The early bird

Bob McCauley gets off to a strong start in his bid to unseat seven-term city councillor Janice Nadeau

By Chris Kanaracus

It might seem a bit early to start talking about this fall's municipal elections, especially given that no candidate, either new or incumbent, has officially filed their intent to run with the city Election Commission.

But early is indeed when Robert "Bob" McCauley -- officially or not -- began his campaign against seven-term District Four councillor Janice Nadeau. For the past few months, he's been working quietly but steadily, lunching with neighborhood activists like Joe O'Brien and city officials such as assistant city manager Paul LaCava, pressing the flesh at public events, and calling in favors.

None of this is unusual, of course, except that in municipal elections, most candidates wait until April, May, or even Labor Day to begin campaigning. Not McCauley. "I'm in this to win. We're gonna do it."

He'll need all the energy he can muster. While Nadeau has her critics and isn't known for high-profile issues, many say she's the hardest-working and most accessible member of the council, a reputation that precedes Nadeau throughout District Four, which is composed of South Worcester, downtown, much of Park Avenue, and the Highland Street neighborhood.

Hers is an interesting kingdom. While containing some affluent areas, such as Massachusetts Avenue, for the most part District Four is economically depressed, and isn't known for high voter turnout. Also, despite a growing number of minorities, since being carved out after a 1985 city charter revision, the district has never had a non-white city councillor. First elected in 1987, Nadeau has secured enough of a base within South Worcester's white working-class community and with the area's many elderly residents to win office again and again. She's seen by many as unbeatable.

At least that's the conventional wisdom. Other evidence suggests Nadeau, 68, is more vulnerable than many presume -- more on that later. One thing is for sure: McCauley, who also has deep ties within the district, will give her a tough fight.

Perhaps that's fitting. For while District Four is troubled, struggling with issues like poverty, crime, and the lack of affordable housing, in some ways it is nearing a minor renaissance. Neighborhood agencies like the Main South Community Development Corporation have created more than 200 units of affordable housing over the past decade. A massive, $30 million initiative headed by Clark University

and the Main South CDC will theoretically add another 100 units of housing, construct a new Boys and Girls Club, and build a number of athletic fields on about 30 acres of blighted land in the Beacon-Brightly section of the district. The number of small businesses along Main Street has grown. Long-brewing plans to overhaul the South Worcester Industrial Park are slowly taking shape after a series of setbacks. And closer to downtown, the city's fledgling Arts District is finally taking hold. All of these are good signs, but in reality, the district has a long way to go. Whoever wins the seat in November will inherit both promise and challenge.

McCauley has certainly opened his wallet. Take a recent lunch visit at his Cambridge Street home, during which he repeatedly apologized for the state of his dining room. The room wasn't messy, though -- just full. Box upon massive box of slick campaign materials -- bumper stickers, placards, pins -- were stacked against two walls. $6000 worth, according to McCauley. That's more than Nadeau has spent on entire campaigns.

"Look at this," said McCauley. With a flourish and a grin, he flicked open a comically huge lawn sign -- make that a lawn billboard.

He's got good reason to smile. For along with having the dough for expensive props, McCauley, unlike some of Nadeau's other opponents, enjoys a certain amount of notoriety name recognition, thanks to a 10-year stint as host of WTAG (AM 580)'s popular Real Estate Roundtable talk show program and occasional fill-ins on the station's Jordan Levy Show. He left WTAG last year, but he also left his mark. McCauley, who runs a real estate business with his wife, consistently shifted the show's stated focus towards local politics and city life, leaning on his expertise in areas like taxation, home buying, and commercial property to make his points. He also provided a heavy dose of attitude.

The combination made for entertaining and engaging radio, but also earned McCauley his share of high-profile enemies. Mayor Raymond Mariano, in McCauley's view, is a "chicken" and a "phony" who "cares only about Ray." Former chief development officer Everett Shaw was a "fraud."

Beyond individuals, McCauley has attacked the status quo with impunity. A favorite target is the city council, which he accuses of micro-managing the city, instead of focusing on long-range planning. He's also proposed a flat rate tax system in lieu of the current one, which favors residential homeowners over commercial property owners.

But even now, as a candidate for office, McCauley doesn't hold back. Unlike most local politicians and city officials -- who often seem allergic to controversy -- when you talk to McCauley just about everything's on the record. Such candor, which McCauley's supporters say is exactly what District Four needs down at City Hall, is a point of pride for him. "I'll always give it to you straight. No bullshit."

Beyond his populist, in-your-face attitude, McCauley has another side: he's also a well-connected political player. For 45 years, by his estimate, McCauley has worked on and ran the political campaigns of others. He began as a teenager, handing out flyers for city council candidates. More recently, he's worked on the campaigns of at-Large city councillor Timothy J. Murray, Jordan Levy, and newly elected state representative Robert Spellane. He even ran the campaign of Nadeau's 1997 challenger, Maritza Cruz. Money won't be a problem, either, as his close friend, Worcester Business Development Corporation chairman P. Kevin Condron, is handling fundraising duties.

Practically every election cycle, McCauley's name gets tossed around as a potential candidate, but he's never made it official. McCauley says that in part, building his real estate business and raising a family precluded a run of his own. Until now.

But really, he says, it's the new crop of young lawmakers and councillors that helped make up his mind to run. "I've always been involved [in politics], but it's been on the fringes of things. Now, I look at these kids, like Bobby Spellane and Timmy Murray, and they've really lit the fire in my belly. Both those guys, they [ran for office] because they truly care. It's not about themselves. That's what I believe in."

Given his already aggressive campaign, McCauley certainly wants to prove that. But past opponents of Nadeau's -- who have come from all backgrounds -- stress that victory won't come easy. In 1987, Dan "Danimal" Hartwell, ex-Worcester rocker and now promoter of the successful Locobazooka summer concert, faced Nadeau in the preliminary. Hartwell surprised many by running a low-budget but legitimate campaign, focusing on the issues of homelessness and neighborhood cleanliness. It wasn't enough, as Hartwell garnered just 350 votes. "What can I say? She pummeled me. That little 94-pound powerhouse pummeled me," laughs Hartwell.

Even well-funded challengers have come up short. "Nadeau is so grounded in the district. She's got such a strong base of support," says Assumption College official Mark Bilotta, who ran against Nadeau in 1993. Yet Bilotta lost by only about 350 votes, as he points out. "If the right candidate can come in and win over those people who say, yes, Janice has done a good job, but I want a little more, then she can be defeated," says Bilotta. "Bob's not going to win this with massive advertising and lawn signs. He's going to have to go door-to-door. They have to meet him."

Meeting and talking with people is what Nadeau has always focused on as District Four councillor, something even her critics can't discount. "Janice has been wonderful to work with," says Steve Teasdale, director of the Main South Community Development Corporation. "She's been a very active and committed councillor. The time she spends at the council chambers working on constituents' issues, I think, can't be equaled by any other councillor."

Indeed, in terms of hours worked, Nadeau may top her peers, some of which can seem invisible save for Tuesday nights. While certainly helped by the fact that she's retired, on any given day the petite (she's 5'2"), grandmotherly Nadeau is a mainstay at City Hall, meeting with constituents, answering phone calls, or just making the rounds.

But in terms of clout, Nadeau comes up short. Campaign finance reports show she rarely raises or spends more than $10,000 on a campaign, and usually much less. She's not a maverick like at-Large councillor Konstantina Lukes, nor a charismatic insider like Murray, who's pegged as Worcester's next mayor. And it's tough to pin her name to many high-profile issues of the past decade.

Yet Nadeau is very well-liked. McCauley is aware of this, and as such, uncharacteristically guarded. "I'm taking the high road in this race. I would never resort to [negative tactics]. If I can't say enough things about Bob McCauley, then I shouldn't be running. I do believe, however, in the idea of a citizen legislator. Look, 14 years is a long time. Two, three terms, then move on and let someone else have a turn."

That said, when pressed McCauley does say he'll seek to attack Nadeau's record on securing a fair share of federal block grant funds for the district. That's nothing too crazy, though: if McCauley's planning to throw any bombs Nadeau's way, he's not saying so.

McCauley's supporters, such as Maritza Cruz, are slightly more blunt. "I believe Janice is ineffective. There's a difference between being accessible and being effective," says Cruz, who also suggests Nadeau's close ties to the district's elderly white population are at the expense of the area's increasingly large number of Hispanic residents. "I think she's out of touch. She should step down," says Cruz.

Those sound like fighting words. In any case, perhaps it's not what McCauley's camp will do, but Nadeau's, that is really worth speculating about. Will she go on the offensive for the first time? Not a chance, says Nadeau. "I'm planning to run the same way I always have. Door-to-door, really grassroots, listening to people, and finding out the problems they have." That said, Nadeau expects she and McCauley will butt heads, despite his protestations. "In a district race, you have to run against that person. It's not like an at-Large seat, where you're just one of six people. I'm pretty sure Bob will find something to disagree with me on," laughs Nadeau.

Most likely, Nadeau will seek to run on her record. "Certainly, we've made some headway [in the district]," says Nadeau, pointing to the work of the Main South CDC, which was the first of its kind in the city, and to similar agencies like Worcester Common Ground. Nadeau is also encouraged by Clark University's ongoing outreach towards the Main South neighborhood, and says engaging other institutions in the district, particularly Holy Cross College, will be a priority if she wins an eighth term.

But Nadeau concedes that until recently, District Four has struggled. "I expect we'll be facing many of the same problems. We have to continue prioritizing neighborhoods. We've been focused on downtown for too long."

Nadeau has a point, but it's not exactly an original one. And that, say some, is the problem. "She works really hard, but people have been dissatisfied with her lack of imagination," says one local activist and friend of Nadeau, who asked he not be named, citing the sensitivity of the situation. A number of other individuals contacted for this story backed that perception.

For her part, Nadeau comes across as pragmatic and confident. "I don't know that it scares me. I look at it like I need to go out there and do my type of campaign."

Yet a close look at past election results suggests Nadeau is more vulnerable than she's letting on. Take the Cruz race. While Nadeau won, it was close: just 129 votes. And in Ward 10, which cover downtown and the Park Avenue/Highland Street neighborhood, Cruz won four of five precincts, particularly obliterating Nadeau in Precinct Five, which covers lower Chandler Street, Murray Avenue and part of downtown, 254 votes to 72. If not for Nadeau's strong performance in South Worcester and Green Island, you may not be reading this article. In 1999, the little-known Karen Nugent also lost, but still took in a respectable 959 votes to Nadeau's 1505. John Reynolds came a little closer in 1995, grabbing 992 compared to Nadeau, who garnered 1417.

The short version of all this? While Nadeau's numbers are certainly respectable, they don't add up to a mandate.

However, it must be stressed that district city council races, despite inflated rhetoric, are small-time affairs won and lost due to surprisingly small factors and margins. This is especially so in District Four, where only about 3000 votes are generally cast. For example, the race could come down to a single pair of buildings: the Webster Square Towers apartments, which are home to several hundred elderly tenants and one of the district's polling stations. In past elections, the Towers have been Nadeau's turf, and it could be hard for McCauley to win over the faithful.

Then again, he may not have to. For if there's one thing both camps agree on, it's that demographically, District Four has changed dramatically since Nadeau first took office. Hispanic leaders expect the 2000 census will reveal that Hispanics compose as much as 50 percent of its population, up from about 30 percent in the 1990 census.

The past several years also show a political awakening has occurred within the district. In 1995, just 8,343 residents could legally vote. As of 1999, there were 13,304. Worcester Elections Commission director Craig A. J. Manseau largely credits the non-profit Latino Voter Registration and Education Project (LVREP) for the increase.

While new voters aren't required to list their ethnicity, by examining voter rolls year-by-year for Hispanic surnames the LVREP estimates that Worcester's total number of Hispanic voters has tripled since 1996, from 2,300 to about 8,000. Hispanic voters' new relevance extends beyond District Four. Last month, after intensive lobbying by the LVREP and the grassroots Neighbor to Neighbor, the Election Commission moved a polling station from Clark Street School to 180 Constitution Avenue, inside the Great Brook Valley housing project.

Of course, McCauley is a 60-year old white man. But he has a crucial "in" with the Hispanic community, thanks to his close friendship with Cruz and her husband, successful businessman Ediberto Santiago. The El Salvadoran native currently owns two grocery stores and a liquor store, and is in the process of converting the former Mart Building on Main Street into a full-size Hispanic supermarket. Santiago has received ample plaudits in recent months (see "Main Man," March 9) and along with his wife, is pushing hard for McCauley.

Inscrutably, McCauley downplays the couple's significance. "There's a lot of variety within the Hispanic community. People paint it all with the same brush, but the Brazilians may not necessarily go with the Salvadorans, and the Puerto Ricans may not agree with the Mexicans, and so on."

Joe O'Brien, a Main South activist and McCauley supporter who worked on Cruz's campaign, disagrees. "Maritza and Eddy represent votes. [Santiago has] access to the Latino community that Janice doesn't have," says O'Brien.

McCauley has also healed a rift between himself and at-Large city councillor Juan Gomez. The day before election night in 1997, McCauley laid into Gomez with a vengeance during a WTAG broadcast, criticizing his lack of involvement with Cruz's campaign. Gomez was listening, however. He called in, and many sparks flew.

Today, apparently, bygones are bygones. If so, McCauley could benefit collaterally from Gomez's own re-election campaign this year.

Or not. Some observers, like Manseau, while encouraged by increased political involvement from Hispanics, remain skeptical. "They've done a phenomenal job of registering people, but I don't know about the actual results. I think they've run into the same sort of apathy you get from the general public." For example, says Manseau, no Hispanics showed up for a recent seminar he held for new candidates at City Hall, an event sponsored in part by the LVREP. And while the total number of voters in the district grew substantially between 1995 and 1999, the percentage who actually voted in city elections remained fairly low: between 25 to 30 percent. But LVREP statistics show that 37.9 percent of the city's registered voters with Hispanic surnames made it to the polls last year.

Less obvious players and constituencies, such as the district's Greek-American voters, could play a role in the campaign as well. "I like Janice, I do," says Chris Liazos, owner of the Webster House, a popular Main South restaurant. "But I think it's time for a change. Bob will bring a fresh perspective, and he can be controversial at times, which can be a good thing."

Liazos says he'll be there for McCauley, should he be asked. Count on that happening. While Worcester's younger generation of Greek-Americans are scattered throughout the city, Liazos's ties to the many older Greeks (perhaps as many as 100 families) who still live in the district, near Elm Park and St. Spyridon's church, could come in handy for McCauley.

While all of this may paint a gloomy picture for Nadeau, it would be foolish to underestimate her. For while McCauley is certainly a viable candidate, Nadeau still has her own troops, and strong name recognition within the district. Tireless activists Barbara Haller and William J. Breault are old friends, as is Debbie Lockwood, director of the Green Island Community Development Corporation. Hispanic support may not be entirely McCauley's either, given Nadeau's friendships with leaders like former Centros Las Americas official Edwin Cansell. Activists Luz Ramirez and Ana de la Cruz, organizers with the Worcester chapter of Neighbor to Neighbor, speak highly of Nadeau as well. Neighbor to Neighbor, a statewide group that lobbies for poor and working families, assisted state representative James Leary (D-Worcester) with his successful campaign against William J. McManus, an independent, last year.

Also, Nadeau may have made a wise decision earlier this year, by being the only city councillor so far to publicly support Worcester Interfaith's "Neighborhood Agenda." Interfaith, which networks local churches in pursuit of social causes, has had mixed luck over the years, but showed a new strength with the Agenda, a grab bag of proposals concerning sidewalk repair, additional branch libraries, and other issues.

More than 30 churches and organizations ended up joining the cause. Several are located in District Four. Frank Kartheiser, Interfaith's executive director, confirms that Nadeau has met with Agenda members concerning the election, but declined further comment.

But privately, some observers insist that Nadeau's core of support may be on the wane. Breault, whose own name has come up more than once as a potential candidate for the seat, dismisses the idea. "Is Janice losing popularity? I think that depends on who you're talking to: a Nadeau supporter or a McCauley supporter. I think the people who have been with Janice before will be doing so again."

Breault says he'll be working as hard as he can for Nadeau, and is certain he's backing a winner. "Janice has had more people run against her in the past than anybody else [on the council]. Nobody has turned back as many people as her."

Everyone loves a horse race, but it's only April. For now, perhaps the best perspective is that voiced by people like Steve Teasdale. "It's very difficult. Like Janice, Bob is someone who comes from this neighborhood, and cares very much about it. You have a very good city councillor, and someone else who also has deep ties to this area. It should be an interesting race."

Chris Kanaracus can be reached at ckanaracus[a]phx.com.