Debate Mix-Up Roils State Senate Race

A few careless words and an overeager candidate combined this week to roil the local senate primary with just over a week to go until voters decide the contentious race.

It began when challenger Charles Rudnick thought he'd been invited to the South Brookline Neighborhood Association's candidate night Sept. 7. He also knew the incumbent, Senator Cynthia Creem, couldn't make the event.

Rudnick, who had previously pushed the incumbent to participate in more debates, seized the opportunity to use the Senator's absence to his advantage.

On Aug. 31, his campaign sent out a press release in which he said he was "really disappointed that Senator Creem is depriving the voters of another chance to be actively involved in hearing and questioning both candidates."

In fact, neighborhood association president Joyce Zak said, the two senate candidates had never been formally invited to the event. Rudnick only heard about it by accident.

"It was a communication error," Zak said. "We had been discussing on our board whether or not to include Charles Rudnick and Cynthia Creem."

Then, before anything had been finalized, "Someone from the board mentioned it to Charles Rudnick as a possibilty." And Rudnick ran with it.

"It's not [Creem's] fault that she cannot attend this," Zak said. "It is our fault that someone spoke out of turn. If [Rudnick] was going to be contacted at all, [Creem's] campaign should have been contacted."

"She was really remorseful that she couldn't come. It's unfortunate," Zak said.

Creem told Patch that she hadn't been notified about the Brookline event until last week, and that by then she had already made commitments for for that Tuesday night. The other event, held at a private home, could not be rescheduled. "I wish that I had known about it, then I would have been able to (attend)," she said.

Instead of doing anything formal for the senate primary, then, the association told the candidates they were welcome to come by and say "hi." Nothing fancy.

The two Newton residents are competing for the right to represent the Democratic party in the contest for the First Middlesex and Norfolk district, which represents Newton, Brookline and parts of Wellesley. The primary will be decided on Sept. 14.

Rudnick said he'll appear at the event to connect with voters and show them an alternative to what he calls "the failed politics of Beacon Hill." He says it's part of his effort to reach voters through every means possible, whether it be door-to-door canvassing or the telephone town hall he held last week.

"To be honest," he told Patch before the misunderstanding became clear, "I think there's no better example for why we need an alternative than Sen. Creem not showing up for the debate."

Candidate's Night will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the library at Baker School (205 Beverly Road).

Zak said the neighborhood association charter prevents the organization from endorsing candidates.

"We try to stay out of... politics in that type of way. We want to provide our neighborhood with information so they can make an informed choice."

Creem will be at the Brookline farmers market on Thursday, but said she didn't expect to debate Rudnick in the run-up to the primary. They have debated once in Brookline already.

"We've had four debates, we only have one week left in the election, and in the middle is the Jewish holiday," Creem said. "I haven't been asked to do any events with Charles, I don't know when that would be."

Creem is a divorce lawyer and chair of the State Senate Judiciary Committee who has been in the senate for 12 years. Rudnick is an attorney and former Boston Scientific executive.

According to campaign finance documents filed in late July, Rudnick had raised $26,540 in the first half of 2010, compared to $50,140 for Creem. Creem has also been snagging the high profile endorsements, while Rudnick touts his grassroots support.