Marlborough GOP Targets Worcester Candidate — With Funding From Sudbury And Beyond

WORCESTER, MA — A campaign finance Russian nesting doll has appeared in a Worcester state House race.

In recent weeks, voters in the 17th Worcester District have received two mailers funded by the Marlborough Republican City Committee targeting Democrat David LeBoeuf, who is running for a third term against Republican Paul Fullen.

The risqué mailers have sought to make LeBoeuf's April OUI arrest a campaign issue, comparing the incumbent to Fullen, who is a Worcester firefighter and father of seven.

"David LeBoeuf endangers lives," the ad says next to a picture of LeBoeuf's booking photo. "Paul Fullen saves and protects lives."

But below the content of the recent ad is a story about a political group that bears a local name, but often engages in attacks far outside Marlborough.

"The Marlborough Republican City Committee continues to invest in state legislative races across the commonwealth, as we have done for the last 13 years, from the Berkshires to the Cape and all points in between," MRCC member Paul Ferro, a former Marlborough city councilor who previously ran for a state House seat against Marlborough Democratic state Rep. Danielle Gregoire.

The MRCC has previously launched attacks in the 17th Worcester District, first against Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging Executive Director Moses Dixon when he ran against Republican Kate Campanale in 2016, and then in 2018 against LeBoeuf. LeBoeuf won the 17th Worcester seat that year in a race against Fullen after Campanale stepped down to run for Worcester County Register of Deeds.

An MRCC mailer in 2018 put a picture of LeBoeuf on a $100,000 bill and said he was "just too left-wing" for the district. The 17th Worcester District has changed shape since that race: following the redistricting process last year, the district became one of a handful of majority-minority state House seats and includes neighborhoods in Worcester like Main South and Webster Square, plus a large piece of southeast Leicester.

So far in 2022, the MRCC has raised close to $30,000 from 11 donors, and only one is from Marlborough. The four most recent donations totaling $6,000 are from Sudbury resident, former NFL player and telemarketing firm owner Fred Smerlas and his wife, Kristine. Both previously donated heavily to Donald Trump's 2020 reelection bid and Geoff Diehl's 2018 U.S. Senate run, according to federal campaign finance records.

The MRCC has also received sizeable donations this year from former Dover Board of Selectmen member Kathleen Weld ($10,000), Winchester resident Carol Breuer ($5,000), Boston College professor and Belmont resident Scott Fitzgibbon ($5,000) and North Reading resident Jame Pelagatti ($2,700), according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance

As far as spending in 2022, the MRCC has focused on only two races, according to campaign finance records: Diehl's 2022 run for governor and LeBoeuf vs. Fullen. The committee has not filed any campaign finance reports since before the September primary, so it's not clear how much the group spent on the recent LeBoeuf mailers.

LeBoeuf responded to the MRCC ads in an Oct. 13 letter to constituents describing steps he's taken since April to seek treatment for alcohol addiction. As of Oct. 25, LeBoeuf was 180 days sober, he said.

"The MRCC is a political party committee from outside our district that intervenes in races across the state to elevate fringe candidates," the letter said. "It is impossible to express how deeply sorry I am for my actions and how they impacted the community. Though there were no injuries, I recognize the pain I caused my family, friends, and constituents, and I own it. It will be something I not only regret, but will make amends for the rest of my life."

LeBoeuf and Fullen met Monday night for a debate, and LeBoeuf's OUI was among the first topics that came up. Fullen said he would've advised LeBoeuf to resign after the incident, but also said "there's no shame in having a drinking problem."

LeBoeuf called out the MRCC's ad supporting Fullen, and said he's been open about the arrest and his recovery process.

"I did not resign because I had so many people say, 'If you get back and get into recovery, it'll help end the stigma," he said.

Ferro did not respond to a request for comment about the content of the ad.