Kevin Landrigan’s Granite Status: In a day of high drama, Bill Gardner pulls off an upset
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The nail-biting, two-ballot victory for Secretary of State Bill Gardnerwas a colossal upset that was not even thought possible a few weeks ago.
Many veteran reporters tweeted Gardner’s demise right after former Executive Councilor and Democratic operative Colin Van Ostern of Concord trounced Gardner in the Democratic caucus last month by a 179-23 vote.
Most of them had no clue that Gardner got this job back in 1976 not as a darling of his own party, but as a maverick who had won over the hearts and minds of back-bench lawmakers from both parties.