Jul 7, 2009 11:50 am US/Eastern
'Frustrated' Tim Cahill Leaving Democratic Party
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Tim Cahill (file image)
WBZ
State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, eyeing a possible run for governor next year, is changing his political party.
Cahill, a Democrat, plans to switch his party designation to independent, or unenrolled, by the end of the week.
"I just feel it's the right thing for me. I think it better defines who I am," he told
WBZ Radio Tuesday.
"I've been enormously frustrated over the last 18 months in the response on Beacon Hill to our financial problems."
"Most of my concerns and complaints have fallen on deaf ears."
"I've decided that I can probably do a better job from outside the party."
RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR?
Cahill has made little secret of his ambitions for the governor's office but hasn't said for sure whether he'll challenge Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, who plans to run for a second term.
"I will spend the rest of the summer trying to figure out whether it makes sense for me to run for governor," Cahill said.
"But I am definitely going to, in the future, run for public office as an independent as opposed to a democrat."
Cahill is more conservative than Patrick and would have faced an uphill fight to win the Democratic Party nomination, given that the party's primary voters tend to be more liberal than the party, or the electorate, as a whole.
The switch would let him avoid a primary fight against Patrick and proceed directly to the November 2010 general election ballot.
"I understand people thinking that I'm opting out to have an easier time of it, but the reality is it's much more difficult. It's never been done before," said Cahill.
An independent has never been elected governor of Massachusetts.
PATRICK'S REACTION
Patrick said Tuesday he's sorry to see the Democrats lose a member but didn't have much else to say.
The governor said the Democrats have to be about "appealing to and reaching out to everybody."
Patrick says he's reserving any further comment until the political season begins -- even though he's holding a pair of re-election fundraisers in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday.
CRITICAL OF PATRICK
Cahill has become an increasingly vocal critic of Patrick and his administration, faulting it for failing to rein in spending sharply enough during the recession.
He's suggested the state's landmark health care law, which mandates insurance coverage for virtually all residents, may be too expensive to maintain as tax revenues plunge.
He's also said the Patrick administration should think twice before moving ahead with a long-promised commuter rail project linking New Bedford and Fall River to Boston, saying the state can't afford the $1.4 billion project now.
GOVERNOR VULNERABLE?
Patrick has had his share of self-inflicted stumbles, including his attempt to give one of his early political supporters, Sen. Marian Walsh, a long-empty job at a state authority, which would have increased her salary by $100,000.
Walsh later withdrew after a public outcry.
More recently Patrick has tried to reclaim his image as a reformer by pushing lawmakers to approve bills to overhaul the state's transportation, ethics and pension systems.
In exchange he agreed to approve a 25 percent hike in the state sales tax after lawmakers rebuffed his attempts to increase the state gasoline tax by 19 cents per gallon.
Patrick's decision to sign the sales tax -- the state's largest broad-based tax hike in two decades -- could leave him vulnerable to charges of being a tax-and-spend liberal.
Patrick said the state couldn't responsibly balance its budget with cuts alone.
Patrick can also claim other successes, including expanding auto insurance competition in the state, allowing civilian flaggers to direct traffic at some roadside construction sites, and the passage last year of a 10-year, $1 billion package to promote the state's life sciences industry.
NATIONAL INTEREST
The 2010 campaign for the state's top office has already begun attracting some well-known national political talent.
President Barack Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe is going to serve as a consultant to Patrick.
Meanwhile, Republican consultant and commentator Dick Morris is going to assist GOP candidate Christy Mihos.
Health care executive Charles Baker also has been mentioned as a possible Republican challenger.
What do you think? Join the conversation in our Conversation Nation blog.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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