Price Of Public Service Grows With Office | Fundraising for Worcester County Sheriff's Office exceeds $150K
When primary voters head to the polls Sept. 14, one of the races they'll be asked to weigh in on is the race for Worcester County Sheriff.
Republican State Rep. Lew Evangelidis will find out that day whether he'll face one of two Democrats - Scot Bove or retired state police colonel Thomas Foley - in the battle to fill the position being vacated by Guy Glodis, the current Worcester County Sheriff who is seeking election as state auditor.
According to state campaign finance records, Evangelidis had $78,298 in his war chest as of Aug. 15, far outpacing Bove, who held less than $20,000 and well ahead of Foley, who reported $63,921.
Records of the candidates' expenditures indicate that the money is spent predominantly in small chunks on the workaday items of a political campaign: signs, billboards, bumper stickers, catering for campaign events, donations to organizations that support the candidates, etc.
They spend as little as $125 some months, and as much as $19,000 in others.
Still, the candidates for sheriff raise and spend far less than some candidates for other offices. State Rep. Karyn Polito, R-Shrewsbury, who is running for state treasurer, had more than $340,000 in her campaign fund at the end of July and spent $179,000 in the first half of August on consulting, polling and signage. As of Aug. 15, Gov. Deval Patrick had $1.3 million in his campaign account. Patrick spends about $200,000 per month on his campaign.
Joseph O'Brien, Worcester's mayor, said the sheriff's campaign is hard-fought and expensive because the office is seen as a platform to other elected offices in the future.
Also, those running for the office would like to have a job.
âThe short answer is pretty simple,â O'Brien said. âJ-O-B-S jobs. But beyond that, folks see it as a stepping point where they can jump off to higher office.â
O'Brien said running for Worcester County Sheriff is âthe natural progression of a career, plus there's a certain amount of political power that comes with it. You have people you can deploy to help other people and candidates.â
For Glodis, the step up from sheriff and into the race against former state Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne Bump to become state auditor was a big one.
Glodis' campaign account tops out near $600,000.
Foley, a career law enforcement officer with an advanced degree in criminal justice, said he's not interested in that.
âThis is what I do. I look at it as a public safety job, not a political position,â he said.
Evangelidis, a Holden resident and former Suffolk County District Attorney, is the first Republican to wage a well-funded campaign for sheriff in decades. Evangelidis has been in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2003. He attempted and failed to become the House's minority leader in 2008.
âI hear people say that,â Evangelidis said of the characterization of the sheriff's office as a jump-off to more advanced political office. But he said he doesn't have plans for the next election cycle.
The sheriff's office serves all of Worcester County, which has about 1 million residents. In his legislative district, Evangelidis represents about 40,000.
Trying to reach a million constituents gets expensive, he said.
âIt's an enormous district. It's so much bigger, so it's much more expensive, and it'll probably cost me as much as I can raise,â Evangelidis said.
Scot Bove did not respond to requests for comment for this story. n
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