No One Cares About the Governor's Council (At Least on the South Coast)

A bizarre footnote to the election is the 1st District Governor’s Council Race (think Cape and South Coast): The incumbent was Charles Cipollini, who won the seat in 2010 with a victory over the Democratic candidate, lost to his brother Oliver Cipollini.

Lest you think this is a story of feuding brothers with opposing philosophies, Charles helpfully clarified to the Globe in 2010: “I have the same views as my brother. I’m like a fallback.’’ The brothers also have actively campaigned for one another.

While in office, Charles Cipollini made the post a perpetual thorn in the side of Governor Deval Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, who serves as chairman of the meetings.

In this year’s election—again marked by no distinction between the two brothers—Oliver Cipollini ousted his brother by more than 30,000 votes.

Part of me finds the result intriguing: Given two identical candidates separated only by party labels, it appears that the “Democratic Party” tag was worth approximately 10 percentage points on the South Coast and Cape in this election. It’s a regrettable state of affairs and gives credence to those voices calling for the abolition of the Council.