Race to Fill Sal DiMasi's Mass. House Seat

There is a political race under way in downtown Boston.

Several candidates are filing nomination petitions to fill the vacant 3rd Suffolk State Representative seat, a position left open by the resignation of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi. The primary to pick party candidates for the seat is on May 19, and the special election is on June 16. This is not a municipal election, so there will be a primary (not a preliminary).

I do not live in the 3rd Suffolk Representative district. However, I am a member of the Ward 5 Democratic Committee, and one precinct of Ward 5 is in the 3rd Suffolk (It's precinct 1, which encompasses Bay Village and part of Chinatown). The Ward 5 Democratic Committee is planning to host a forum and take an endorsement vote in the race. For that reason, I do plan to pay close attention, and I of course will post my thoughts on this blog.

What's great about democracy though, is that while I will have an opinion, it doesn't really matter, since I don't have a vote. If you live in the district, you are far more important than I am (and rightly so). Within Boston, the 3rd Suffolk House District includes a large portion of the South End, Chinatown, Bay Village, a small sliver of Beacon Hill, and a portion of the North End. If you live in one of these neighborhoods and are curious if you are in the district, drop me a note and I can clarify it for you.

The slate of candidates running for the seat is long, which is good. Competition leads to better representation. Among the candidates I have seen noted (listed alphabetically):

o Ryan Higginson
o John Keith (He left a note on my blog this past week)
o Aaron Michlewitz (He was at my Beacon Hill Civic Association meeting this past week)
o Susan Passoni
o Lucy Rivery (She was as at my Beacon Hill Civic Association meeting this past week)
o Brian Ross
o David Trumbull (A Republican, so he doesn't affect my Ward vote)

Adam Gaffin has done a great job, as usual, following this race over at Universal Hub.