Millers man to run for Senate

[ Originally published on: Friday, September 04, 2009 ]

Amid all the widespread speculation over who might seek the U.S. Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy, one thing is certain: Peter Zschau of Millers Falls, like Attorney General Martha Coakley, is in the running.

The 60-year-old semi-retired owner of Partridge-Zschau Insurance Agency in Turners Falls announced Thursday that he is collecting signatures to run in the Jan. 19 special election to fill the late senior senator's seat in the Capitol.

Zschau, an independent, said the only public office he's ever held was as a Montague Town Meeting member in the 1970s -- but that his inexperience may prove to be a benefit.

'I'm very interested in what's happening in this country, and both major parties are to blame. I've decided now's the time. My chances, I know, are very remote, but if people don't stand up and express their opinions, what kind of country are we going to have?' he said Thursday as he headed down to Sunderland and Deerfield to collect some of the 10,000 registered voters' signatures he'll need to turn in to the secretary of state's office by Dec. 8.

Zschau moved two years ago to a 'modular home in a development' on Nantucket, where he spends most of his time and is registered. 'Hopefully, I'll get quite a few signatures there,' he said.