Marie St. Fleur's decision to team up with Tom Reilly in a joint ticket for Governor and Lt. Governor Democrats came as a suprise to her Dorchester neighbors. So too did the next day revelations in the Boston Globe that St. Fleur and her family have struggled with difficult tax troubles.

Despite the embarassment of having her personal finances laid out in detail for the public, St. Fleur remains a worthy candidate for any office in this Commonwealth and will continue to be held in high regard here in her hometown.

In fact, the greatest disappointment of the week for her constituents may have come Monday, when news leaked that St. Fleur would leave her rep's seat to pursue the statewide office. St. Fleur has impressed her neighbors- and many others- with her sharp mind, quick wit and laser-like understanding of issues at the State House. It is no wonder that she advanced quickly into a leadership position in the Hous of Representatives.

For those who have yet to meet Marie St. Fleur, take it from those of us who have watched her public life thus far: St. Fleur is a devoted public servant and the people in Dorchester remain proud to have her as their representative on Beacon Hill.

We wish the same supportive words could be said for Attorney General Reilly, but sadly you won't hear them here. His crass, brazen 24th hour appeal to St. Fleur to run statewide was ill conceived and terribly self-serving. With no evident advance notice, Reilly's campaign sought to circumvent the party's political process, and persuaded our Rep to cast her lot with him.

We celebrate Marie St. Fleur's many virtues, but we disappove of Reilly's craven tactics.

-Ed Forry

Just cause unites Fields Corner

To a casual observer, it may seem strange that a neighborhood such as Fields Corner, which just lost its only grocery store to bankruptcy, would join forces to halt the opening of a new market. But there is a complicated history to the supermarket saga at the Fields Corner mall and good reason for neighborhood activists and city officials to resist a return of Midland Foods.

Midland closed in 2004 after many months of complaints and pressure from grassroots organizations, including the Fields Corner chapter of ACORN. The hew and cry was substantiated by repeated city inspections that found a substandard quality of food and cleanliness at the store.

When Americas' Food Basket replaced Midland Foods in 2004, it was hailed as a major improvement. Sadly, the financially challenged chain itself failed over Christmas and is now closed for good.

But, settling for a return to a Midland Foods- an outcome pushed for by that chain's owners- is no solution. The mall at Fields Corner has been saddled with low expectations, mediocre appearance and a complicated lease structure that leaves little room to hope for better uses in the near term. By speaking out forcefully last week, an impressive coalition of Fields Corner leaders hopes to convince property owners and lease holders at the mall to re-think the business plan for this critical commercial space. Those parties should come to the table and hash out a new plan that will allow for a good-quality, viable tenant to bring a much needed draw and stability back to this key corner of the neighborhood.

-E.F.