John Tierney ICYMI vulnerable in 6th District

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NOTE: “Tisei is a respected and experienced public figure who will give Tierney the fight of his life in a district that could elect a Republican for the first time in almost 20 years. He believes that people in the district have "had enough" of Tierney’s support of "big spending and big borrowing," and there are many Democrats who believe the same thing.”

Tierney vulnerable in 6th District
By Peter Lucas
The Lowell Sun
Updated: 03/16/2012
http://www.lowellsun.com/columnists/ci_20187777/tierney-vulnerable-6th-district#.T2MfT-DkUQ4.email#ixzz1pJWV8NIh
Had Enough?

No doubt you’ve heard that campaign slogan before.

Well, you may be hearing it again, this time as more of an expanded campaign theme rather than a mere slogan.

It is the basis of former state Sen. Richard Tisei’s clear-shot campaign for Congress in the newly redistricted North Shore 6th Congressional District. The Wakefield Republican, running unopposed in the GOP primary, is challenging troubled eight-term Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney of Salem, and it is a campaign many Republicans, as well as others, believe Tisei can win.

Tisei, 49, believes Tierney, a left-wing "Nancy Pelosi liberal," is not only vulnerable on the issues, but has been placed in the extremely awkward position of defending himself, his wife and her brothers in a sordid off-shore illegal gambling scheme that netted the brothers millions of dollars.

"It is not something I personally brought up," Tisei said of the Tierneys’ family issue, "but it is something I am asked about all the time. It is something that is obviously on the minds of the voters."

So Tisei has begun to hammer away at Tierney on the issue.

That "something" is what John Tierney knew about his wife Patrice’s involvement in the workings of a multimillion-dollar gambling operation run by her brothers, Robert and Daniel Eremian. So Tisei has begun to comment on the matter.

Patrice Tierney in 2010 pleaded guilty to four counts of aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns for her brother Robert Eremian, a federal fugitive who has been indicted on offshore illegal gambling and money-laundering charges. She was sentenced last year to one month in prison, five months house arrest and probation for helping her brother conceal income from his illegal gambling operation. U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz accused Patrice Tierney of "deliberate ignorance" regarding the true nature of Robert Eremian’s gambling operation and income.

In December, Daniel Eremian was convicted of federal racketeering charges in the operation of the same offshore gambling enterprise and is awaiting sentencing. At that trial Patrice Tierney invoked "spousal privilege" to avoid answering questions about whether her husband knew about her role in the affair.

Tierney all along has maintained that, although he generally knew of his wife’s involvement with the finances of her brother Robert, he did not know any of the specifics. It is a story line that not too many people are buying, and it is one that Tierney is being called upon to expand as the campaign heats up.

That is where the matter now stands as Tierney, seeking his ninth consecutive term, faces a tough fight against an accomplished opponent in a district that has been changed to include the more conservative communities of Billerica and Tewksbury, along with a chunk of Andover.

Tisei is a respected and experienced public figure who will give Tierney the fight of his life in a district that could elect a Republican for the first time in almost 20 years. He believes that people in the district have "had enough" of Tierney’s support of "big spending and big borrowing," and there are many Democrats who believe the same thing.

The "Had Enough" slogan comes from the 2010 campaign for governor when Tisei left his seat in the state Senate to run for lieutenant governor on the GOP ticket headed by Charlie Baker.

Although they lost the election to Deval Patrick and Tim Murray, they easily carried the 6th Congressional District. In addition, the newly added communities of Tewksbury, Billerica and Andover all voted for Republican Sen. Scott Brown over Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley in the special Senate election in 2010, which may tell you what might happen in this upcoming contest.

Tisei has represented much of the North Shore district in the Legislature for 25 years, first in the House and then in the Senate, where he was the minority leader before he ran for lieutenant governor. So this is not his first rodeo. Also, Tisei brings a solid business background to the fight. He is co-owner of Northrup Associates Realtors in Lynnfield, which has become one of the largest independent real-estate firms on the North Shore.
While voters are concerned about the Tierney family involvement with the Eremian brothers, Tisei believes the campaign will also swing on voter reaction to Tierney’s liberal record.

"His record is enough for me to run on," Tisei said. "He voted with Nancy Pelosi 99 percent of the time. What does that tell you?"

It tells me that John Tierney has a fight on his hands.