In making his way up Dorchester Avenue during the Dorchester Day Parade, state Sen. Nick Collins followed a well-worn path for candidates, crisscrossing the route to greet potential voters.
One of his challengers in this year’s election for the 1st Suffolk District seat that he holds, Latoya Gayle, followed in his tracks, introducing herself to voters and handing out campaign literature.
Their appearances on Dorchester Avenue, which runs for most of the length of the community that Collins has represented for eight years, was an early indication of the advantage of incumbency.
Collins marched nearer the front of the parade, approaching Savin Hill as Gayle’s contingent was passing Ashmont Station. Collins’s contingent included a ’68 Buick LeSabre Custom convertible, a Toyota pickup truck piloted by former District 3 City Councillor Frank Baker, and a Subaru Forester as well as several dozen campaign volunteers.
Candidate Gayle on the parade route near Peabody Square. Yawu Miller photo
For her part, Gayle walked surrounded by about two dozen volunteers who carried a vinyl banner emblazoned with her name and followed by a vehicle and more supporters waving cardboard signs.
Speaking to The Reporter during the parade, Collins expressed confidence in his reelection.
“I have diverse support across the district because we’ve done work in every corner of the district on community projects, legislation, the budget — you name it,” he said. “We’ve been blessed with the support that we’ve received up till now.”
For Gayle, the senior director for advocacy and family partnerships at the nonprofit Neighborhood Villages and a first-time candidate, Dorchester Day capped a momentous week during which she announced endorsements from SEIU 615 — the union representing janitors and security guards, AFSCME Local 703, and Mayor Michelle Wu, who has helped her raise funds and staff her campaign in recent months.
Wu’s support is widely seen as an extension of her enmity with Collins, who in the Senate has blocked her push to raise commercial tax rates and lower residential rates after office and commercial vacancies drove down the city’s collections.
“We are tired of our own senators blocking solutions that came out of a vote of the City Council and the House of Representatives, town halls, meetings, organizing, unions, state leaders, everyone coming together to say, we need relief, and we need help now,” Wu said during an endorsement held last week at the Dorchester Avenue restaurant Via Canuccia.
Her backing of Gayle is significant. She can mobilize city workers who could volunteer to knock the doors of the more than 30,000 likely voters in the district.
In a state where incumbents are rarely dislodged from office, Gayle will need to work hard, said Jonathan Cohn, the political director of Progressive Massachusetts, which has not yet weighed in on the race.
“She needs to do well in parts of the district that are majority people of color; she needs to do well in the northern parts of the district; and she needs to not get destroyed in South Boston,” he said.
The Collins contingent made its way through Fields Corner at Sunday’s parade. Seth Daniel photo
It’s a tall order, but Gayle said she’s been knocking doors and is confident she can win.
“When I’m talking to folks, I get a lot of support,” she said, taking a break from the parade. “Those are the people who vote, and that’s what matters.”
Cohn said the addition of much of the South End to the district during the 2022 redistricting process could work to Gayle’s advantage. Both candidates will have to reach out to residents whom neither has yet met.
“There’s a lot of the district where Nick doesn’t have a lot of incumbent loyalty,” he said. “There are a lot of people in the South End who are shocked to know that they’re now in his district.”
Collins’s reach within most of the district, however, appears to remain strong, his supporters say.
“Constituent services still matter,” said former state Rep. Marie St. Fleur, who is co-hosting a fundraiser for Collins next week (June 17) along with others, including state Reps. Brandy Fluker-Reid and Chynah Tyler. “Nick knows that his constituents are his boss.”
Former Boston Police Officer Larry Ellison, a co-host of the June 17 fundraiser, praised Collins for his support for the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement’s efforts at criminal justice reforms.
“He advocated for MAMLEO to have a seat on the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission,” Ellison said. “He’s a man of his word.”
Collins has represented the 1st Suffolk District since 2018, when he left the House to run in a special election for the Senate seat. Since assuming office, he has faced few challengers. In 2024, he defeated Juwan Skeens, garnering 10,386 votes to Skeens’s 2,792.
Skeens is running again in the Democratic primary, which could complicate matters for Gayle by splitting the anti-Collins vote.
And then there’s the matter of campaign contributions. Gayle began the year with $9,397 and has raised $37,654 so far this year — not bad for a first-time candidate. Collins, however, started the year off with $18,224 and has raised $197,446. The candidates’ contributions will likely be crucial to their ability to reach out to the universe of more than 30,000 voters likely to vote in a Democratic primary.
Money aside, Lower Mills resident Ann Walsh, who recently hosted a fundraiser for Gayle and is volunteering with her campaign, noted that Gayle has had a running start. She opened her campaign account in December of last year and has been running since.
“She’s been building momentum, talking with folks, meeting with folks,” Walsh said. “She’s been hitting all the civic association meetings. I think she’s been using her time wisely.”
