Last week, in a post about former state Rep. Chris Asselin’s improbable efforts to reclaim the legislative seat he lost shortly before being convicted on corruption charges, I mentioned the trouble I was having getting Asselin’s successor, Sean Curran, to return my phone calls.
Before long, I received a call from a friendly and courteous Curran, who assured me that he would never dodge my calls and suggested that perhaps my messages had just slipped between the cracks. (Lest my assumption that a politician might be avoiding me makes me sound like a paranoid crackpot, let me point out that, over the years, certain Valley pols have opted to give Advocate reporters the silent treatment, in apparent retaliation for coverage they did not find sufficiently flattering. Former Springfield Mayor Mike Albano was perhaps the most enthusiastic practitioner of this approach to media relations—although let me add here that I don’t mean to taint Curran with comparisons to Albano.)
When Curran and I finally did connect, I took the opportunity to ask him about the comeback bid of the man whom he beat soundly in the 2004 Democratic primary for the 9th Hampden seat. Asselin had held that seat for two terms, during which he was indicted for his role in a large corruption scheme that involved numerous members of his family, including his father, Ray, long-time head of the Springfield Housing Authority. In 2006, Chris Asselin pleaded guilty to charges including accepting free gifts from SHA contractors and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Curran doesn’t seem particularly worried about the threat of a newly released and reinvigorated Asselin. The rise and fall of Chris Asselin, he noted, coincided with a particularly dark time for Springfield: numerous public officials were going down on corruption charges, while the city, on the edge of bankruptcy, was turning off street lights and laying off police and firefighters to save money. “It wasn’t a good time,” Curran said. “I think in the last five years we have made progress. I think some of that progress I’ve been part of, and I’m proud of that record.”
Among the accomplishments Curran cited: introducing the bill to bring ward representation to city government; fighting House leadership to ensure that a new state data center be located at the old Tech High; pushing to get the city an extension on repaying its state bailout loan; supporting a bill that provides property tax credits to Iraq and Afghanistan military widows and widowers. Even if you put aside Asselin’s convictions, Curran said, there’s a “clear distinction” between the two men’s records—one he expects will be clear to voters.
“I believe in second chances,” Curran said. “But you shouldn’t get a second chance in the Massachusetts legislature. …
“I feel the city of Springfield has really turned the page on Chris Asselin,” he said. “We’ve put that era of history behind us.”
