Danehy is a strange figure. He has spent the last decade being either extremely lucky or extremely careful when the political corruption spotlight has found Middlesex County in its path. He was not up for election during the Middlesex County "reform slate" of 1972, and stayed remarkably in the background of the late-summer hoopla surrounding fellow commissioner Mike McLaughlin and his alleged job-selling tactics. The job-selling probe, conducted in primary-timed fashion by District Attorney Droney's office, eventually cost McLaughlin a chance of winning the party nomination for Congress in the Sixth District.

At any rate, a vote for Danehy means you condone all this; a blank means, like most of us, that you're pretty puzzled.

Register of Probate

Paul Cavanaugh, appointed Register of Probate a year ago, had probably the finest organization of any county candidate outside of Harshbarger. This, and the fact that he was the only attorney in the three-man primary field, was the basis for his successful campaign. Cavanaugh triumphed in September by approximately 50,000 votes over Somerville meat-cutter Francis X. Donahue and former high school baseball star Leonard F. "Deacon" Doyle.

Robert Campo, currently chairman of the Board of Assessors in Somerville, is running as an independent, but should not be taken too seriously. Cavanaugh has the almighty first position on the ballot, as well as the enthusiastic blessings of those who are aware of his work as clerk of the probate courts over the past year.

County Treasurer

At last, my friends, we have a battle. However, if party ties in the county prove too strong, it will be no battle at all.

Rocco Antonelli is the Democratic candidate. Antonelli scored a big victory in the primary by defeating pre-primary favorite John Twomey and five other aspirants by a scant 4000 votes. The victory was the result of Antonelli's being--you guessed it--first on the ballot due to the departure of aging James Brennan as county treasurer, and also the fact that Antonelli was the only Certified Public Accountant in the entire field of budget watchers.

Independent candidate S. Lester Ralph, a former candidate for Attorney General and current county commissioner, has been campaigning heavily since the primary, trying to shore up what he already feels is a strong constituency in the county. Ralph's name recognition should be enough for him to win, but then again, Massachusetts people have never taken kindly to the Independent label. It will be another test of the power of the Democratic party in Middlesex County, where Republicans and Independents are outnumbered three-to-one.

I'm voting for Antonelli, mainly because his newpaper ads have been nothing short of hilarious (a white on black hour glass with "Time for Antonelli" written in it). Seriously, either candidate would make a fine treasurer.

So that's the country's second largest county in a nutshell, and if you managed to get to the end of this piece, you should have no trouble getting to the small type at the end of the ballot, where the county races have hung out for years.