PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gov. Deval Patrick will host a campaign rally on Friday at Itam Lodge, 93 Waubeek Road, on Friday, Oct. 22, beginning at 5:30.

Patrick, who has a home in Richmond, is running for a second term in office. The Pittsfield rally will allow residents from throughout the Berkshires to have a conversation with Patrick about the issues at stake in the election.

This event is free open to the public.

"Policy only matters at the point where it touches people, and politics is most meaningful at the grassroots," said Patrick in a statement. "That's why [Lt. Gov.] Tim Murray and I are out talking with people every day about the choices before us as a commonwealth, and building a grassroots network stronger than ever."

The campaign says it's gaining momentum continues to gain grassroots momentum as Election Day approaches. Patrick and Murray have criss-crossed the state in recent months, meeting with voters. At a rally with President Obama this past Saturday, more than 7,500 volunteers committed to helping the Patrick–Murray team "get-out-the-vote" on Election Day — and volunteers are working everyday in the campaign’s 25 coordinated field offices, making phone calls and knocking on doors to reach voters about the decision they have on Election Day.

SHELBURNE FALLS, Mass. – Paul Mark, the Democratic nominee for state representative in the 2nd Berkshire District, has received the endorsement of the state's three main environmental groups. Sierra Club Massachusetts, Mass Clean Water Action, and the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters endorsed Mark this week.

"Paul is committed to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, promoting renewable energy resources and growing our local economy by doing so," said Phil Sego, political chairman of the Mass Sierra Club. "This district is already leading the way and, with Paul's help, will continue to do so."

"Paul has made the preservation of the natural beauty of the district one of his top priorities, and supports smart investments in the clean-energy jobs which are critical to our recovering economy," said Lora Wondolowski, Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters' executive director. "We look forward to working with Paul in the State House during the next legislative session."

"Clean Water Action was impressed both by Paul's broad support in the district and his commitment to protecting our environment and our health in Massachusetts," said Jeff Knudsen, political director for Massachusetts Clean Water Action. "We believe that Paul Mark is the clear environmental choice in this race."

Clean Water Action boasts 80,000 members in Massachusetts, and Sierra Club has a membership base numbering 26,000. MLEV is not a membership organization, but rather works largely through broad voter contact on important environmental issues.

"These powerful endorsements are a signal of my commitment to environmental stewardship," Mark said upon receiving the endorsements. "I couldn't be happier to have the support of all three groups."

The groups are co-hosting an Environmental Champion dinner for Mark after the election.

Paul Mark has earned 30 endorsements from political groups and elected officials. A full list of his endorsements is available at www.votepaulmark.com.

The 2nd Berkshire District includes part of Pittsfield and 21 towns in Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire Counties.

BOSTON — Former Suffolk County District Attorney Newman Flanagan and former Worcester County District Attorney John Conte have endorsed Martha Coakely in her re-election campaign for attorney general.

Coakley's opponent, James McKenna, served under both Conte and Flanagan when the two were district attorneys.

“Martha Coakley is the only candidate in this race with the experience to protect our kids, seniors and the most vulnerable,” said Flanagan in a statment released Oct. 20. “Martha has 25 years of experience protecting the citizens of the commonwealth – the victims, the witnesses, everybody that has been preyed upon through crime in Massachusetts.”

“Martha Coakley is clearly the best candidate and I urge the voters of Massachusetts to keep Martha doing the fine job she has for the past four years,” said Conte. “Martha has been an ally and a friend to her fellow prosecutors and partners in law enforcement and I am proud to support her in ensuring justice and safety for the citizens of the commonwealth.”

“I thank District Attorneys Flanagan and Conte for their support,” said Coakley. “This race is about choosing an attorney general who will keep people safe, and who will best stand up for the consumers, taxpayers, and families of Massachusetts in these difficult times and I appreciate that these district attorneys believe that I am the best candidate.”

In the 1980s and 1990s, McKenna served in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office under District Attorney Flanagan and in the Worcester District Attorney’s Office under District Attorney Conte. Since 1998, McKenna has been in private practice as a civil defense lawyer, largely defending insurance companies.

Coakley says she is the only candidate in this race who has prioritized public safety challenges such as cyber crime, senior safety, neighborhood safety, and child protection. She says her opponent has remained virtually silent on these critical issues throughout the past two months.

QUINCY, Mass. — Suzanne Bump, Democratic nominee for state auditor, said she would conduct a thorough audit of the performance of the Committee for Public Counsel Service and the Bar Advocate programs.
 
“The state’s district attorneys have raised an important issue. There may be a problem with the way the public’s money is being spent on criminal defense,” said Bump in a statement issued Oct. 14. “Defendants have rights, but taxpayers do too, and they shouldn’t be abused.”
 
The Massachusetts District Attorneys Association issued a statement last week pointing out that defense counsel budgets have received substantial increases year after year while the district attorneys have not received comparable resources. One of their proposed solutions is to increase the DAs' budgets. Supporters of defense counsel have countered that their compensation is appropriate.

“So far, this debate has generated a lot of angry words and several ideas about how the state can spend more money in this area,” said Bump. “It has not generated any ideas or proposals about how we can deliver these services more effectively and save the taxpayers’ money.  There is a natural role here for the state auditor,” she said.

“I’ve talked about performance audits since I started this campaign. The issue raised by the District Attorneys perfectly illustrates my point,” Bump continued.  “As state auditor I will look at the way we spend taxpayer dollars to provide constitutionally required counsel to criminal defendants, determine whether the system is being abused, and identify changes to be made to save taxpayers money and deliver better services.”

“Through a thorough performance audit we can discover why the budget for defense counsel rises astronomically every year while the crime rate has remained essentially flat. If caseloads are the same, then why do defense costs keep increasing?” Bump asked.

Bump outlined some possible solutions, including reducing reliance on private attorneys in favor of having more public defenders, building better controls into the programs to ensure that attorneys are billing their cases consistent with reasonable defense practices, and exploring ways of resolving cases without excessive and costly litigation while protecting public safety.

“We need to get to the proper resolution of cases in the most cost-effective manner,” said Bump. “When we do that, we will save money for taxpayers and free up the resources to invest in programs that reduce crime and enhance public safety.”

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The incumbents didn't show but their challengers were more than happy to take the spotlight on Monday night for the state representative debates on Pittsfield Community Television.

Rather than a back and forth between the Democrats and the Green-Rainbow Party nominees, David Cachat, coordinator for PCTV's Citylink, spent a half-hour each interviewing tbe Green-Rainbow candidates for the 3rd and 4th Berkshire districts.

It was a rare chance for a third party whose gubernatorial candidate, Jill Stein, has had to battle to be included in debates.

The debates were organized by PCTV and The Pittsfield Gazette in September. Fourth District incumbent William "Smitty" Pignatelli of Lenox had begged off citing calendar confusion (another debate has been proposed for next Monday) but Christopher N. Speranzo of Pittsfield, running for a third full term in the 3rd District, bowed out on Friday.

"I'm running for representative for the 3rd Berkshire District because I want the job. I want it so much that I plan to serve the entire two-year term," said Mark C. Miller, taking a swipe at Speranzo in his opening statement of what would have been the 3rd Berkshire debate.

Speranzo's come in for criticism for reportedly going after the lifetime job of clerk-magistrate in the Central Berkshire District Court while also running for another term as representative. If he wins and then gets the court job, a special election will have to be held to fill his seat. More than one political pundit has pointed out that's exactly how Speranzo came to office after his predecessor Peter Larkin quit for the private sector only days after being sworn in.

"I don't know whether he's a victim of terrible timing or what, but he's got a decision to make," said Miller, who speculated Speranzo expected to be elected anyway just by running as a Democrat. "If I'm elected all that will be moot ... but I am disappointed we can't have a dialogue."

Miller's comments evoked applause from what audience showed up for the two debates. Both he and fellow Green-Rainbow Lee Scott Laugenour are running against the expectation that Democrats — or Republicans for that matter — are safe bets.

Miller, longtime journalist and former editor of The Berkshire Eagle, said it was time to change government. The Democratic-controlled Legislature "works in the shadows," he said, and needs legislators willing to buck the system. "They won't miss one Democrat from Pittsfield; what they might not miss is a challenge by an independent legislator."

Laugenour had raised the same theme in his earlier interview. A longtime executive with Marriott Hotels in the Northeast, he said his position had given him an inside look at the power and influence-peddling behind the scenes in both parties. "There was a lot of secrecy behind that thick curtain."

Both believe the electorate is ready for a change, noting that the majority of voters in Massachusetts aren't enrolled in either party. Where some are turning toward tea party conservatism, the Green-Rainbow Party is offering an option for progressives.

"People are ready for a new kind of government a new kind of Legislature," said Laugenour. "It's time for legislators to arrive on Beacon Hill whose only debts are [to] the people whose hand they've shaken in their district, not to the affiliations of power brokering that goes on right now.

"Once people have a taste for it, they're going to like it."

The interviews will be rebroadcast on PCTV and are available on the website (where I watched them.)