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Mark Fisher (Massachusetts)
Mark Fisher was a Republican candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in the 2014 elections.[1] He lost in the Republican primary on September 9, 2014.
Fisher made the primary ballot after contesting the results of the Massachusetts Republican convention. Fisher originally appeared to have lost the Republican nomination to Charles D. Baker at the convention held on March 22, 2014 after failing to acquire 15 percent of the vote. Baker held 83 percent of the vote while Fisher came just shy of the threshold at 14.765 percent, blank votes had been counted in the total, bringing the candidates' percentages down.[2][3]
Biography
Fisher owns a metal manufacturing business, Merchant’s Fabrication, located in Auburn.[4]
Education
- High school: Westfield High, 1976
- A.S.: Hartford State Technical College, (now Capital Community College) nuclear engineering technology, 1979
- B.S.: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, mechanical engineering, 1983
- Raytheon
- M.S.: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, manufacturing
- MBA: Worcester Polytechnic Institute[5]
Elections
2014
Fisher was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 2014. He lost in the Republican primary election on September 9, 2014.
Results
Primary
| Governor of Massachusetts, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Charles D. Baker |
74.1% | 116,004 | ||
| Mark Fisher | 25.7% | 40,240 | ||
| Write-in votes | 0.2% | 336 | ||
| Total Votes | 156,580 | |||
| Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of State. | ||||
Race background
Current incumbent Deval Patrick, a Democrat first elected in 2006, was eligible to run for re-election in 2014. However, after winning re-election in 2010, Patrick stated that he would not seek a third term as governor in the 2014 election.[6][7]
Democratic nomination
The field of Democrats competing for their party's nomination in the primary, which took place on September 9, 2014, included several current officeholders. Treasurer Steven Grossman won the state Democratic convention on June 14, 2014, while Attorney General Martha Coakley came in second. Physician Donald Berwick also secured a place on the primary ballot. Candidates Joe Avellone and Juliette Kayyem failed to achieve 15 percent of the convention backing to reach the primary ballot.[8][9] Coakley was the leading candidate in all polls against Grossman, but did not win over the party itself prior to the primary. Grossman was the former chairman of the state and national Democratic parties.[10] Coakley defeated Grossman and Berwick in the September primary to reach the general election ballot.
Republican nomination
Daniel Wolf, a Republican state senator who announced his intentions to run early on, dropped out of the race after his campaign was suspended "indefinitely" since his Aug 2, 2013 disqualification by the Massachusetts Ethics Commission for being a stakeholder in an airline he previously founded, CapeAir. Since CapeAir became a quasi-public agency whose board was controlled by the governor, the commission ruled Wolf's ties to be a violation of state conflict of interest prohibitions.[11][12] On September 19, the commission granted Wolf a second extension to his compliance deadline, beyond which he would be forced to resign his state senate seat and officially withdraw from the gubernatorial race.[13][14][15] Wolf officially withdrew from the race on October 21, 2013. [16][17][18][13]
Charlie Baker, a venture capitalist who was the Republican nominee for governor in 2010, again won his party's nomination at the convention on March 22, 2014. The other Republican challenger, Mark Fisher, originally appeared to have missed an appearance on the primary ballot after failing to achieve 15 percent of the vote with just 14.765 percent, but after challenging the results in court, the judge ruled that Fisher should be allowed to appear with Baker on the primary ballot.[19][2] The blank ballots that were cast at the convention were counted in the total, reducing the percentage that Fisher received just enough to keep him off the ballot.[20][21][22] Baker defeated Fisher in the Republican primary on September 9, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Debates
August 21 Republican debate
Charlie Baker and Mark Fisher faced off over jobs, schools and gun control in a debate hosted by Middlesex Community College. Both candidates argued that government spending and regulations must be reduced to create a better environment for job creation. Baker suggested that a Republican should be elected governor in order to create "constructive friction" with the Democratic-controlled legislature that would yield new ideas. Fisher highlighted the need to end state spending on food stamps and other programs used by illegal immigrants.[23]
The debate turned toward a discussion of higher education costs in Massachusetts. Baker promoted solutions including three-year undergraduate programs, online education options and co-op programs at state universities. Fisher, the owner of a manufacturing firm, touted vocational education as a solution not only to college debt, but job preparation for graduates.[23]
Baker and Fisher shared conflicting views regarding the state's approach to gun violence. Baker suggested that smart-gun technology, which would require fingerprint identification before a gun can be discharged, should be available for gun owners. He also cited illegal weapons trafficking as a major issue facing the state. Fisher disagreed with Baker's assessment, suggesting that current laws are restrictive and only impact lawful gun owners.[23]
Campaign themes
2014
Massachusetts Turnpike
As governor, Fisher stated his first priority would be to remove all tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike.[1]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mark + Fisher + Massachusetts + Governor"
See also
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Fisher and his wife, college sweetheart Margaret Mary O’Brien, have two children and reside in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.[5]
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 NECN, Republican Fisher enters Mass. race for governor, December 7, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Boston Globe, Baker holds off rival in GOP race for governor, March 22, 2014 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "globe" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Boston Globe, "Judge clears way for Fisher to be put on GOP gubernatorial primary ballot," May 9, 2014
- ↑ Wicked Local, Shrewsbury manufacturer running for governor, December 7, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mark Fisher 2014, Meet Mark, accessed December 11, 2013
- ↑ Boston Globe, "Patrick says he will serve out full term," January 4, 2011
- ↑ Boston Globe, "Grossman considering gun for governor in 2014," October 31, 2012
- ↑ Boston Globe, "Steve Grossman gets Democrats’ nod at convention," June 15, 2014
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Political Intelligence, "Martha Coakley launches bid for governor with handshakes and a video," September 16, 2013
- ↑ New York Times, "Massachusetts Democrat Wins Over Voters; Her Party Is a Different Story," June 13, 2014
- ↑ Boston.com, "Wolf vows to continue campaign despite ethics ruling on his ownership of Cape Air," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ CommonWealth Magazine, "Massachusetts Ethics Commission Ruling," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Cape Cod Times, "Ethics Commission considering exemption for Wolf," September 19, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedwolfsays - ↑ Dan Wolf for Governor 2014, "Press release: Resigning and Suspending Campaign Unless Ethics Commission Reconsiders," accessed August 23, 2013
- ↑ The Boston Herald, "Wolf, citing unresolved ethics complaint, exits gov’s race - See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2013/10/wolf_citing_unresolved_ethics_complaint_exits_gov_s_race#sthash.Wyc0wMfq.dpuf," October 22, 2013
- ↑ Cape Cod Times, "Wolf bows out of governor's race," October 21, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbg - ↑ The Washington Post, "Republican Charlie Baker announces run for governor," September 4, 2013
- ↑ Telegram, "Mass. GOP, Fisher spar in court over ballot access," April 11, 2014
- ↑ The Boston Globe, "Mark Fisher bullish on making GOP gubernatorial ballot," April 28, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Live, "Gubernatorial candidate Mark Fisher may sue Mass. Republican Party for ballot access," March 25, 2014
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Sentinel & Enterprise, "GOVERNOR DEBATE: Baker, Fisher spar on jobs, gun control, higher ed," August 22, 2014
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