News & Notes: Kerry Challenger Stops By to Chat
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His name is Ed O'Reilly and he is an attorney and a former Gloucester city councilor and the former fire chief of Watertown.
O'Reilly, 54, was in Pittsfield on Monday to appear on a radio talk show and meet with supporters. He said he was a longtime supporter of Kerry until Kerry voted in favor of the Iraq War in October of 2002. That put an end to his support for the state's junior senator.
O'Reilly said he began to look at Kerry in a different light and, from that point, he was convinced that his vote was motivated toward his own personal political goals. In the process, he said, Kerry has forgotten about Massachusetts.
O'Reilly has been on the campaign trail long enough to say that he sees a lot of Democrats in Massachusetts who are looking for a chance and even though the Bay State is a heavily Democratic, even party loyalty may not be enough to keep Kerry in power after November.
"Senator Kerry doesn't have any idea what it feels like to pump his own gasoline and pay outrageous prices to do so," said O'Reilly. He said he pumps gas into his own car and is as outraged about gas prices as everyone else. He doubts that Kerry has put gas into his own vehicle for years.
If you remember, North Adams Mayor John Barrett III asked Kerry to investigate the high price of gasoline in the Berkshires some months ago. He was told that Kerry had sent off a couple of letters asking federal officials to look into it - but that was back in November and December.
O'Reilly has been campaigning for almost a full year and hopes to knock Kerry out of contention in the Sept. 16 Democratic primary.
Kerry, a former presidential candidate, has two Republican challengers and a member of the Libertarian Party also challenging him for his Senate seat. One of his GOP opponents, James Ogonowski of Dracut, swung through the Berkshires last week.
O'Reilly was born in Boston but grew up in Watertown, where he eventually became fire chief, following the footsteps of his father. He said he worked in a factory after graduating from high school to raise money for his college tuition. He eventually earned his degree in legal studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
"I'm a working candidate and will be a working senator" said O'Reilly, who added that he would pay a lot more attention to the needs of Massachusetts then Kerry does.
The full interview with O'Reilly is scheduled to air on WMNB-FM 100.1 on Sunday morning at about 7:30.
