BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, OCT. 26-8, 2018) — Given her refusal to debate incumbent district attorney Paul Caccaviello in the final stretch of the general election for District Attorney as well as ignoring this writer’s previous two requests for comment, it’s clear that Andrea Harrington and her brain trust have decided on the lay-low approach to bring them home to port.

We can almost hear Eric Clapton’s hooky guitar riff and gravelly voice:

Lay-y-y-y Lo,

My campaign’s on its knees 

Lay-y-y Lo 

I’m beggin’ voters please

Lay-y-y-y Lo 

Won’t you ease my worried mind?

The tune’s catchy, but if that’s the strategy, THE PLANET and two cents will advise Camp Harrington that it runs a what should be for them an unacceptable risk of back-firing. We are in the stretch run of the campaign, a precious time when the electorate — at least those that will — begin to pay attention. If Harrington continues on his Greta Garbo impression, they will see Caccaviello in a one-man show, essentially, as active as he’s been this entire cycle.

The Preeevent D, the four corners O, icing the puck, the intentional walk — whatever you call it, playing not to lose as opposed to going for broke and the win often ends up backfiring. That might be something for the Harrington team to consider between now and yesterday. In fact, one of THE PLANET‘s spies in attendance at Harrington’s Thursday night fundraiser reported an animated debate among several backers over the wisdom of “laying low.” Our favorite exchange, as reported by our Z-Agent:

AH BACKER 1: When you got the lead you play it safe. … AH BACKER 2: What makes you think she’s got the lead? 

Wise guys we talked to have a consensus that keeping the muzzle on Harrington will reduce the chances of her making another major gaffe. Apparently, even her backers don’t trust her to make good judgments. The however with that strategy is that it leaves her opponent an golden, silver, and bronze opportunity to march downfield and score.

And let us just say again that THE PLANET “backs” no one in this race. We began as we always do, with a blank slate, allowing the various campaigns and the individual candidates to write upon it. This may go against the fictions concocted in the whirled philosophies of those entrenched souls who desperately want a specific outcome on Nov. 6, no matter HOW it’s achieved, but so be it. The candidates act or don’t. THE PLANET reports and interprets. Simple as that, Fred.

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VOTER INTENT RULES

Again, let us cite MGL election law from the Secretary of State’s office. In a write-in campaign, correct spelling, proper addresses, and dotting every lower case “j” and crossing every “t” play second violin to the “voter’s intent.” If a ballot clearly and reasonably identifies the voter’s intent, the vote count — or should count.   Spelling “Caccaviello” isn’t necessary, although we admit it helps. If what the voter writes can be reasonably interpreted as a vote for Cacc, it goes in his win total. Provided. Provided that the person counting the ballots makes that judgment. This makes it vital for both candidates to have only TRUSTED deputies monitoring the all-important count. With write-ins, we can expect some challenges and the dangling temptation for illegality and manipulation. Consequently, both Harrington and Caccaviello HAVE to have sharp deputies with debating skills at each polling station. That cannot be stated enough.

The other point to keep in mind is that narrow margin of victory for Harrington in the September primary. She prevailed over Caccaviello by a fraction of 1 percent. Every vote will count, especially given that in the general election:

• Republicans will be voting.
• Independents will have another opportunity.
• Turnout will be greater.
• Third place finisher Judy Knight has released her 5,100+ votes to Caccaviello with the recommendation of a strong an unequivocal endorsement.
• There will be greater interest in this race compared to September.

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CACC ADDRESSES WILLIAMSTOWN RAPE ISSUE, BLASTS ACCUSATIONS AS ‘POLITICAL’

Paul Caccaviello took on the alleged Williams College sexual assault issue Wednesday, trying to put out a flashfire he says was started by Harrington and her backers as a ruse to distract voters from the “real issues.”

Here is the full text of Caccaviello’s press release:

Berkshire District Attorney Paul J. Caccaviello is refuting facts contained in a letter to the editor of the Berkshire Eagle in August of this year. The letter claimed that the Berkshire District Attorney failed to investigate or prosecute over 40 cases of sexual assault reported by Williams College between 2014 and 2016.

“The allegations in this letter were extremely disturbing as they are completely contrary to the mission of the office and goal of protecting victims” Caccaviello said. “I contacted both Williams College and the Williamstown Police Department to begin an inquiry into the matter and found that Mr. Pucci’s claims were not only without merit, but misleading, ill-informed, and insensitive to victims.”

Caccaviello said his inquiry showed that the majority of the information provided by Williams College to the Williamstown Police Department did not contain sufficient data to permit a thorough investigation by law enforcement. It found that although Mr. Pucci claimed that “all the data about this sexual violence was reported [by the college] to the Williamstown Police Department,” in fact, two-thirds of the incidents reported to the police failed to identify either the victim or the alleged perpetrator of the crime. Caccaviello added “Williamstown Police Chief Kyle Johnson discovered an additional 18 cases of sexual assault were never even reported to his department and, therefore, could not be referred to the District Attorney’s Office for further investigation or prosecution. Mr. Pucci’s claim that “all the data” about these crimes was shared with the local police and the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office is simply not true.”

Chief Johnson indicated that when his department timely requested the names of the parties involved in these cases to further their own investigation, Williams College did not provide the names and protected the confidentiality of the victims and alleged perpetrators. The College was well-within its discretion not to reveal the names of the parties to these incidents. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 does not require colleges and universities to report allegations of sexual violence to law enforcement, it only requires schools to investigate and address sexual violence on campus. Title IX also permits, and even encourages, schools to maintain students’ confidentiality. The College is not required to provide to the public or to the District Attorney any additional information about these incidents. In fact, the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report informs students that “all reported crimes will be investigated by the College and may become a matter of public record only if subpoenaed by law enforcement.”

“We fully respect the rights of victims who chose to remain anonymous and not move forward with an investigation and we understand that the College also has an obligation to provide a safe atmosphere for its students to speak freely. What is disappointing, and irresponsible, is that Mr. Pucci, an experienced criminal law attorney, chose to blame the Berkshire District At torney’s Office for the nature of Williams College’s public disclosures of sexual violence.

Caccaviello vowed to continue to work with Williams College and Williamstown Police Department to assist in investigations and support all victims of sexual assault. “This is an issue that colleges across the country are facing and we are committed to providing all of the necessary resources to not just Williams College but all college campuses in Berkshire County to address the problem.”

• * * * * * * * * *

THE PLANET notes with curiosity that the newspaper once known as The Berkshire Eagle refused to run Cacc’s press release either as an article or news story, relegating it to “herd status” on the Letters to the Editor page. That could be cited as another piece of evidence of the claim now being made more strongly and openly that The Boring Broadsheet is secretly backing Harrington.

In our previous column (Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018), THE PLANET published an e-mail sent by BB publisher Fred Rutberg to a reader in which Rutberg called Cacciavello’s campaign “non-existent” and said his paper wouldn’t cover it. Cacc backers are calling that a “smoking gun” and insist that the newspaper and the Harrington campaign have reached some sort of “secret deal.” No one will go on the record, of course. THE PLANET will work our sources on the street, in the respective campaigns, and at the newspaper. It’s a fishing expedition, yes, but sometimes that’s how you land the prized marlins. Even now, we are getting strong bites.

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As always, feel free to comment on any issue, but KEEP IT ON-MESSAGE and REASONABLE. We ask this futilely, perhaps, but we must make the plea. Your words say everything about your mind. Don’t be ignorant. Be smart.

We would especially encourage your thoughts on the D.A. campaign.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

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“Only the doctor who has the disease really understands it” — William Osler, M.D.

“OPEN THW WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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