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.

Surprise Call From Susan Passoni

I took a call yesterday from Susan Passoni, who is running in the special election to fill the seat held by former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi, who recently resigned.

I do not live in Sal DiMasi's former district. Susan Passoni called me because I am on Boston's Ward 5 Democratic Committee. The Committee will be considering making an endorsement in the race, since one precinct of the district is within Ward 5.

I will certainly be writing here about the race in the weeks ahead (though not as much as other races where the winner ultimately represents me. However, I thought it was pretty impressive that Susan Passoni called me, even though I am not in her district. I told her as much.

By the way, random trivia time. I appeared on "Greater Boston" (Emily Rooney's show that airs on Boston's PBS channel each night) with Susan Passoni several months ago. We discussed trash issues in Boston.

There are many declared candidates for Sal DiMasi's seat, including DiMasi's former aide Aaorn Michlewitz and Beacon Hill resident Lucy Rivera.

Boston Ward 5 Democratic Caucus; Convention Here I Come

This morning at Boston's Ward 5 Democratic Caucus, I was selected to be a delegate to attend the Massachusetts Democratic Convention in Springfield, to be held in June. It will be my second Convention. I am excited to attend along with the full slate of Ward 5 and Boston delegates, including Josh Dawson, George Alex, Jim Ryan, and Rajan Nanda.

The caucus was more exciting than I expected. Attendees were greeted at the door by a representative from Boston City Councilor John Connolly's office, who distributed a letter from the Councilor as well as a recent clipping from the Bay State Banner. In addition, two volunteers stood at the door holding campaign signs for Aaron Michlewitz, who is running for the State Representative seat vacated by former House Speaker Sal DiMasi.

I have to say, it's somewhat impressive to see Aaron Michlewitz as organized as he is. Sal DiMasi's former district includes one lonely Ward 5 precinct (out of 11 precincts total), and yet his volunteers were very visible this morning.

Ward 5 Democratic Committee Chairman Rob Whitney noted at the caucus that the committee would be discussing a game plan related to the election that will fill DiMasi's House seat at its next meeting, scheduled for February 17. At that time, the Committee will discuss a possible candidates forum and endorsement vote to take place at a later date, assuming additional candidates enter the fray (and rumors were flying at the meeting about who they might be).

Representative Marty Walz noted that the special primary to pick the Democrat running for that seat will be held on May 19. The special election itself is scheduled for June 16.