SALEM — Congressman John Tierney will have to soar past a retired
pilot if he wants to win a sixth term in office this fall.

Richard Barton, a 52-year-old Manchester Republican, turned in more
than 3,300 nomination signatures by yesterday's 5 p.m. deadline.
Assuming the needed 2,000 signatures are certified by local and
state officials, Barton's name will appear opposite Tierney's on the
ballot in November.

Barton, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot who also flew for the Air
Force, grew up in Needham and has lived in Manchester since 1994. He
has never before run for elective office.

Barton acknowledged that he faces an uphill climb to unseat Tierney,
who has represented the North Shore since 1997. The Salem Democrat
won more than 65 percent of the vote in 2004 and has not faced a
strong opponent since he was a freshman representative.

But Barton noted that Tierney, too, had never held elective office
when he unseated Peter Torkildsen by a razor-thin margin in 1996.

"I think people forget that," Barton said. "It's a large task to
take on, but it's not like it hasn't been done before."
But Tierney held two advantages in 1996 that Barton does not.
Tierney had experience and name recognition from his first,
unsuccessful challenge to Torkildsen two years earlier. He also was
a Democrat in a district that — then as now — leaned heavily
Democratic.

A decade later, Tierney, 54, still holds both of those advantages,
plus another — money. According to federal campaign finance reports,
Tierney had more than $1 million in his campaign war chest at the
end of March. Barton had just over $1,000.

"That is our number one biggest challenge," Barton said. "He's got
over a million dollar head start on us."
Barton doesn't expect to catch Tierney in that race. But he said he
will have enough money to compete — already, he has hired a campaign
manager and set up a Web site — and he said he believes he can
defeat Tierney through hard work

"This is going to be more of a grass-roots effort than anything," he
said. "I think I've gotten into the race early enough to be able to
run an effective campaign."

Tierney did not return a call seeking comment yesterday, but a
spokeswoman said the Congressman is not taking Barton's challenge
lightly.

Tierney takes nothing for granted and will use this election as he
always does to continue the dialogue with voters and seek their
support," campaign worker Katie Economou said in an e-mail.

Earlier this year, it looked as if Tierney might also face a
challenge from within his own party. Josef Leary, a retired diplomat
who lives in Peabody, considered mounting a primary challenge on the
grounds that Tierney and his colleagues in the Massachusetts
congressional delegation are too liberal. Leary abandoned his bid,
but Barton has seized on some of the same themes.

"People feel that Mr. Tierney has lost touch with the constituents
here in Massachusetts," Barton said. "A lot of people, even
Democrats, have grown tired of his far-left stance."

Economou countered that it is Republicans who are out of touch.

"John expects this election to be a referendum on the country's
future, and on the need to end Republican dominance of the White
House, Senate and House that has resulted in scandal and harmful
policies," she wrote. "Democrats have a good opportunity to win
majorities in the House and Senate this fall, and be able to then
provide necessary checks and balances to the Bush and Cheney
policies, which many see as having been harmful and extreme."

If Democrats do retake the House, Tierney would become a member of
the majority party for the first time in his Congressional career.
But Barton said local voters are ready for new representation, too.

"People realize that when they leave people in Washington for too
long, they forget why they're there," Barton said. "We're getting a
feeling that people are just tired of (representatives) going to
Washington and thinking it's a lifetime job."

Staff writer Ben Casselman can be reached at (978) 338-2529 or by e-
mail at bcasselman@ecnnews.com.

John Tierney's electoral history

2004
John Tierney 66.3% Stephen O'Malley Jr. 28.5%

2002
Tierney 64.4% Mark Smith 29.8%

2000
Tierney 67.5% Paul McCarthy 27.4%

1998
Tierney 54.6% Peter Torkildsen 42.4%

1996
Tierney 48.2% Peter Torkildsen 48.0%

1994
Tierney 47.4% Peter Torkildsen 50.5%

Source: Salem News
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