(The following was originally published in The Berkshire Eagle.)
PITTSFIELD — Gubernatorial candidate Evan Falchuk believes his independent campaign has more than an excess of enthusiasm: It has what most independents have lacked — a sustainable political party.
That difference, plus the swelling discontent he sees among voters yearning for alternatives, could make him a contender, he said.
“It would be historic,” Falchuk acknowledges, but he believes an independent party could elect a governor. If not in 2014, he said, it could build toward electoral victories in the future.
Beginning with a infusion of his own money, the 44-year-old Newton resident founded the United Independent Party in January and expects to be on the state’s November ballot for governor, along with his running mate, longtime municipal planner Angus Jennings, of Concord.
The basic requirements for independents are that they gather 10,000 voter signatures. Falchuk, who has been traveling the state, organizing his campaign and the new party, predicts he will get double that number by the July 29 deadline.