Least Suprising News Ever

City Councilor Stephen DiNatale made it "official" yesterday, he's running for state rep. It's been a foregone conclusion for months that DiNatale is in.

In his announcement, DiNatale focused on uncapping lottery aid -- a move that would free up more funding for cities and towns -- and getting the commuter rail ride from Fitchburg to Boston down to an hour (we've written a lot on this lately and will take a pass on it for now). DiNatale also threw a bone to the city's seniors, certainly an important voting bloc, but the story doesn't mention any real initiatives, just a caring.

DiNatale appears to be the 800-pound gorilla in this race, and the guy to beat from all appearances. Former Mayor Mary Whitney appears in, and former Ward 2 Councilor David LeBlanc is also running. DiNatale is only "official" candidate, and tellingly he's the only one who has set up a campaign fundraising account, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Throw in the fact that he was top vote-getter in the at-large council race last year, and DiNatale has the early lead.

In fact, it may be that DiNatale's strength is scaring off some other candidates. Mayor Dan Mylott took a pass, and why aren't more councilors or those who ran for council last year taking a pass? It's essentially a free swing, no one loses their office if they lose the race. There's a lot of time and effort involved, but it's interesting the field isn't bigger. Also significantly, there's no one on the Republican side in the race.

All this conversation makes for a great self-serving segue. Save Fitchburg will be on "Politically Speaking," hosted by Ralph Romano (speaking of Republicans...). It's 7 p.m. tonight on Channel 8. DiNatale, the rep race, and much more are on the menu.