Goldberg Selects Running Mate

Deborah Goldberg, one of several Democrats running for lieutenant governor, announced today that she had chosen Miles Crawford, a frequent candidate for town meeting member in Belchertown, as her running mate for the upcoming gubernatorial elections. “With Miles at the top of the ticket and Deb playing second fiddle, we’ll be giving voters what they want: a team,” a campaign source said.

Goldberg’s move comes on the heels of an announcement by state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Thomas Reilly that he had put together his own team, with state representative Marie St. Fleur his choice for lieutenant governor. The team approach is widely seen as a tactical strategy to balance strengths and weaknesses.  In Reilly's case, St. Fleur, who is Haitian-American, brings both racial and gender diversity.   

For his part, Crawford is a virtual unknown, brings no money to the race, and has never previously expressed an interest in becoming governor, the Goldberg campaign source acknowledged.  However, his rural heritage and abject poverty – Crawford is presently unemployed – balance well against Goldberg’s urban background and enormous wealth, the source said.

Shortly after Goldberg's announcement, Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor started scrambling, trying to put together their own teams. Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick is now searching for a white, right-wing female to balance his African-American, left-wing, male credentials. Other candidates for lieutenant governor had reportedly taken out classified ads in local papers seeking running mates.