BOSTON WILL be credentialing a new generation of political leaders Tuesday. In an environment in which Massachusetts House and Senate seats turn over relatively rarely, legislative spots have opened from the hyperactive political precincts in West Roxbury to the often low-voting neighborhoods of Mattapan. The winners of Tuesday’s Democratic primaries will have a strong likelihood of success in a city where two-party politics has yet to take root. Much is at stake, but voters shouldn’t look to any single model of leadership; rather, support should flow to the candidates who best combine an understanding of their communities and a solid game plan for advancing the city’s interests on Beacon Hill.
What’s most impressive about this year’s field is not any common ideology or overarching priority, but rather the depth and quality of the candidates, and their commitment to political leadership.
South Boston, long an incubator of political talent, is fielding one of its most impressive groups of young candidates in a lively, positive four-way race best described by candidate Nicholas Collins. “We’re running for the future of the community more than against each other,’’ said Collins.
In a tough call, the edge belongs to Mark McGonagle, who at 30 is the oldest candidate in the race. A street worker with deep roots in South Boston, McGonagle has the maturity and compassion of a person who has spent dogged hours seeking detox beds for clients. He could use that experience to advocate for better drug treatment and public health policies on Beacon Hill.
South Boston also faces development challenges on its waterfront. McGonagle strikes the right balance between support for job-rich development and concern that nearby neighborhoods remain livable. McGonagle’s attention to the area’s beaches and parks is also a plus, especially as work continues on the area’s Combined Sewer Overflow project.
Collins, 28, is also an exceptional candidate who has run a strong campaign. He boasts constituent service experience on Beacon Hill and would be a strong voice for the disabled and for crime prevention. Twenty-three-year-old Jacob Bombard would bring a keen sensitivity to cycles of poverty and addiction. Michael McGee, 29, who casts himself as an outsider scrutinizing the system with open eyes, is also a future leader. Hopefully, the winner will seek to combine the attributes of the entire field.
Since 1994, residents of the Fifth Suffolk district covering much of Roxbury and Dorchester have grown accustomed to first-rate representation. Former state Representative Charlotte Golar Richie and retiring state Representative Marie St. Fleur always put the day-to-day needs of the district before politicking. They were all business, and that matters in a district where people’s lives and economic futures depend on the housing, criminal justice, public education, and job-training decisions made on Beacon Hill. In a four-way Democratic primary, Carlos Henriquez is the heir to that tradition.
“I’ve been trained for this position my entire life,’’ Henriquez, 33, said at a recent candidates’ forum. He absorbed lessons in community building from his father, a neighborhood activist, and his mother, now a senior housing official in the Obama administration. But he cut his own path as well, working in City Hall and making two courageous but unsuccessful runs against ethically tainted Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner. Henriquez is president of the board of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, one of the city’s most highly regarded housing and community groups. And he would be a powerful voice for protecting charter schools, which often do a terrific job of educating youngsters in the district.
Henriquez faces a tough road against two perennial candidates — Althea Garrison and Roy Owens — and charismatic challenger Barry Lawton. But it is Henriquez who voters can count on to bring out the best in the district.
In the next-door Sixth Suffolk District, the retirement of longtime Representative Willie May Allen finds five Democratic candidates vying for the open seat. Financial planner Russell Holmes, 41, may not be well known outside of Mattapan, where he has distinguished himself as a community activist. But voters in the Dorchester, Hyde Park, Roslindale, and Jamaica Plain portions of the district should get to know this impressive candidate.
Holmes is thoughtful on the public transportation, safety, and education challenges facing the district. He’s a strong supporter of high-stakes testing. “There are few careers where you don’t get measured,’’ said Holmes, who ran a small business. Holmes is also eager to raise levels of financial literacy in a district that suffers disproportionately from home foreclosures and unemployment.
Voters should expect Holmes to be the kind of legislator with the courage to confront both policy makers who shortchange his district and NIMBY-minded residents who resist reasonable development or transportation projects along the Blue Hill Avenue corridor. His fresh approach elevates him over NAACP President Karen Payne, who has garnered more institutional endorsements.
An open seat in the politically-active 10th Suffolk District covering West Roxbury, Roslindale, and a sliver of Brookline draws six Democratic candidates. Edward Coppinger, 38, stands out from the hard-running pack as a candidate with both deep commitment to the area and the financial background needed on Beacon Hill.
Coppinger, who works in mortgage sales, is quick to tell listeners that he earns his living solely on commission and understands the economic strains on many of the area’s families. The father of four also understands the value of community service through his volunteer activities along the Parkway, including coaching local sports teams. That’s no small matter in high-voting West Roxbury.
If and when the debate on casinos in Massachusetts resumes, Coppinger’s accounting background should come in handy. He supports casinos, but thinks that Beacon Hill has overplayed its hand with bills for three or more such facilities. He rates a narrow edge over Kelly Tynan, a former City Council aide who is currently a Boston schoolteacher.
The West Roxbury seat is open because incumbent Michael Rush is seeking the state Senate seat currently held by retiring Marian Walsh. It covers Norwood, Dedham, Westwood, West Roxbury, and parts of Roslindale and Hyde Park. But Rush’s brand of petty, payback politics, as evidenced by his recent attempt to evict the administrator of the state court system, has gotten really old. The judge had been critical of Rush’s father, the former chief of probation at the West Roxbury district court.
Westwood attorney Michael Walsh offers a mature and credible choice to both urban and suburban voters. Walsh, 48 (no relation to Marian Walsh), knows the challenge of running his own business and supporting a large family. He would be a strong advocate for keeping health care costs affordable for small businesses and jumpstarting stalled development projects in the suburban part of the district. But mostly, Walsh could be expected to provide no-nonsense representation for a district that deserves no less.
