First in a series of Associated Press profiles of the candidates running for the U.S. Senate in the Dec. 8 Democratic and Republican primaries.
WASHINGTON — Rep. Michael Capuano boasts street smarts, blue-collar roots — and an Ivy League pedigree.
"Some people get uncomfortable talking about street-level politics," said Capuano, the feisty former five-term Somerville mayor with a degree from Dartmouth College. "I don't."
The edgy mix of town and gown has propelled the six-term Democratic congressman's career. Now he's hoping his blustering style can carry him into the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat as the Dec. 8 primaries near. The special election to succeed Kennedy, who died Aug. 25 of brain cancer, will be on Jan. 19.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., says Capuano's zest for political combat is needed to help Senate Democrats counter conservative senators who play a similar role for the GOP.
"I really do think the Senate needs a pain in the butt like Michael," Frank said. "Mike has an unusual degree of edge. ... That's what I look for in Michael, a senator who goes in there and says, 'Hey, you're mad at me, tough. I'm saying, no.' We (Democrats) don't have anybody who wants to do that."
Capuano was born and raised in Somerville, whose gritty neighborhoods, triple-deckers, and reputation for political corruption have given way over the past few decades to gentrification and more progressive politics.
His campaign Web site points out that one of his grandfathers was an orphan who came alone to America at age 18 from Italy. His other grandfather was a son of Irish immigrants.
He combines traditional values such as party loyalty with support for causes such as abortion rights and gay marriage that play well in a congressional district that includes liberal Cambridge and Harvard Square.
With his Somerville support as a base, Capuano knocked aside nine primary rivals in a bruising 1998 contest to win one of the country's most storied congressional seats held in the past by President John F. Kennedy, former House Speaker Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill, legendary former Boston mayor James Michael Curley and former Rep. Joseph Kennedy II.
Since arriving on Capitol Hill, Capuano has served on the House Financial Services and Transportation committees.
He's also been active fighting for liberal concerns such as the turmoil and atrocities in Sudan and against the Iraq war. He opposes the death penalty and voted against the Patriot Act.
Closer to home, he led the fight for House passage of a national highway tunnel inspection program aimed at preventing tragedies such as the Big Dig's fatal ceiling collapse.
Like his rivals — Attorney General Martha Coakley, Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca and City Year Founder Alan Khazei — he's trying to align himself with Kennedy's storied legacy of nearly five decades in the Senate.
His first campaign television commercial touted Capuano as the only candidate who "stood with Ted Kennedy" against the Iraq war and who "mirrors his progressive record." His campaign said he's spent about $2.3 million so far.
The congressman boasts about knowing how Washington works and being able to steer federal dollars to his district. His Senate hopes are riding on a basic bread-and-butter economic pitch: He claims he can deliver more in the Senate for Massachusetts than his rivals who lack experience in Congress.
"I don't mean backroom, cigar-chomping, back-slapping nonsense," Capuano said. "That's the traditional epitome of the traditional pol. I'm simply saying somebody who can get things done. Ted Kennedy could get things done and still maintain his association with high philosophical goals. I think you can do both."
He has talked about the hundreds of thousands of dollars in earmarks for road projects and defense firms in his district that he's won, along with nearly $6 billion he helped secure for Massachusetts in a major transportation bill.
Capuano eagerly embraces the "Washington insider" label shunned by most politicians. But his pitch could backfire, leaving him open to charges that he's too cozy with the powerful special interests that often hold sway in Congress.
He's emerged as a dependable team player for his party. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needed someone to head up her transition team as Democrats regained control of the House three years ago, she tapped Capuano. When Pelosi needed a political savvy ally to take on the thankless task of crafting an ethics reform package for lawmakers last year, she turned to Capuano once again.
Capuano invoked a baseball analogy to explain his party role, saying he's loyal, but only to a point.
"The best team players are the ones with the best individual stats," Capuano said. "You have to understand, on occasion, do I take the bunt sign? Sure. Absolutely. But on occasion I do decide to steal a base on my own."
Tomorrow: Martha Coakley
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