Tikkabik

attributed to Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill. How quickly they forget.

So Election Day is bearing down on us, and while the status of Massachusetts' Electoral College votes is all but a foregone conclusion, given John Kerry's background, the status of various elected local offices is far from a sure thing. The state Republican Party has seen its influence in local politics diminish dramatically over the past four years, and they're making a concerted effort to grab as many state senate seats as they can in November. Really, being a Republican in Mass. is a bit like being a Yankees fan in Boston -- it's a lost cause in more ways than one, and you have to feel a bit sorry for them, given the positively Quixotic nature of the quest -- but like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, you have to admire the GOP's tenacity.

One of those seats is being contested here on the Cape. It's currently occupied by a man named Robert O'Leary, and he's been a pretty effective legislator who seems to vote with a conscience. I don't agree with everything he's done, but we're of one mind on most of the major issues.

His seat is being contested by two people: Luiz "Lou" Gonzaga, a former Republican who's running as an indendent, and someone with moderate enough views to be effectively centrist -- on other words, not very much different than O'Leary on many issues -- and Dr. Gail Lese, the Republican candidate.

I will not be voting for Dr. Gail Lese for three reasons.

Reason #1: About a week ago, I got a call from her office, or someone affiliated with her office. "Mr. Cohen," the girl asked, "can Dr. Gail Lese count on your vote?"

"I'd like to know more about how Dr. Lese stands on the issues," I said.

"Oh ... OK," she stammered. "Thanks for your time." Then she hung up. Apparently this was just a drive-by poll -- not an actual attempt by the candidate to educate me about herself in any way, shape or form. It was a lost opportunity, and more than that, a total waste of my time and theirs.

Reason #2: Our local newspaper, the Mashpee Enterprise, offers candidates the chance to voice their views in the paper. They do the interviews all at about the same time and they schedule the interviews to run in the same issue of the paper. That way, readers can take a look at how the candidates stand and compare them equally.

Dr. Gail Lese didn't bother to do an interview with the Enterprise. Apparently she had a more pressing engagement elsewhere, and didn't follow up with them after the fact. She did, however, give Lou Gonzaga the opportunity to call her a "carpetbagger" without fear of retaliation. Apparently Dr. Gail Lese is new to the Cape, and not familiar with our ways. She's also not familiar with the fact that we don't take kindly to carpetbaggers. Hell, I've been here for almost eight years and I'm still a "washashore."

Reason #3: Twice in the past week I've received inflammatory fliers paid for by the Mass Republican Party attempting to portray Bob O'Leary's positions as outside the mainstream and somehow dangerous. I've received nothing telling me where Dr. Gail Lese stands on the issues.

I don't take kindly to overtly negative advertising. In fact, it makes me want to diassociate myself from whoever's behind it.

So there you go. Three blown opportunities to win my vote. With this record Dr. Gail Lese might want to send Joe Torre her resume.