Politics
Politics
Yoon weighs mayoral run -- in a maybe sort of way
Oct. 1, 2008
Based on language on invitations printed and passed out for a fundraiser held this month in California, Boston's daily newspapers ran a story framing City Councillor Sam Yoon as a possible candidate for mayor of Boston in 2009.
Although Yoon and his new spokesperson, Curtis Ellis, were both determined to leave the possibility of a Yoon run open (and what aspiring politician would weigh down their name if it was floated anywhere as lofty?), the hullabaloo about 2009 seems based more on a slow news week than an impending reality. Read more
Wilkerson write-in try awkward for Dems
Oct. 1, 2008
As state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson cranks up her political apparatus for a write-in campaign to keep the Second Suffolk District seat she's held for 15 years, her colleagues on Beacon Hill, in City Hall and among the Dorchester delegation are largely staying on the sidelines. Read more
Presidential politics enter S. Vietnamese flag day
Oct. 1, 2008
After Saigon fell on April 30, 1975, the yellow flag with three red stripes (often flown in Dorchester's Vietnamese-American community) was forbidden on Vietnamese territory. It was the flag of the South Vietnamese, first born after France signed the Ha Long Bay Accord with Emperor Bao Dai of Vietnam in 1948. Read more
Racially-charged start to the latest round
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The latest round in the slugfest between incumbent state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson (D-Roxbury) and Democratic nominee Sonia Chang-Diaz has taken a racially-charged turn, after one high-profile Wilkerson supporter said that Chang-Diaz is not a "person of color", even though Chang-Diaz is of white, Asian and Latin descent. Read more
Congressmen offer take on economy
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Dorchester's two men in Congress - Michael Capuano in the Eighth District and Stephen F. Lynch in the Ninth - agree they want to see Wall Street help foot the bill for any government-sponsored bailout of the financial industry. Nonetheless, the men came down on opposite sides of Monday's vote on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion bailout bill. Read more
Cape Verdean activists get organized for Team Obama
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Each election cycle provides an opportunity for encouraging voter participation among immigrant communities. Many believe that with Barack Obama on the ballot, Election 2008 could be a golden ticket, rearing voting blocs across the city that 2009 mayoral contenders will have to pay heed to.
"I expect a huge participation just based on our get out the vote effort," said Denise Dabney, Dorchester for Obama organizer. Dabney said immigrants and other people of color showed an out of the ordinary enthusiasm to register - even among those who were not yet citizens. Read more
As economy sours, campaign to preserve income tax kicks off
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Opponents of the ballot question eliminating the state income tax officially launched their campaign last week in Grove Hall, trotting out a Worcester businessman, a UMass-Boston student, a Cape Cod nurse and a Dorchester special needs teacher and saying the ballot question's passage would lead to public schools closings, roads and bridges falling into disrepair and higher taxes and fees in other areas. Read more
Wilkerson will run on stickers as a last resort
Sep. 24, 2008
Stung by a 228-vote loss in the Democratic primary, state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson this week confirmed that if a recount effort fails, she will run a sticker campaign to retain her seat in the November 4th the general election.
Wilkerson lost to challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz in the September 16 primary, with Chang-Diaz receiving 50.5 percent, or 9,051 votes, to Wilkerson's 49.3 percent, or 8,823 votes. Both Wilkerson and Chang-Diaz have asked for votes in specific wards to be re-counted, a process that will take place at City Hall this Saturday. Read more
Pot decriminalization battle heats up as foes flex muscles
Sep. 24, 2008
Opponents of a ballot question to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana showcased their political muscle last Wednesday on a day in which the two sides traded barbs over the effects of marijuana use and even campaign finance practices.
At a press conference outside the capitol, district attorneys, mayors, religious leaders, concerned parents and Patrick administration officials, one by one, blasted the question. Passing such a proposal would set off a flood of violent crime, medical problems, impaired driving and youth drug use, they argued. Read more
Numbers show a sharply divided electorate in Second Suffolk
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Along with asking for a recount, the two Democratic candidates in a close race for state senate in the Second Suffolk District are bracing for the possibility of yet another rematch. At a meeting tonight with supporters at the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge in Grove Hall, Senator Dianne Wilkerson said, if the recount fails to give her the nomination, she will run as a Democratic sticker candidate in the final election November 4. Read more
