Battle of backers in Senate contest; Candidates tout endorsements.

Byline: Shaun Sutner

State Senate candidate Douglas A. Belanger, a union leader by profession, has been touting a long list of union endorsements.

Now his opponent in the Sept. 16 Democratic primary for the 2nd Worcester Senate District seat, Michael O. Moore, a manager at the Worcester County Jail, has released his own extensive slate of endorsements, which is capped by a raft of Worcester city councilors.

Mr. Belanger, chairman of the Leicester Board of Selectmen, has 35 union endorsements, plus four selectmen and five school committee members from his hometown in his corner, in addition to state representatives John J. Binienda, D-Worcester, and James J. O'Day, D-West Boylston, and Governor's Councilor Thomas J. Foley of Worcester.

Among the top names in Mr. Belanger's pool of organized labor support are the state and Central Massachusetts AFL-CIOs, Teamsters Local 170 and United Steelworkers Local 2936.

Mr. Moore, a Millbury selectman, has 65 elected and Democratic Party officials and civic activists on his side, but no unions.

In the race for the Worcester-centric district, his support is more heavily weighted toward the city, with eight city councilors on his list, as well as a city School Committee member, several party ward chairmen, state Rep. Vincent A. Pedone, D-Worcester, and Mr. Moore's boss, Worcester Country Sheriff Guy W. Glodis.

Another notable member of Mr. Moore's list is Maurice J. Boisvert, president and CEO of YOU Inc., a social service agency in Worcester that runs group homes and shelters.

The sprawling district includes the southern and eastern sections of the city as well as Auburn, Grafton, Leicester, Millbury, Shrewsbury and Upton.

Mr. Moore boasts endorsements from town officials in each of the communities except Upton, while Mr. Belanger has endorsements from Worcester and Leicester, but none of the other communities in the district. Mr. O'Day, the West Boylston legislator, represents a chunk of the city that is in the Senate district.

The current senator, Edward M. Augustus Jr., a Worcester Democrat, is giving up the seat at the end of the year. A third candidate in the field, Republican John I. Lebeaux of Shrewsbury, a nursery manager, has his own GOP supporters, including the region's Republican legislators.

Green-Rainbow Party member Steven W. Baer, a civil engineer from Shrewsbury, has suspended his campaign, citing conflicts with his employer, the Massachusetts Highway Department, and the union he belongs to, the Massachusetts Organization of Scientists and Engineers. A provision in his union contract requires him to take a minimum three-month, unpaid leave of absence.Another contrast between the vying Democrats' groups of endorsers is that Mr. Moore has 13 women, while Mr. Belanger has two. A few of Mr. Moore's female backers are high-profile party figures, such as Diane M. Saxe, the Democratic National Committee member from Grafton, and former state representatives Roberta Goldman of Shrewsbury and Marsha R. Platt of Grafton.

Both Democratic candidates said they were confident their endorsements would translate to votes on Election Day because of the organizational clout of the unions, office-holders, officials and activists.

"I'm very pleased ... by their support," said Mr. Belanger, vice president of United Food and Commercial Workers union Local 1445, noting that he expects the union leaderships lined up behind him to deliver votes from the rank-and-file. "They're already participating in outreach. They have the enthusiasm to reach out to membership."

Mr. Moore, who said he would be coming out with some union endorsements of his own, emphasized both the numbers of backers and his core of Worcester support in a race that does not have a single city resident in the field of candidates.

"I think I have a strong base of support in the city that's balanced with the towns," said Mr. Moore, a deputy assistant superintendent at the jail. "I'm very humbled and pleased with the number of people supporting me that have confidence that I would do well as a state senator."

Contact Shaun Sutner by e-mail at [e-mail].

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Mr. Belanger (2) Mr. Moore