State Rep. Candidate Roger Twomey Posts Photo Misleading Supporters to Think Other GOP Candidates Supported him at a “Fundraiser for Me”

By Tom Duggan – August 31, 2014

A social media post by Republican Lawrence City Councilor Roger Twomey is causing controversy after Twomey mislead his supporters to believe that the photo he posted on a social media site Twitter was at a fundraiser for himself.

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Twomey (R)  is in a three-way race with former Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua (I), and incumbent State Rep. Marcos Devers (D) in November.

Democrats and Republicans alike called the Valley Patriot offices Sunday asking why State Rep. Jim Lyons (R)  and Andover Selectman Alex Vispoli (R, Candidate for Senate) would be supporting fellow Republican Roger Twomey when Twomey is said to be in the State Rep. race in Lawrence to help his longtime ally Willie Lantigua to regain his seat in the legislature. 

“I was at a joint event with all the Republican candidates, I was not at a Roger Twomey fundraiser,” Andover Selectman and candidate for State Senate, Alex Vispoli said. “I was there to promote my own campaign as I’m sure everyone else in the room was. It was a great event.”

A letter sent to all Republican candidates in the area was obtained by the Valley Patriot early Sunday night showing that an event was held at Lenzies Function Hall in Dracut for all republican candidates for state office in The Merrimack Valley.

The letter makes it clear that the event is not a Roger Twomey fundraiser and states that because Charlie Baker could not fit all their individual fundraisers into his schedule, holding one event for multiple candidates would give each candidate a chance to raise money and network with other campaigns.

The Letter sent to Republican Candidates is below:

Good Evening Legislative Candidates,

In an effort to accommodate as many candidate requests as possible for Charlie Baker as a fundraising headliner, the MassGOP has coordinated with Charlie’s campaign to organize some regional events.  The intent of these events is to maximize the limited availability that Charlie has in his schedule, maximize the time of the candidates (and their supporters) and to avail Charlie to as many as possible (I can say emphatically that he would like to be able to accommodate every request, but there simply is not time for him to do that and run his own campaign).

Accordingly, we have locked down dates and times for some events (details are below).  The concept is that each event is an opportunity for you to invite your OWN supporters and donors, to a joint event. At that joint event, attendees will have the option to donate to one or more legislative candidates at the event.  This is NOT a Baker fundraiser or a MassGOP fundraiser.  Donations are to be made directly to the candidates based upon who YOU solicit.

As we all know, in certain regions there can be a great deal of crossover in supporters.  In Plymouth, donors to Vinny deMacedo are also donors to Matt Muratore and Randy Hunt.  Rather than have these people attend 3 events, where they write a check each time, they will go to one event where they will (hopefully) write several checks.

Your campaign will send out its own invitations (which must be approved by Mark Fuller, Charlie’s Finance Chair, to ensure compliance (mark.fuller@charliebaker2014.com).  We will work with local State Committee members and Town Committees to cover the overhead and event organization.  It is incumbent on each participating candidate to drive attendees, although the MassGOP will do some very limited promotion.

These are your fundraisers, so be sure to get the word out!

Finally, these are the first of what hopefully will be more.  There is no guarantee that Charlie’s schedule will allow for more, so if it is possible, please take great advantage of this opportunity.

Dates and locations are as follows:

Metro West, August 29 (7:00-9:00 PM), Guiseppe’s
35 Solomon Pond Rd.
Northborough, MA 01532

Merrimack Valley
August 30 (4:00-6:00 PM)
Lenzi’s
810 Merrimack Ave.
Dracut, MA 01826

Western Mass
September 1, TBD

North Shore, September 2 (7:00-9:00 PM)
Kowloon, 948 Broadway
Saugus, MA 01906

Worcester County, September 3 (7:30-9:30 PM)

Mass Victory Center Shrewsbury
420 Boston Turnpike Rd.
Shrewsbury, MA

Summer is almost over, which means we have a lot of work to do before the election! It’s an exciting time of year and we need your help to keep the momentum going. Remember, these are your fundraisers – the more people you bring the better. If you have any questions please reach out to me on this email address, CL@massgop.com, or call me at 774-364-2035. Looking forward to seeing you, and all your supporters!

Best,

Chris Lane

Political Director; MasGOP