moorecol No. 6 09-15-2004 hed : What a Spilka victory unlocks for voters BY BOB MOORE The powerful political hurricane which yesterday swept State Rep. Karen Spilka into the Democratic nomination for state senator hereabouts was not a surprise. And it should not surprise anyone if I say that it reflects a belief that it is worth voting. Spilka's overwhelming victory came from supporters in seven towns who were sure that she stood for the right things against odds - and came through on promises. You could believe her. That's a powerful force. It carried Spilka. But a force for many who thought voting doesn't count. Now we won't find the old order, in Framingham especially, deciding how things will go. Gerry Desilets, popular member of the "in crowd," lost decisively, along with Adam Sisitsky, scion of a political family. Just for a minute, look at the results. Desilets and Sisitsky polled 5,555 votes while Spilka, the "outsider" from Ashland, had 6,638 votes - when you counted the tally in the seven towns of the senatorial district : Framingham, Ashland, Natick, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway and Franklin. Uh, you do count them all, something the Democratic "in crowd" failed to do. The old adage : Win in Framingham and you can forget the rest. No more. Hang in there, this is a long story with implications to things about which you, as a voter, have wondered. How much did the Administration or the media lead you to know? To understand? When he looked at the results last night, Dennis Giombetti, a software engineer, Spilka supporter and a member of the Finance Committee, said he will run for selectmen next April. When two seats - Ross and Hopkins - are open. For years I'd been urging Giombetti to seek office. He will. After results were in, other names surfaced : Moderator Ed Noonan, longtime Planning Board member Laurence Marsh are mentioned. Last summer, Sen. David Magnani said 10 years was enough. The next day I suggested Rep. Spilka, one of the more active members of the House as the successor, and caught flak from "the in crowd." A sure loser. When Spilka sought support from the power brokers, Finneran insider John Stefanini, John Kahn and Barbara Gray - no way : Desilets, long eager for the post, deserved their support. One columnist felt no one was interested in the election in summertime. So why try? If the Administration chose to devote time to Gerry's election, OK : That's not news. Oh? Later, he opined that unfortunately voters were not interested in "local elections," so wait until the last minute to decide who to support. Not interested? Oh? Well, when you "observe" local affairs, it's best not to look through the wrong end of the telescope Odd thing about the buildup to Sept. 14th, The Boston Globe waited until the last minute and backed Desilets, as best able to be the senator. More unusual, the Globe never interviewed either Sisitsky or Spilka. But the latter two kept campaigning. I think that the elder Sisitsky, Selectman Charlie, hurt his son's efforts when he ran 500 votes behind Selectman Ginger Esty in the spring elections. As you know, actions by the 4-1 policy board did not set well with many voters. Frequently, I have pointed out that the board's actions, while legal, were attacked by residents. Not for change of government. But complaints nevertheless. The Teeter Totter continued to lean the board's way. Who would give credence to critiques of the board? Criticism was described as unfair and disruptive. No one accepted my view that the system being run by King was productive - but could stand some oversight. All systems can. All need that "maybe we could do better." To conclude this talk with readers. Uh, voters. I will tell you how I got interested in the senate race. Tired of writing off the role of Framingham's second representative, Spilka, as someone from Ashland who had precincts in "South Framingham" that were of no account, I followed the old newspaper practice of seeing how many persons were in Spilka's precincts which start at Rte. 9. Turned out that Spilka represented 26,000 Framingham residents and 14,000 in Ashland. That's a total of 40,000 to start with. So how could Stefanini tell me she was unknown and could never raise enough money for a major campaign? To get along on Beacon Hill, uh, she must be "a [House Speaker Tom] Finneran stooge." That was the tactic Desilets and Sisitsky used - especially in the closing days when they realized Karen had earned support in the other towns. When I looked into Spilka's work, I found she often went the extra mile for constituents in her district or not. I'm told she earned one major supporter when she went to bat for that man's friend who needed physical aid. She went all out on better school aid and persisted in what others said couldn't be done - getting state support to extend LIFT buses, an aid to those who had no car. Knowing these things, when she told me she intended to win, I believed her. When I looked around, I found people I'd never seen in politics before also "believe Karen Spilka." These believers did "it" for her. And I believe people with a refreshing outlook on possibilities is good for Framingham and MetroWest. Giving us the power to act on our own is worth it. Karen Spilka is that strong person. Let's see. _______________________________________________________ You can reach Bob Moore at edmoore4@aol.come or at 1-508-620-1449. [Let it ring; he's slow.]