Any one for trick or treat in Beverly this year?

This year's campaign for governor by Lt. Governor Kerry Healy(R) is widely acknowledged to be the worst Massachusetts has ever seen.

The governor’s race plunged to a new low yesterday as charges flew of beatings, sexist insults and harassment between Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey’s orange-jumpsuit-wearing “Inmates for Deval” and rival Deval Patrick’s camp. Patrick staffers accused the Healey volunteers of taking their protest that he is soft on crime to the doorstep of his campaign manager’s Abington home, frightening the aide’s 12-year-old son...The controversy surrounding the Healey volunteers continued yesterday morning, when two groups of her supporters waved signs outside the South Shore homes of Patrick, who lives in Milton, and his campaign manager, John Walsh of Abington. Rubin said the group frightened Walsh’s 12-year-old son, Coleman, who was home alone and getting ready for school when the “inmates” appeared outside his house. “It would have been nerve-racking for anyone, let alone a 12-year-old,” Rubin said. Asked about the allegations of assault against Patrick’s sign wavers outside Thursday’s debate, the Patrick spokesman said, “I have no knowledge of that, but we would ask any of our supporters to deal respectfully with the other side, even if they don’t get that same kind of respect.” Healey campaign officials denied giving any direct orders to the “inmate” volunteers. But several of the volunteers blamed union correction officers for initiating the violence outside the debate. (Boston Herald, October 21, 2006)

(Originally posted at Blue Mass Group Sun Oct 22, 2006 at 02:06:17 AM EDT)