No sooner had former Representative Barney Frank publicly declared his interest in an interim appointment to replace Senator John Kerry than did members of the public begin asking if it wasn’t really just some secret gambit to boost his congressional pension.
The short answer is, no.
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My understanding of a democracy (which I thought this country was-) is that the people decide who the candidate should be in the special election not "party" officals. Markley at age 66 and in office since 1976 should be looking at retirement and let a younger fresh thinking candidate run. Expecting those leaders who got us into the mess we are in to lead us our of it is foolhardy.
Massachusetts has a semi-closed primary system. That means you pick which party's primary ballot you want to vote on, but you are automatically registered for that party. You then may go through the process of changing your affiliation, or lack thereof, back to what it was before that. 'Party officials' are involved in determining who has enough support to qualify for the primary ballot, and that is true for Republicans, Democrats, Greens, etc., and it just as true in states with fully open primaries, such as Vermont, or closed primaries, such as Maine. The people can choose from the list of candidates on theh ballot, or write in the name of a candidate not on the ballot.