By Jim O'Sullivan
Special to the Reporter

The youngest son of a prominent Boston political family is taking steps to challenge a popular city councillor who represents northwestern neighborhoods of Dorchester. Carlos Henriquez, director of constituent services for At-Large Councillor Michael Flaherty, has filed papers with City Hall forming an organization for a campaign against Councillor Chuck Turner, who has represented the Roxbury-based district since 2000.

Henriquez, whose father Turner beat on his way to winning the post in 1999, said he has not decided whether to launch a formal candidacy but wants to be prepared if he decides to do so.

"We're doing the Barack Obama thing, we're forming the exploratory committee," Henriquez said Tuesday, referring to the U.S. senator from Illinois who announced final steps toward a presidential candidacy that morning.

Turner, now in his fourth term, is a member of the Green Rainbow political party, while Henriquez is a Democrat.

Henriquez said, "It's not a personal challenge to Chuck. It's running for the District 7 seat, and I'm running for the District 7 seat because I think I can do a good job in that seat."

Henriquez said he was hoping to reconnect disillusioned voters to city government: "I'd like to engage more people in the district. I'd like to get more information out of City Hall and into the district's hands."

Turner has achieved near-iconic status in his district, hailed as a populist and megaphone-wielder for his largely minority constituents.

"Chuck will be hard to beat," said Joyce Ferriabough, a longtime Boston political operative who lives in the 7th Council district. "But at the same time it's really good to see young people stepping up to the plate. So let the games begin."

Henriquez, 30, has worked at the non-profits Little House and Dorchester House. His mother, Sandra, is administrator of the Boston Housing Authority, and his father, Julio, is a longtime neighborhood activist.

The elder male Henriquez slotted third in the 1999 preliminary vote, culling less than a third of the votes that Turner received and little more than half those taken by the eventual runner-up, Tracy Litthcut, a longtime City Hall street worker.

The long-bearded Turner was a consistent voice of opposition against Flaherty when the South Boston Democrat presided over the Council, often leading the opposition against what the Council's more progressive bloc called Flaherty's heavy-handed leadership. Flaherty loyalists charged Turner with being disruptive and seeking to use the Council as a platform for far-flung political statements.

Henriquez's roots in Flaherty's office could cut both ways.

Flaherty's years as Council president helped him wire a citywide field organization. In a 2005 Reporter article, he credited Henriquez with helping him fortify his constituent-service operation in largely minority neighborhoods.