Debate: Secretary of State (Galvin v. Sullivan)

Did the WBUR CitySpace debate between the Democratic candidates for Secretary of State Bill Galvin and Tanisha Sullivan get nasty?

Look at the post-URL of the Boston Globe write up:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/08/08/metro/bill-galvin-secretary-state-challenger-tanisha-sullivan-battle-nasty-democratic-primary-debate/

Sometimes you go hard on the first draft title, reel it in during revisions, and forget to revise the post-URL in the final draft. Since the draft title feeds directly into the post-URL on most publication platforms, the web address can often give insight as to how the authors were initially framing the topic.

We can’t know exactly how the Globe got from the post-URL above to the headline “Bill Galvin and secretary of state challenger Tanisha Sullivan battle at Democratic primary debate,” but the “nasty” obviously didn’t survive. And other loaded-language sprinkled throughout the piece like “battle,” “clashing,” and “bitter,” doesn’t quite have the same charge as “nasty.”

So was it nasty? If you thought Bill Galvin was trying to brand the challenger Tanisha Sullivan as ignorant (rather than ignorant of…this or that), then it was definitely nasty. But who can say?

HDN includes some debate notes below to help you find certain topics and questions.

The usual disclaimer: Hump Day News provides a loose outline, with timecodes, of the back-and-forth. The questions (Qs) noted in the transcript are highlights, not an exhaustive record. The candidate’s responses are paraphrases, not quotes, with a little editorial spin.

Watch the debate yourself, make up your own mind, and vote in the primary.

Bonus:

• Bill Galvin’s favorite word: ‘ignorant’ and variants

• Tanisha Sullivan’s favorite word: ‘proactive’ and variants

---

William Galvin (WG)

Tanisha Sullivan (TS)

• Opening

  • TS, 1:50, wants to use the office for change

  • WG, 2:50, proud of record, a “model for the nation”

• Q1, 3:50, besides election integrity, what’s the part of the job you care about most?

  • WG: securities regulation, public records;

  • TS: more on abortion rights, on corporation division (for providing repro care) – TS tagging WG as anti-abortion straight out of the gate;

    • WG: it’s the woman’s choice

• Q2, 7:15, how do you approach the job?

  • TS: advancing social justice issues;

  • WG: make sure people have the right to participate in their government;

• Q3, 9:00, to TS, what do you criticize about WG’s performance?

  • TS: not doing enough for voter rights;

  • WG: not the case; suggest TS is ignorant about his record at 10:45

    • TS (not pleased)

    • “Burger King” melee

• Q4, 11:45, to WG, why should voters stick with WG with respect to systemic racism?

  • [ed. WG = William Galvin, not White Guy]

  • WG: proven record;

• Q5, 14:11, why should voters change from the status quo SOS?

  • TS: because status quo is failing us;

• Q6, 16:45, to WG, why did you dip into gas price gouging issue (out of purview)?

  • WG: because people of MA came to him about it;

• Q7, 17:30, to TS, how does SOS foster greater economic opportunity (out of purview)?

  • TS: I’m engaged and active!

  • WG: 19:45, suggests again that TS does not understand SOS role and purview

• 21:30, quick hit questions

  • (22:40, TS hitting on same day registration)

• Q8, 23:00, what change to voting laws would you like to see?

  • WG 

    • election day registration (need to overcome resistance in legislature)

    • provide more $$$ support to towns

  • TS

    • 24:15, goes back to “ignorant” remark (not pleased)

• Q9, 25:45, what to do against voter fraud, such as it is?

• Q10, 28:15, should we have a paper-based voting system?

• Q11, 30:30, should MA SOS have national role on voting questions?

• Q12, 33:00, who do you model yourself after?

  • WG: hits back against TS painting him as sitting on his thumbs instead of being proactive; hits on “ignorant” again at 33:30 about not knowing when MA had mail in voting;

  • TS: pissed;

• Q13, 34:45, do you have concerns that R voters are getting disenfranchised in MA?

• 41:30, dumb question interlude

  • TV shows?

  • Who would you want to sit down with for a meal with, dead or alive?

  • Vacation spot?

• Q14, 43:15, what’s your response to Joe Battenfeld’s remarks?

• 44:15, WG dings TS on late filings of something or other; TS not pleased;

• Q15, 45:00, name 1 legal/public policy case that you feel would have turned out differently if public record law had been different?

• Q16, 46:45, should the legislature be accountable to the public records laws?

• 49:45, TS: WG’s office is a “black box”

• Q17, 50:00, if elected SOS, what would you do to ensure a better census that doesn’t undercount POC?

• Final dumb questions interlude

  • Hot or cold coffee?

  • Favorite food?

  • Pandemic new things?

  • One thing you use in daily life?

• Closing, 55:45

  • TS: voting rights, transparency, repro freedom;

  • WG: proud of record: voting rights, access to polls, good turnouts, set national standards, leading on financial issues;

---