NEW: Mass Dems Attack Simonian for Out-of-State Spending

Email to a friend Permalink

Friday, November 02, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Politics Team

The Massachusetts Democratic Party criticized Republican candidate Steve Simonian for spending nearly a third of his campaign dollars outside of the Commonwealth in his bid for the 2nd Worcester District State Senate seat.

GoLocalWorcester did an investigation on out-of-state spending by Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race earlier this year.

According to reports filed with the state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance, of the $5,848 Simonian spent from January 1 through October 19 of this year, $1,787, or 30 percent, went to vendors in Ohio, Florida and Georgia for bumper stickers and signs, printing services and postcards.

“If Republican Steve Simonian was really serious about helping small businesses and fighting for jobs here at home, why is he sending his campaign cash out to create jobs in places like Georgia, Ohio and Florida,” asked Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair John Walsh.

“I assure Mr. Simonian, there are plenty of envelopes and bumper stickers for sale in Massachusetts," he said.

Simonian said that his campaign looked to spend locally first whenever possible.

"A lot of places here were inundated with a lot of other campaigns," he said. "Unfortunately we did have to spend a little bit of our money outside."

The Republican and Auburn Selectman said the Mass Dems were making an issue of his out-of-state spending because they could not find anything of substance to attack him over.

"It's nothing more than a distraction to try and get the voters' minds off the fact that for the last seven months we have been honest and open in putting the information out there about my opponent and what he has or has not done for the voters."

Simonian is challenging Democratic State Senator Mike Moore, from Millbury, who is running for his third term in office.