Craig Galvin endorsed by DotOUT: The candidate speaks during Monday's meeting at The Ledge in Lower Mills. Photo by Mike DeehanDistrict 3 City Council candidate Craig Galvin has netted the high-profile endorsement of DotOUT, an influential Dorchester-based civic group representing gays and lesbians. At a meeting on Monday night at the Ledge restaurant in Lower Mills, the group also endorsed incumbent City Councillor Tito Jackson, who represents District 7, and Suzanne Lee, a former principal running against incumbent Councillor Bill Linehan in District 2.

The session featured three rounds of voting in Districts 3 and 7. An endorsement required support from two-thirds of members present, and by the last round, a number of them had left, leaving 31 remaining to vote. DotOUT declined to release breakdowns of the votes, citing bylaws that call for a secret ballot.
“I am honored to receive the endorsement of my friends from DotOUT,” Galvin said. “I share their commitment to work hard, to continue to make Dorchester a great place to live and raise a family.”  Read more

Pre-forum standout at First Parish ChurchMeet the candidates, again.

With 40 days left until the Sept. 27 preliminary, the seven candidates hoping to fill the District 3 seat on the City Council were back before a crowd of voters on Thursday night, laying out their positions on a city employee residency requirement, crime and public schools.

At a forum in the First Parish Church on Meetinghouse Hill, the seven candidates running to replace City Councillor Maureen Feeney agreed that city employees should be required to live in Boston, but they differed on whether unions should be able to negotiate changes to the policy. Mayor Thomas Menino has eased the requirement for police officers, teachers are exempt statewide and many city employees are allowed to live outside the city after 10 years.  Read more

On July 1, the Dorchester Reporter sent a questionnaire to all seven candidates who will appear on the Sept. 27 ballot for District 3 Boston City Council. The survey asked the candidates for a range of biographical information and to explain their specific positions on Dorchester and citywide issues identified by Reporter editors.

This week, the Reporter presents the full responses to the questionnaires in PDF format as they were received from the candidates.* They appear below in alphabetical order:  Read more

District 3 council hopefuls: From left: Marydith Tuitt, John O'Toole, Craig Galvin, Doug Bennett, Marty Hogan, Frank Baker and Stephanie Everett. The group assembled before a June forum in St. Mark's church.

Six of the seven contenders campaigning to replace outgoing District 3 City Councillor Maureen Feeney have offered a varying mix of responses to a Dorchester Reporter questionnaire that covered taxes, Mayor Thomas Menino’s fiscal 2012 budget, and the always controversial topic of dorms at UMass Boston.

By Tuesday evening, the six candidates had responded to the questionnaire, which was sent out July 1; despite multiple phone calls by the Reporter seeking a response, information technology consultant Marty Hogan did not reply.

While the candidates who answered come from different backgrounds, their views offered little divergence on major issues. With one exception, all consider themselves Democrats to varying degree. All said they supported unions, hardly a surprise considering that Dorchester is home to a number of politically powerful unions. And all support gay marriage, an issue that remains controversial elsewhere in the country after it was legalized by the Bay State’s highest court in 2003.

The completed questionnaires are available in full at the Reporter’s website.  Read more