"C, O - double R, I - G, A, N spells Corrigan!"
With suspense over, Kerry turns sights to July convention
Names liaison for 4-day event
By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff, 3/4/2004
The 2004 Democratic National Convention is John F. Kerry's show now.
Yesterday, the day after he virtually locked up the nomination for president, the Massachusetts senator installed Massachusetts political operative Jack Corrigan as his point man on the convention, which begins in late July in the presumptive nominee's hometown.
Now, the carefully laid plans of the Democratic National Convention Committee will give way to the wishes of the candidate, and those of Corrigan, his convention liaison. The candidate's operation will have the last word on almost every aspect of the four-day event, from the slogans on the signs the faithful shake in the FleetCenter, to how the senator should be lit for his walk to the podium, to what theme should be showcased on each of the convention's four nights.
"The nominee always has input, and that's going to be the case this time as it has in every convention that has ever taken place," Corrigan said.
"John Kerry is from Boston, he has a long history with the people of Massachusetts, and we want to work with the mayor and the DNCC and everyone involved to help make this the best convention ever," said Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. "When you have a nominee, you start making decisions over the next months about what we want the program to look like, how the week will flow."
Corrigan, 47, has deep local roots. The Somerville native helped organize six states for Senator Edward M. Kennedy during the presidential campaign of 1980. He was a deputy chief secretary and deputy secretary of transportation in the administration of Governor Michael S. Dukakis, and ran his field organization when the governor ran for president in 1988. Corrigan also oversaw the Democratic National Convention of 1988 for Dukakis.
"Jack is just a very smart, very savvy guy," Dukakis said. "He is a great organizer, he has great political instincts, and he is a great strategist. He is just superb in the field. I won that [presidential] primary because we had great field operations. [Corrigan] has great political instincts, he doesn't waste a lot of time. He's out there, and he's tough. He pushes people."
Dukakis's mother eventually sold Corrigan and his family the Brookline home where his old boss was raised.
Corrigan is extremely well-connected politically, particularly locally. Those who have worked with him described Corrigan as reserved, sometimes acerbic and as having little patience for turf battles. Dukakis said he has "a wry sense of humor, but he's no Johnny Ha-Ha."
He is close to political operative and Kerry adviser John Sasso, who was chief secretary for Dukakis and put together the strategy for Dukakis's march to the Democratic presidential nomination. Corrigan has also been friends with Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill, also a Dukakis veteran, for 22 years. Cahill called Mayor Thomas M. Menino yesterday to let him know Corrigan was her candidate's pick for convention liaison.
He has advised former Senate president Thomas F. Birmingham for two decades, and the two remain firm friends.
"He is a brilliant guy," Birmingham said. "His style is very direct and very cerebral at the same time. He is very good at keeping his eye on the ball."
Corrigan, a lawyer, managed then-vice president Al Gore's legal strategy during the 2000 Florida recount. He worked for Kerry in Iowa and organized for the Massachusetts senator during the New Hampshire primary.
As Kerry's liaison, Corrigan will run the candidate's campaign inside the convention hall until nomination night (campaign finance rules forbid the party to spend money to directly promote Kerry's candidacy until he is officially nominated) and to form the message of the week. Corrigan and his team, which will include Ken Robinson, Kerry's New Hampshire state director, and Lynda Tocci, his Massachusetts state director, will shape the speeches and the platform presentations. They will make sure key Kerry fund-raisers and supporters are taken care of during the four-day event. And they will be organizing training sessions for field operatives.
"The convention is a showcase for the city, the party and the nominee, and all of that needs to work well," Corrigan said.
Some locals yesterday saw in the appointment of the very local Corrigan a sign that the DNCC would be shaken up following Kerry's nomination. There has been some tension between the DNCC and Boston 2004, the city's host committee, over the details of the convention so far. Rod O'Connor, DNCC's chief executive officer, has described that tension as "natural" in the past.
Corrigan said there would be no shake-up.
"A lot of good work has already taken place, and we'll be working to build on that, and to put the Kerry stamp on it. But if it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it," he said. "The party is very unified, I'm very focused, and I think that's reflected in the attitude of everybody I've talked to on the convention. We all have one goal."
Glen Johnson of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
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