WESTFIELD – Far and away the most conservative candidate vying to become Massachusetts governor this fall, Westfield native Mark Fisher has been campaigning hard over the summer.
Fisher, owner of Merchant’s Fabrication in Auburn, is seeking to appeal to both the tea party faction of the state’s Republican Party and the sizeable contingent of residents who are dissatisfied with state politics as a whole.
“I’m a first-time candidate and many of my supporters are first-time supporters, too,” he said yesterday. “Without my family and my community, this wouldn’t be possible.”
“I’m as a conservative Republican and I’m proud to identify with the tea party,” said Fisher, adding that he is far to the right of his heavily-favored opponent for the Republican nomination, Charlie Baker of Needham, a secretary to former Governor William Weld.
“Gov. (Deval) Patrick has referred to Charlie as his ‘identical twin.'” Fisher said. “A vote for Charlie Baker is just a taller version of a vote for Deval Patrick.”
Fisher used the situation currently brewing with Tewksbury-based supermarket chain Market Basket as evidence that working Bay Staters may be ready to stand up and say how they feel about not just their employers, but state government, too.
“Look at the situation with Market Basket. We don’t have confidence in our political parties or private businesses, and people are upset,” he said.
While Baker, the Republican’s choice for governor in 2010, received that nomination again at their convention this summer and currently holds a sizable lead over Fisher in Republican polling, Fisher was able to secure the necessary 15 percent of votes to get on the September 9 ballot and said he bested Baker in several districts in Bristol and Plymouth Counties and tied him in Hampden County.
“Wellesley gave us the most signatures, but we’ve also gotten lots of little pockets in places like Auburn, Buzzards Bay, and Revere,” said Fisher.
Despite the much-appreciated support from eastern and central Mass., western Massachusetts will also have to come up big to give Fisher the underdog primary victory.
“We’re making a big Sunday-Monday-Tuesday swing through western Mass. this week,” said Fisher, who added he will be making an appearance in Greenfield next and will be holding more standout events in Westfield. “Two weeks till the end of the campaign and I just want to encourage people to get out and vote for a conservative Republican on September 9.”
Yesterday the two Republican candidates participated in an online debate sponsored by the Boston Globe.
Both. agreed on few topics during the debate — from how to re-energize the state Republican Party to the new state law addressing protests outside abortion clinics.
The two also split when asked to name a current politician who is also a role model, though both picked fellow Republicans.
Fisher picked Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has battled unions, while Baker, who seemed initially stumped, named Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
