Chartock, president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, says the singer/songwriter would have a better chance of winning than U.S. Rep. Ed Markey.
03.30.2004 | BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduces singer-songwriter James Taylor to perform during a fundraiser held at the home of Ron Burkle.
Forget Ben Affleck.
A public radio broadcaster is now encouraging singer/songwriter James Taylor to enter the race for John Kerry’s U.S. Senate seat.
Alan Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, an Albany, N.Y.-based station that covers parts of Western Massachusetts. Chartock on Monday penned a blog post urging Taylor to run. Chartock argued that Taylor would have a better chance of beating likely Republican candidate Scott Brown than would Democrat Ed Markey, the dean of the Massachusetts congressional delegation.
“JT, who famously followed that road ‘from Stockbridge to Boston,’ is as much of a hero to the people of the Bay State as General Henry Knox was,” Chartock wrote, referring to the Boston-born Revolutionary War hero.
Chartock cited Taylor’s efforts fundraising for the Democratic Party. During the 2012 campaign, Taylor hosted a concert on behalf of Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren and performed at a rally with Democratic President Barack Obama.
Taylor, who lives in Western Massachusetts, has deep Massachusetts roots. Perhaps his most famous song, “Sweet Baby James” references to “the Turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston.”
Taylor’s spokeswoman, Pearl Evidente Feldman of the Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency in California, said Taylor “has no comment at this time.”
Chartock said he has spoken to Taylor and his wife, and has not gotten any indication that Taylor is considering a run. “I’ve not gotten any kind of affirmative answer about whether this is something he’d want to do,” Chartock said.
Several Democratic consultants said they had not heard talk of a run by Taylor.
This is not the first speculation to surround a celebrity figure. Affleck was also rumored as a potential candidate until he took his name out of contention.