Could 'Becca' Replace 'Meatball'?

Michael W. Morrissey, (`Meatball' in the parlance of talk show host Howie Carr), in his fourth term as the District Attorney of Norfolk County, has earned national attention, not all of it positive, for his role in the long-running trials of Karen Read as well as for the investigation surrounding what is now believed to have been the murder of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore by a police officer, a case initially dismissed as a suicide by Morrissey's office.

Now, according to a report just out in Contrarian Boston by Scott Voorhies, State Senator Becca Rausch, noted for supporting prison moratoriums and a range of other progressive causes, wants to be the county's top law-enforcement official...(though no confirmation from Rausch, herself). She has previously been discussed as a secretary of state wannabee; but incumbent Bill Galvin is showing no signs of stepping aside.

Morrissey, who is 72, isn't saying what his plans are but the job has already attracted a flock of interested Democrat candidates, including Djuna Perkins, seemingly the first to declare interest in the post, followed by Craig MacLellan and Jim Barakat.  But unlike those three, Rausch, in her third term representing Franklin and nearly a dozen other towns in the State Senate, has a well-oiled and well-funded political machine at her command that spans a large chunk of Norfolk County. 

On the other hand, Morrissey is a native and lifelong resident of Quincy, Massachusetts and that may be what matters most in Norfolk County. Most of its leadership, like Morrissey, come from The City of Presidents, or have close ties to its immediate environs.  The western parts of the county, count for little in terms of total votes and key relationships.

Will she or won't she? And can she? Time will tell.