Albano wins Governor’s Council primary

Michael J. Albano has prevailed in the Democratic primary for the 8th Governor’s Council District by running as a Kennedy Liberal, a position he hopes will carry him to victory in the general election.

“It’s a wonderful honor to be the Democratic nominee,” Mr. Albano said in comments to The Beacon while visiting supporters in Pittsfield.

A former Springfield mayor, Mr. Albano won a close three-way primary race against Westfield School Committee member Kevin Sullivan and Chicopee City Councilor Gerry Roy. Mr. Albano received 25,659 votes (43 percent) to Mr. Sullivan’s 24,392 votes (41 percent), with Mr. Roy finishing a distant third with 9,961 votes (17 percent).

“I thought this race was based on political philosophy,” said Mr. Albano, who received the backing of many of the region’s labor unions. “[I] didn’t want to go backwards on marriage equality, do not want to go backwards on affirmative action, do not want to go backwards on the death penalty.”

The Governor’s Council is an eight-member elected body that confirms nominations for judgeships, certain other court positions and the Massachusetts Parole Board.

If elected, Mr. Albano says he would be an advocate for an openly progressive philosophy on the board, particularly on civil rights.

“I don’t apologize for calling myself a Kennedy Liberal…[I] have been all my life and will continue to be as a member of the council,” he said.

Mr. Albano considers the state judiciary to be a safeguard for civil rights gains, particularly on the issue of reproductive choice, which he believes could face serious attacks on the federal level if Mitt Romney is elected president.

“I’m going to ask those nominees that come up…’Where are you on marriage equality?’” said Mr. Albano, a strong supporter of same sex marriage. “If they don’t give me the right answer I’m not going to vote to confirm them.”

After serving as Springfield’s mayor from 1996-2004, Mr. Albano started a political consulting business, which he still runs. Mr. Albano has pledged that, should he be elected, he will not do any business before the bodies he confirms.

In addition to advocating for a progressive political philosophy, Mr. Albano would like to reform how the Governor’s Council operates.

“Governor’s Council is one of the few bodies that’s not covered by the Open Meeting Law,” said Mr. Albano. “One of the first things I want to do is make sure that the Governor’s Council falls under the Open Meeting Law and that we do…hearings out in western Massachusetts on western Massachusetts nominees.

“I want to bring the hearings out here, especially on judicial appointments…7 o’clock in the evening, fully transparent and (with) full participation by the public.”

Mr. Albano will face Republican candidate Michael Franco of Holyoke in the Nov. 6 general election. A veterans’ service officer, Mr. Franco has run for governor’s council three times previously and narrowly defeated Michael Case of Washington in the Republican primary. Mr. Franco received 5,341 votes (52 percent) to Mr. Case’s 4,896 votes (48 percent).

“I’m not taking anything for granted,” said Mr. Albano, when asked whether he was confident going into the general election. “I do believe that my record is more mainstream than my opponents and more consistent with the values of the four western counties.”

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on September 13, 2012. Filed under Community News,News,State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry