Bacchiochi Wooed McMahon, Settled for Shays.
The free market in campaign staff hiring taught state Representative Penny Bacchiochi (R-Somers) that it can be tough to shakedown the invisible hand that writes the checks. Bacchiochi tells a convoluted tale of her journey to the Christopher Shays campaign for the United States Senate. The Somers Republican supported Rob Simmons’ in his bitter 2010 loss to Linda McMahon in their 2010 Senate contest.
Bacchiochi worked so hard for Simmons against McMahon that she did not learn much about McMahon. She wanted to learn more about the Greenwich Republican this time, she told Daily Ructions. The best way to do that was with a job on the campaign. Early last fall, Bacchiochi met with Team McMahon in search of a lucrative paying positing. Bacchiochi put together a haphazard, skeletal outline of events (mostly To Be Announced), according to a document seen by Daily Ructions, helpfully informing the McMahon campaign that the 681,113 people who live in the 2nd Congressional District occupy 2,143 square miles. It would have been found wanting by a town council candidate. It’s not hard to see why no offer of employment was forthcoming from the McMahon campaign. Bacchiochi says she didn’t name her price. Others recall Bacchiochi floating a risible $13,000 a month as compensation. After all, there are private school fees to be paid.
Bacchiochi found refuge with Parson Shays and his woeful campaign. That’s curious because Shays has claimed McMahon bought the 2010 convention, which would have meant putting hundreds of delegates in her pay. Shays, as is his custom, is thin on details after he files his buckshot. In this instance, McMahon declined to hire Bacchiochi, who as a legislator is a delegate to the May nominating convention, but Shays has her on his payroll. She hasn’t brought much heft to Shays’ effort. McMahon has been capturing endorsements from 2nd District Republicans that suggest Shays is meeting little success in transferring the remnants of the Simmons campaign to his struggling drive for the nomination.