NORTHAMPTON — While state Sen. Eric Lesser was one of three lieutenant governor candidates at last week’s Democratic Party convention to qualify for the Sept. 6 primary, Pittsfield Sen. Adam Hinds was not.
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and Rep. Tami Gouveia, D-Acton, will join Lesser on the primary ballot, with all receiving enough votes from the assembled delegates. Driscoll topped the vote count and secured the party’s endorsement. Hinds, along with Boston businessman Bret Bero, failed to make the cut.
Lesser, of Longmeadow, secured 21.2% of the vote at the convention, held June 3-4 at the DCU Center in Worcester, and expressed confidence in his campaign going forward.
“We had a really strong response to our speech,” Lesser said. “We’re ready to deliver and bring a message to our whole state.”
Lesser said he believes that it’s important to bring geographic balance to the ticket, and that western Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley are used to being left out of state politics. He cited the progress that has occurred in Worcester over 16 years of having a lieutenant governor from that area.
Lesser said that advocating for east-west rail will continue to be a focus for his campaign. He also said that he will be highlighting support for agriculture and public higher education.
Additionally, Lesser expressed his gratitude to Hinds, his Senate colleague and former opponent.
Driscoll received 41.4% of the vote at the convention and, after Gouveia declined to go to a second ballot, was awarded the party’s endorsement in the primary.
Driscoll spoke to the momentum of her campaign, and said that “it’s good to see it come to life at a convention.”
Driscoll also suggested that being a mayor is helpful to her campaign.
“You’re part of the ‘get stuff done’ wing,” she said. “That’s the type of leadership people want to see in the State House.”
Driscoll also received some prominent western Massachusetts endorsements following the convention, including former Northampton mayor David Narkewicz, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, Amherst Town Council Vice President Ana Devlin Gauthier, and Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer.
“We’re not ceding any territory,” Driscoll said.
She also said that all of her signatures to get on the ballot were collected by volunteers, and expressed her care for communities around the state and gateway cities.
“We’re building a strong, statewide organization,” she said.
Gouveia finished second at the convention, and expressed excitement at the result.
“We’re super excited, of course, to have made the ballot,” she said. “We feel really solid coming out of convention.”
Asked about her performance, Gouveia said that people know that she’s a “bold leader” and that she’s gotten support from people who know that the status quo isn’t working.
“A lot of people want progressive change,” she said.
She also said that she’s spent a lot of time in gateway cities and that people showed up for her from them. Additionally, she pointed to her time leading the Massachusetts chapter of the Women’s March as having raised her profile.
Gouveia said that she will continue to campaign in every corner of the state, and build on the relationships she’s built in the campaign. She also said that she’s someone who sees the intersectionality of issues, and that people relate to her having struggled with issues of financial insecurity like they have.
Hinds, whose western Massachusetts Senate district is the biggest in the state, got 12.4% of the vote at the convention, 88 votes short of the 15% minimum required to make it to the ballot.
Hinds, however, expressed gratitude at being able to put together a vision for standing up for every corner of the commonwealth and combating income inequality in his campaign.
“I woke up the day after the convention excited about where we can continue that work,” Hinds said.
Now that he is no longer running for lieutenant governor, Hinds said that he will spend some time with his wife and year-old son and carry on his duties as a senator, before looking to see how he can continue to advance the work he was advancing in his campaign.
He also said that he’s open to serving in a future Democratic gubernatorial administration.
A number of communities in western Massachusetts, including eight in Hampshire County, failed to hold caucuses to send delegates to the convention. Hinds said that he and local Democrats made some effort to organize town committees last year. He also said that coming from western Massachusetts did put him at a disadvantage in the delegate process.
Hinds also acknowledged that the presence of Gouveia running in the progressive lane of the primary and Lesser running as a fellow western Massachusetts candidate made his pathway to the nomination more difficult.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.
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