Ladies First

Shannon P. O’Brien, the state treasurer and receiver general, has one trait none of her opponents can match—she is a woman.

And O’Brien is not shy about using her gender courting the endorsements of women’s advocacy groups; over the course of the next month she will hold a series of four “Town Meetings for Women.”

“Getting women to have better participation within the political prcess is a very very powerful part of any campaign,” she says.

However, O’Brien’s main pitch is her record of reform as a “strong, independent leader” as state treasurer. Before O’Brien took on her post, the state treasury was wrought with insider corruption.

“It comes down to independence,” she says, dismissing the insider v. outsider debate. “I’ve gotten results for people.”

O’Brien says her budget plan has four main points: better management, moderate cuts, judicious use of reserves and new revenues.

Calling Romney’s plan a “fantasy scenario,” O’Brien says Romney won’t be able to count on the federal bailout he received during the 2002 Olympics.

O’Brien has been criticized by her opponents for her inconsistent stance on abortion during the late 1980’s. But she has since declared a firmly pro-choice stance and points to her record of pro-choice votes during her time in the state legislature.

A Yale graduate with a J.D. from Boston University, O’Brien is the first woman to hold her current office.

She is also the first woman elected to statewide office alone on the ticket in Massachusetts.

President For Governor

Veteran Beacon Hill politician Thomas F. Birmingham ’72 is about as inside an “insider” as they come.

Rather than downplaying this image, though, the president of the state senate has sought to establish himself as the insider fighting for the rights of working people.