Capuano touts ‘edge’ for Kennedy’s seat

Rep. Michael E. Capuano, Massachusetts Democrat, boasts street smarts and blue-collar roots — and an Ivy League pedigree.

“Some people get uncomfortable talking about street-level politics,” said Mr. 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 M. Kennedy’s seat as the Dec. 8 primaries near. The special election to succeed Kennedy, who died Aug. 25 of brain cancer, will be held Jan. 19, with the Democratic nominee projected to be the prohibitive favorite in the race.

Fellow Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank said Mr. Capuano’s zest for political combat is needed to help Senate Democrats counter conservative senators who play a similar role for the Republican Party.

“I really do think the Senate needs a pain in the butt like Michael,” Mr. 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.’ [Democrats] don’t have anybody who wants to do that.”

But Mr. Capuano’s hopes of overtaking state Attorney General Martha Coakley, the front-runner in the polls and in the race to raise funds, took a hit Monday when the Boston Globe announced its endorsement of community organizer Alan Khazei, a dark horse in the race, which also includes Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.

The state’s biggest paper criticized Mr. Capuano’s decision to “base his campaign on populist anger,” writing, “Any such us-against-them attitude is inherently divisive, and makes a deeply admirable quality - his desire to stand up for average people - seem more like personal grievance.”

Given his background, though, the candidate is unlikely to submit to an image makeover.

Mr. Capuano was born and raised in Somerville, whose gritty neighborhoods, triple-decker houses 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 and 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, Mr. 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 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, Mr. Capuano has served on the House Financial Services and Transportation committees. He also has been active fighting for liberal causes such as attacking the turmoil and atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region and opposing 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 fatal ceiling collapse at Boston’s “Big Dig” tunnel project.

Like his rivals in the Democratic primary, he’s trying to align himself with Edward Kennedy’s storied legacy of nearly five decades in the Senate.

His first campaign television commercial touted Mr. Capuano as the only candidate who “stood with Ted Kennedy” against the Iraq war and “mirrors his progressive record.” His campaign said he has 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,” Mr. Capuano said. “That’s the 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.”

Mr. Capuano 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.

He 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 has 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 Mr. Capuano. When Mrs. Pelosi needed a politically savvy ally to take on the thankless task of crafting an ethics reform package for lawmakers last year, she turned once again to the Somerville lawmaker.

Mr. Capuano invoked a baseball analogy to explain his party role, describing himself as loyal - but only to a point.

“The best team players are the ones with the best individual stats,” Mr. 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.”