It’s Craven v. Ehrhardt
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| Charlestown Asst. Solicitor Bob Craven (D) faces incumbent state Rep. Laurence Ehrhardt in November for House District 32 |
By Will Collette
After a recount Tuesday, Republican incumbent State
Representative Laurence
Ehrhardt was certified the winner in his rough primary battle with his
former would-be successor Sharon Gamba by only 16 votes.
Gamba claimed that Ehrhardt had told her he planned to
retire from the General Assembly and promised her his support as his successor,
only to renege on that promise. So Gamba then launched a strong primary
challenge to take what she claimed was promised to her.
Though Ehrhardt squeaked by, he now will face Democratic
challenger Bob Craven, who is well
known here in Charlestown as one of the town’s long-time members of its legal
team. Bob
is currently Assistant Solicitor, Probate Judge, town prosecutor and
counsel to the Zoning Board.
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| House District 32 |
He rarely makes public statements, and it’s no wonder when one time when he
spoke on a topic other than Quonset, he earned a “Pants on
Fire” rating from the ProJo’s Politifact.
So when word got around that Ehrhardt planned to step down from
his House seat, people in his district weren’t that surprised. The shocker came
later when he decided to reverse course.
Craven has run a very low-key, under-the-radar campaign so
far. This isn’t too unusual for a candidate who must wait for a primary to
determine who the opponent will be. But as a challenger, even as a Democrat,
going up against a long-term incumbent, it usually takes some serious hustle to
win.
With less than 50 days to go before the November 6 General
Election, it’s time for Bob to get on his bicycle if he’s serious about winning
this race.