It's official: Phil Johnston is stepping down, and John Walsh is stepping up, to run Mass Dems

[Ian David]

by: David
Fri Mar 16, 2007 at 11:27:27 AM EDT

From today's Globe:

Saying he has completed his mission to win back the governor's office, state Democratic Party chairman Philip W. Johnston told party leaders last night that he will step down next month, clearing the way for Governor Deval Patrick's former campaign manager to take the post. Johnston made the announcement at a Democratic State Committee meeting last night and urged them to elect John Walsh, who oversaw Patrick's historic election last year.

First things first: kudos, again, to Phil Johnston, who did some great things as state party chair. He embarrassed Mitt Romney in 2004, as Romney's much-vaunted $4 million push to reclaim some legislative seats failed spectacularly. Said Johnston: "In fact, we picked up three. Romney looked very foolish. It was an enormous victory for us." And Johnston's work at building the party's infrastructure was a huge help to Deval Patrick, particularly in the crucial period immediately after the Democratic primary, when Kerry Healey's campaign was rolling in Sean's cash and the Patrick campaign was, well, not.

Now: three cheers for John Walsh's decision to run for chair of the party. Walsh's vision of a true grassroots campaign was a perfect match for the kind of campaign Deval Patrick wanted to run, and it turned out to be a brilliant strategy that worked far better than anyone (except, perhaps, Patrick and Walsh) dared hope. Walsh believed that empowering the grassroots was the best way to create the kind of groundswell needed to push an unknown candidate over the top. He was right. The same kind of empowerment can reinvigorate the state party in a way not seen for quite some time, and the guess here is that's what we'll see if Walsh becomes chair. Lots to look forward to.

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