Reilly Takes the Offensive; Rattles Opponents in Televised Debate
       Tom Reilly, considered the underdog by the Boston Globe, caught opponents Deval Patrick and Chris Gabrieli off guard last night at a televised debate with an onslaught of ethics issues ranging from leaks of personal information to failure to pay federal income taxes.
        In the first moments Reilly turned on Gabrieli, accusing his campaign of leaking to the press a confidential report about the troubled finances of Reilly’s failed selection of a running mate.
        “The only person that had access to that report and a reason to give it to The Boston Globe was your campaign chair, the campaign chair of your campaign right now,” Reilly said, referring to Cheryl Cronin, a high-powered Boston attorney.
        Gabrieli sheepishly denied that Cronin, nor anyone from his campaign leaked to the Boston Globe a confidential report detailing St. Fleur’s problems. The Globe has frequently used the financial problems of Marie St. Fleur as a cudgel to take hits at Reilly, even though she was only Reilly’s running mate for a day.
        Reilly, who once considered Gabrieli a potential running mate, scoldingly said to Gabrieli “I’m very disappointed in you.”
        Reilly also went after front runner Deval Patrick. Since Marie St. Fleur was considered a political liability because of her unpaid tax debt, he asked Patrick about whether federal tax liens placed on Patrick’s house, since paid off, disqualified him from the governorship. Reilly also asked Patrick about his service on the board of Ameriquest, a predatory lender who recently settled a mult-million dollar lawsuit with Massachusetts and other states for defrauding borrowers.
        Asked after the debate about Reilly’s aggressive approach, Reilly campaign communications director, David Guarino told the State House News Service: “He showed people he’s fighting for this race.”

Reilly Came Alive in Final 15 minutes
       Reilly was subdued and quiet at the beginning of the debate, but he became alive and aggressive for the final 15 minutes.
       He turned to Gabrieli and said: “What really matters is whose side have you been on? I've been on the side of the people of Massachusetts for 16- straight years, fighting for safer streets and neighborhoods, protecting the children, taking on the big corporations that you (Gabrieli) as well as Deval, were making millions of dollars on. The people will be voting on this- who's going to be on their side? Who's going to fight for them each and every day? I'm the only one at this podium that's done it over the last decade.”
        There was no possible come back for Patrick or Gabrieli on Reilly's point. Both businessmen have for over a decade been profiteering on dubious stock deals with companies that have had to answer to the Federal Trade Commission. Reilly, on the other hand (who perhaps coincidentally, was the only one wearing an American flag on his person) has been prosecuting their type on behalf of the Commonwealth.