An intraparty squabble appears to be spicing up an otherwise sleepy Super Tuesday, as a state representative from South Boston and an activist from Dorchester face off for a state Democratic Party slot.
Craig Galvin, a Dorchester Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2011, has been waging a write-in campaign to be the state Democratic Party’s committeeman for the First Suffolk Senate district. A man and a woman from each of the state’s 40 Senate districts are elected to state committee seats, which are up for grabs every four years during the presidential primary election.
After state Sen. Jack Hart (D-South Boston) passed on another run at the state committee seat last year, Galvin jumped in, but a signature-gathering snafu prevented his name from making it onto the March 6 ballot and forced him to run as a write-in.
As of several days ago, another Democrat said he was running his own write-in campaign: state Rep. Nick Collins of South Boston.
Galvin said Collins called him over the weekend to notify of him of his candidacy. Galvin said he was “shocked to hear that he was running because of his commitment to me earlier.”
But Collins disputes that, saying he was neither asked for an endorsement nor did he give one. Collins said he learned of the open seat from Galvin and eventually decided he wanted to run.
In an email over the weekend to supporters, Collins wrote, “I have been working with constituents, colleagues and advocates on issues that need to balance the intersection of spending and human services. Having a strong voice at the convention to help shape the platform of the party is a role that I want to play.” The state convention is set for Springfield on June 2.
The Collins email also laid out how to put a sticker with Collins’s information on the presidential primary ballot.
On Sunday night, state Treasurer Steve Grossman’s campaign posted to Twitter an endorsement of Collins.
Galvin said he has the support of Collins’s colleagues in Dorchester’s all-Democratic State House delegation, including Hart, City Councillor Frank Baker and state Reps. Marty Walsh, Linda Dorcena Forry, and Carlos Henriquez.
“I’ve been in this race for months. I pulled papers to run for this seat,” Galvin said Monday. “I’m dedicated to the Democratic Party and look forward to representing the people of the First Suffolk District.”
