BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY SEPT. 10, 2018) — Even after the primary, the D.A.’s race in Berkshire County refuses to go away. It will not until Paul Caccaviello makes his decision on a sticker campaign for the November general election.

Though it is far from unanimous, many “wise guys” and not just Cacc supporters see in such a campaign a viability that in more typical circumstances might be considered a long shot, particularly after analyzing the numbers. To spell it out, they say he could pull it off. They point to his win in Pittsfield, particularly. Win Pittsfield, win November is how THE PLANET would paraphrase the thinking here. Certainly, a Caccaviello win with a sticker campaign would be one of the biggest political stories of local all time.

We have talked to and heard from a large cross section of “usual suspects” about the prelim from all sides, and, from the notes and the submissions, THE PLANET presents the Winners and Losers. A few points of order:

• THE PLANET did not author the listing. We paraphrased, wrote transitions, and edited like Horace Greeley. The byline is fictitious to preserve the identities of the contributors, at their request.
• This analysis reflects only the primary race.
• Should Caccaviello decide he’s in for November, everything changes.

With that, we present

THE WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE DA’s RACE

By PIERRE FRANCOIS DELLA BRIOSCHI

Special to PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

The Winners (in no particular order)

John Krol
It wasn’t all upside for Krol. There are supporters of Caccaviello and Judy Knight that Krol angered. They would rather drink water from Silver Lake than vote for Krol next time he’s on a ballot. But all factors considered, Krol was the biggest winner coming out of this election. First, the DA wives controversy surrounding his Facebook show brought the race out of the world of wonk and into talk at barber shops, barrooms, and bordellos. It was the turning point of the race. “Wifegate” wasn’t about issues and had little substance, but these are the kinds of goofs that can sink campaigns. For Krol, Wifegate gave his show publicity and legitimacy. But it was Krol’s needling commentaries and his interview with a reporter on the details of the Capeless resignation and appointment of Caccaviello that drove Betsy Capeless and Karen Caccaviello bananas. Krol was the most outspoken supporter of Harrington, leaving himself open to speculation that he was lined-up for a job in the DA’s office. He denied it. But if he’s not taking a job, the question still remains: why did Krol lay it all on the line for Harrington? Insiders say that Krol had simply built a strong friendship with Harrington, pointing out that he quietly supported her in the state senate race two years ago against Adam Hinds. They also say Krol was motivated to show up the true old-school GOB brass of the Berkshires (Ruberto, Massimiano, Capeless et. al.) and hammer a final nail in the coffin of their electoral relevance. Are they right? 2019 shall answer. Finally, speaking of 2019, as Krol canvassed citywide for Harrington, insiders say this race has set the stage for a mayoral run.

Helen Moon
Like Krol, Moon was with Harrington from the beginning. This made sense, since Harrington supported Moon when she ran as virtual unknown in her race in Ward 1 last year. Moon’s loyalty is also a good example of Harrington’s political instincts. She quietly built a strong coalition of younger (mostly female) activists who are a part of her support base. Those in the know say Moon essentially took on the role as campaign manager, although she didn’t have the title. Moon is known as a solid worker on a campaign, and with her loyalty to Harrington, she has moved up a few pegs on the political totem pole. Keep an eye on Moon to position for a run for state rep. or state senator two years from now. No matter what her future plans, she will have a friend in the DA’s office who owes her one (or two) — assuming Caccaviello doesn’t run in November or, if he does, loses.

Dina Guiel
Guiel lost a close race against Kevin Morandi in 2017, but she didn’t disappear like some election losers do. She got herself appointed to city boards, including the licensing board, and landed a job working for the attorney general — not that being an electoral pest guarantees rose gardens and moons in June. See “Malumphy, Pam” for example. If a loss to Morandi shows Guiel wasn’t ready for prime time, she may have proven herself in the Harrington campaign. If she decides to run against Morandi again in Ward 2, expect a more sophisticated, organized attack. Morandi should be alert to the possibility and plan accordingly. His “loyal opposition” stance against some of the mayor’s initiatives wins Morandi street cred in Ward 2, and he can build on that. It would turn the normally white-bread election in 2 into a sight, if not a spectacle. Another option, with Tricia Farley-Bouvier’s waning popularity and regular blundering, would be for Guiel to take out Farley-Bouvier in a Democratic primary for state rep. Few would mourn the loss and many would dance on TFB’s political grave. After all, TFB barely held onto her seat against an impossibly green-though-precocious first-time candidate Mike Bloomberg in 2016.

Linda Tyer
Tyer desperately needed a win. She got it by publicly hopping onto the Harrington train just before the election. The well-timed endorsement of Harrington put the Caccaviello campaign on its heels, and they struggled to respond. Perhaps the campaign saw no need, thinking the election was theirs. The good vibes from Harrington to Tyer may have been a momentary reprieve from the doldrums of what one administration critic calls “a directionless city administration whose main goal is to fatten the pension,” but it was a shining moment for Tyer nonetheless.

The Losers

Tom Bowler
Since he was elected county sheriff by a landslide two years ago, Bowler has been a centerpiece of the Berkshires’ political power structure. But Bowler now finds himself on losing streak. It hasn’t yet reached Malumphian proportions, but the sheriff needs to either concede or redouble the attack. A sticker win by Caccaviello would throw everything on its head and reassert Bowler as a kingpin. A sticker loss by Cacc would harden the cement on the galoshes. Does Bowler risk it? His close friend Dan Bianchi was demolished by a city clerk (Tyer) three years ago. Now, in spite of the GOBs circling the wagons orchestrating a political succession through the sudden resignation of David Capeless and inserting a third-party candidate (Knight) to split votes, Bowler still couldn’t keep the DA seat in their hands. Bowler is no longer feared, which now puts him in a position where he has to think if he will be electable next time around. Lucky for him, with a six-year term, he wouldn’t have to run for re-election until 2022. Will the sheriff quietly stay in place, content with his salary and future pension, or if he will fight back? Caccaviello’s decision may provide the answer.

Adam Hinds
Hinds easily won his primary contest, but he blew it with loyal Harrington people. He tried to stoke support for Knight in the final week of the race. While Hinds plays off as a “swell progressive dude,” he does as his masters tell him. And those guys wanted Caccaviello. Period. That meant the “progressives” like Hinds and Sherwood Guernsey had to support Knight to take votes away from Harrington. It didn’t work, so Hinds may have some splainin’ to do to his old pal Harrington. When he gets called in on Rug Row, what does he do? Does he ignore the request, as his bosses will advise, or will he come crawling? The nerves might be enough for him to grow his hair back.

Smitty Pignatelli
Smitty played neutral on TV, as he does on almost every hot local issue, but everyone knows he was supporting Caccaviello in real life. In fact, insiders say that he shared sensitive Harrington poll data with Team Caccaviello before she wised up to his two-timing ways. Like Hinds, Smitty knows where his bread is buttered, and it’s not with beatnik, Bernie Sanders-supporting, South County liberals. His bosses wanted Caccaviello, and Smitty worked behind the scenes supporting him. Why not just come out and say it? Instead, his brother Scott stood out at the polls in Lenox with a Caccaviello sign. Message received.

Melissa Mazzeo
While she stayed mostly quiet during the campaign, Mazzeo backed the loser. While Caccaviello took Pittsfield, he fell short of the numbers needed to win the countywide race. Mazzeo didn’t seem to move the needle for Cacc. Perhaps if Caccaviello runs stickers, Mazzeo will come out full force, but the question there would be the same as the one for Bowler: Does she risk it? Since insiders believe she’s definitely running for mayor, Mazzeo likely wanted to stay under the radar to avoid any fallout from the DA’s race. But in doing so, she missed an opportunity to tip the scales for Caccaviello, who would have won if he could muster 500 more votes in Pittsfield. Could Mazzeo have helped him do that? We’ll never know since she decided to stay on the sidelines, despite publicly backing Caccaviello.

The Biggest Losers

Earl Persip
Undoubtedly, Persip wins the award for biggest loser. Based on THE PLANET‘s relentless coverage of “Signgate,” one wag suggested the award should be named The Dumpster Behind Paul Rich Award for Cloudy Political Thinking. No one believes Persip’s bullshit story that he was tossing Harrington signs in the dumpster behind Paul Rich & Sons because they were “damaged.” Not even Persip believed it. In the now-infamous sign dump, Persip took a political double whammy. Both sides (Team Harrington and Team Caccaviello) have no reason to trust him one bit. For Team Harrington, he was “the jerk” who pretended to be for their candidate but was caught tossing her signs in a dumpster, while secretly supporting Caccaviello. For Team Caccaviello, he was the guy who was forced to say publicly that he was supporting Harrington because he got caught dumpster diving and had to cover his ass. Either way, he pissed everyone off. Everyone populating the Nine Circles of Pittsfield Political Hades knows you can’t trust Earl as far as you can throw him, and he’s a pretty big dude. You can’t throw him far. Persip is radioactive toast. No one will touch him between now and September 2019.

Tricia Farley-Bouvier
Farley-Bouvier’s bungled attempt to un-split the “progressive vote” in the DAs race flopped. Her clumsy, heavy-handed attempt goes down as one of the county’s all-time political blunders. Worse for her, the debacle gave Judy Knight moral high ground and momentum, infuriating Harrington and her people. Farley-Bouvier pissed off the winners, not a smart move. On election night at the Harrington party, TFB was doing her best to stick her face in every photo op and position herself to be on the stage next to Harrington for the victory speech. You know, the way she always does. Harrington gave Tricia the bum’s rush. She sure as hell wasn’t going to hog the stage or swallow one ray of limelight. One of Harrington’s people had to tell TFB to back off. Forcefully. There was almost a scene. These things are not forgotten in the elephantine memories that abound in Pittsfield politics It’s a widespread belief that Farley-Bouvier wrote her political obit. Look, if no one wants you there, it’s probably a better idea to just stay home.

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“When ‘They’ say you can’t do it, that’s when you should do it” — Sir Tiberius Fruitjuice.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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