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THE TRAIL REPORT

No hablas Ingles? No problem for candidates courting voters
July 16, 2006

Worcester drivers may get a Spanish lesson soon on their morning commute. Candidate Timothy P. Murray is reaching out to Spanish-speaking voters in the lieutenant governor's race with a special bumper sticker: ``Apoye a Nuestro Alcalde," which means ``Support Our Mayor." Murray is the mayor of Worcester.

Most candidates vying for the state's top two spots are reaching out to Massachusetts's fast-growing immigrant population by speaking to them in the language they know best.

In the governor's race, Thomas Reilly is exploring the new frontier by meeting with Latino community leaders and has hired Spanish-speaking staffers. Kerry Healey's campaign has added Spanish-language newspapers to its media contacts. Deval Patrick's theme ``Together We Can" has become ``Juntos Si Podemos" as volunteers pass out voting pledge cards in Spanish.

Latin Americans make up almost half of all immigrants to Massachusetts between 2000 and 2004, according to a study by MassINC, a nonprofit think tank. ``We're in the midst of an immigration boom in Massachusetts," said MassINC President Ian Bowles . ``We're approaching a million foreign-born in the state."

The Patrick, Reilly, and Grace Ross campaigns have Spanish pages on their websites, in addition to French translations for Patrick and Creole ones for Ross. The Healey campaign said it is working with Spanish, Vietnamese, Haitian, and Russian communities, but that having several languages on the website would not be effective.

The Christopher Gabrieli campaign said it may advertise on Spanish radio and plans to translate some campaign material to Spanish.

In the Democratic lieutenant governor's race, Deborah Goldberg's campaign intends to translate its Web page and mailings to Spanish. Andrea Silbert, who is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese after living in Costa Rica and Brazil, greets website visitors with ``Good morning," ``Buenos dias," and ``Bom dia."

``We are reaching out to people in English and Spanish so that voters can learn about Andrea in their own language," said her press secretary, Dorie Clark .

For the Murray campaign, the question is not whether to translate to Spanish, but how best to translate for a community with different vocabularies and accents from region to region. ``The interesting challenge has been finding a message that transcends the language differences of different Latin American countries," said campaign manager Joe O'Brien .

EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS

A subtle gender pitch

She seeks to be the first woman elected governor in the state of Massachusetts and, in a race of mostly men, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey aims to use her gender as a subtle but effective tool.

Last week, Healey launched a coalition of women -- including community leaders, elected officials, and professionals -- who will help recruit volunteers and generate support.

``We hope that people will join this coalition of people who care deeply about the future of Massachusetts and share the values that we have of fiscal conservatism," Healey, the GOP nominee, said at her campaign headquarters, joined by several women in the coalition and Christie Whitman, former New Jersey governor.

There have been 25 female governors in American history. Eight women are currently serving and two of them are Republicans, including Governor M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut.

Whitman was New Jersey's first female governor. She retired after nearly a decade in public service, and now is helping to elect Republicans around the country.

``There's an old political saying," Whitman said. ``When women work, we win. I do believe that that goes beyond just campaigning, but also when we're serving in office. The `we' then becomes the public."

Maria O'Brien Hylton, a Boston University professor, joined the committee because she said she believed Healey's stance would offset the Legislature controlled by Democrats.

``We, the taxpayers of the state, benefit from that enormously," said Hylton of Lincoln, who was Healey's roommate at Harvard University and has known her for 25 years.

Of the six candidates running for governor , Grace Ross, the Green-Rainbow candidate, is the only other woman.

RUSSELL NICHOLS

Reilly's new adviser has some baggage

Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly's campaign told the Globe last week that John A. Stefanini will be serving as a key volunteer adviser to his campaign. A lawyer and former lawmaker, he has valuable contacts with local officials and lawmakers that Reilly hopes will help him turn out the vote on Primary Day.

Stefanini's insider credentials also made him a witness in the grand jury investigation of former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran , for whom Stefanini served as legal counsel and chief of staff.

Finneran has been charged with lying under oath when he said in a civil case that he was not involved in creating a legislative redistricting map that diluted the power of minority voters. Finneran says he is innocent.

``John is a longtime trusted advisor of Tom's, and he will be a tremendous asset to the campaign," said Corey Welford, a spokesman for the Reilly campaign. He said Stefanini had no comment.

LISA WANGSNESS

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