While the Bay State political world followed the twists and turns of state Sen. James Marzilli's harassment case this week, the race to replace the Arlington Democrat has gotten off to a quick start and one candidate in particular, Kenneth Donnelly, has blasted out of the gate. [img_assist|nid=337|title=Kenneth Donnelly|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=124|height=180]

"Ken's already done a lot of footwork in the community one in his home in Woburn," said Ed Quinn, chairman of the Woburn Democratic Town Committee.  "He has done the most the social events in the last two or three months - a lot of the introductory and handshaking getting to know you."

In an interview with PolitickerMA.com, Donnelly (D) said he is energized for the race and ready for the challenges of the state Senate. "I really want to be there to fight for those issues that I think are very important," he said.

"I look at the economy being a major piece, as well as education and the environment," he said, discussing the most important issues facing the district. "We have an economy that is a real concern. We need to be able to produce jobs in clean energy and infrastructure, to get a tax base to bring in business. The economy is a major issue."

The rising price of oil, he said, has become a major problem for people in the district.

"Anybody that's driving down the street can see the problems with oil prices," he said referring to soaring gas prices. "I have never ever heard in my life people worried about home heating fuel in July when it's 90 degrees out. People are very concerned about how they are going to heat their homes this winter."

This is the second time Donnelly, a 35-year member of the fire department, has run for the Senate. In 2007, he faced off against Marzilli in the special election for the seat. Donnelly finished second in that race, but the campaign raised his profile in the district.

"Having run in the special election, people know a little more about Donnelly," Quinn said. "So the name isn't knew. That plays very strongly for Donnelly."

Donnelly finished second to Marzilli in 2007 in Arlington, Lexington, Burlington, Woburn and beat Marzilli in Billerica. The Demographic layout district, which is split between more progressive Democrats in Arlington and Lexington and more conservative Democrats in Burlington and Billerica, poses a challenge to a candidate's campaign. This year, Donnelly is facing John Hurd, a former product manager at the Polaroid plant in Waltham, in the Democratic primary.

Some consider Hurd to be more conservative than Donnelly (a charge the Hurd campaign disputes) and, so far, Donnelly has stressed his progressive credentials. Donnelly has also played up his independence from unions like that of the firefighters, who are suspected to endorse him. Donnelly plans on releasing his endorsements in the next two weeks.

Some observers say Donnelly is molding his issue positions after Marzilli. "I think Ken probably would be defined politically on the same side of many issues that Marzilli was," said Bob Peters, co-chair of the Lexington Democratic Town Committee.

A big question mark in this race is how big a factor Marzilli and his legal troubles will be. Since Marzilli had been representing part of the district in the state House of Representatives for 16 years, Quinn said, voters believed they knew him and that he could be trusted. His recent outburst has changed their views of politicians.

"A lot of people looked at [Marzilli] as someone who had been fully vetted and that you knew what you were getting," he said. "As as result of this whole episode with Marzilli, there's a certain loss of confidence in who you can trust."

As a result of that, Quinn said it will be critically important that the candidates spend a lot of time meeting people individually and gaining their confidence. This also plays to Donnelly's advantage since he already has some standing in the community from his last run.

And Donnelly has gotten that message loud and clear. "I plan on going door to door," he said, "meeting with people one-on-one and talking about the issues." Donnelly is also in the process of setting up campaign house parties.

Donnelly said his campaign is "professional" and that he already has organizations set up in each town, drawing largely on his supporters from the 2007 campaign. "I take this very seriously," he said. Donnelly has also hired a campaign manager and is working with a campaign consultant. He said he plans to lead a grassroots campaign and also plans to do several mailings.

More than anything else, Donnelly said, he plans to use his growing campaign organization to tell voters he is qualified to fight for them on Beacon Hill.

"I've shown in the past that I can work with all different groups to get the job done," he said. "I have a lifetime of working in public service and helping people. I have courage to fight for what I believe in. I have shown that over the course of my career."