thinks that debates are critical, "Secretary Galvin is not fit for this office if he doesn't engage in candidate debates."
The interesting thing here is while some may be willing to forgive Galvin for his disregard of Democracy if he does belatedly debate Bonifaz, Bonifaz think Galvin "has already flunked." I'm inclined to agree. Bonifaz still "welcomes [Galvin] to debates," but it's too late for Galvin to completely save face for his utter disregard.
For more on the poignant Bonifaz race, here's his website and here's lots of my blogs on him. He's a great, progressive candidate who really listens and interacts with voters. He'd be a leader who would protect our right to vote and the interests of all Massachusetts residents.