Thursday, 4:30 PM
Wilkerson an unofficial winner in a primary
By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
The trouble for Democrat Dianne Wilkerson, a seven-term incumbent State Senator, began when she failed to submit 300 valid signatures to the Secretary of State to secure her name on Tuesday's primary ballot.
Unofficial results posted this morning on the City of Boston website give Wilkerson a 141 vote victory. The incumbent declared victory this morning, but election workers say the results won't be official until at least Monday night while they review write-in and sticker votes from all four candidates.
The second-place challenger, Sonia Chang-Diaz, is eying a recount. There were complaints Tuesday night of faulty stickers and disputed ballots.
"It's our own little Florida," said Chang-Diaz, a 28-year-old former teacher.
According to the unofficial results, Wilkerson won 5,466 votes, or 48 percent, to Chang-Díaz's 5,325 votes, or 46 percent. Another write-in candidate, John Kelleher, a Jamaica Plain Democrat, took 393 votes, or 3 percent; and Republican Samiyah Diaz won, 275 votes, or 2 percent.
If Chang-Díaz moves for a recount, she needs to submit collect 500 signatures – 50 from each of the 10 wards in the Second Suffolk District, which includes Chinatown, Fenway, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, the South End, Roxbury, and parts of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Dorchester, and Mattapan.
