Similarities run deep in race
By Jason Lefferts

In September 2005, three members of the House held a joint fundraiser at the Kinsale, an Irish pub just steps from the State House.

For a random September evening at the foot of Beacon Hill, there was nothing unusual about the fundraiser. The Kinsale is a popular place for state employees, and the three legislators were tied together by a geographical string along Route 2.

Now, less than three years later, all three are running for state Senate, and two of them, Brian Knuuttila and Jennifer Flanagan, are running against each other. The third, Jamie Eldridge of Acton, is running for Pam Resor's open seat just to the east of this area.

The fundraiser is interesting now, of course, because Knuuttila and Flanagan are now facing off - quite possibly one-on-one - to follow Robert Antonioni into the Senate chamber. It's also indicative of the relationship the two had in the past, and the friendship the two have maintained since then. They no longer find themselves political allies, but instead opponents. And they probably won't be holding money events together this time around.

"Yes, I like him. We get long, we always have," Flanagan said last week. "There's no animosity."

Knuuttila said he and Flanagan talked on the phone at the end of February.

"We're still friends," Knuuttila said. "Our friendship will probably survive this, but it might be different."

At the beginning of the February, when the roster of potential candidates for the Senate was pushing a dozen, the relationship between Knuuttila and Flanagan was intriguing. Now that they have survived the self-winnowing process and appear to be the only two left standing (although some, like Fitchburg City Councilor Dean Tran and developer Gregg Lisciotti are still mulling runs).

It's not just that they were raising money together. But in their short time together in the House, Knuuttila and Flanagan worked together on a number of regional issues - issues that are likely to make up part of their campaigns and their plans if elected this fall.

Pop their last names into a news search, and you'll come up with a handful of examples of the two paired together on issues.

For example, Flanagan was part of the first express commuter rail ride into Boston in January 2004, filling in for her boss, Rep. Mary Jane Simmons, who was ill at the time. She rode the train in with Knuuttila.

Six months later, in June, Knuuttila and Flanagan were at the opening of the MART parking garage in the downtown Fitchburg. The continued expansion and improvement of the commuter rail and infrastructure is a cornerstone of the regional success story Flanagan wants to build around her campaign, and is a good example of the regional allfor one view he brings to his campaign.

Beyond the issues, there are connections. Knuuttila points out that he worked on many of these issues with Simmons when they were in the House together and Flanagan was Simmons' aide. They both claim a strong relationship with Antonioni.

As they campaign this year, Knuuttila and Flanagan - and voters - will likely find a number of distinct similarities as they point to similar successes and priorities as they angle for the Senate seat. They also say despite the potential for acrimony, they expect the year to be civil.

"Politics can become nasty, and I'm not going to make it that way," Knuuttila said.

"I hope that people don't feel there is animosity," Flanagan said. "People who know each other run against each other quite frequently."