With Ramirez leaving, representation gap felt

LOWELL -- George Ramirez made history two years ago when he became the first Latino ever to be elected to the City Council.

But this is where the story will end, at least for the time being: Ramirez, whose election drew attention to the Merrimack Valley's growing Latino population, recently announced that he is not seeking reelection after just one term, ending hopes that the City Council will continue to have Latino representation. No Latino candidate is running this fall.

Ramirez said he had no idea of the time required as a city councilor and needs to walk away to spend more time with his family.

For some Latinos in Lowell, the 43-year-old lawyer's story is a familiar one: He came to the old mill city as a child from Colombia, knowing little English, but made a name for himself despite the odds.

For others, though, Ramirez was a lucky man who won office mainly because he married into a well-connected political family and whose experience does not reflect those of many in the Latino community.

Regardless of those sentiments, Ramirez says he believes his accomplishment has opened the door for other Latinos to win a political seat in Lowell in the future. And he is at peace with his decision not to seek reelection to the City Council, where he has found both allies and adversaries on various issues.

"I found that being on the council [has been] an excellent, excellent experience," he said in a telephone interview. "While we haven't always agreed on everything, I've enjoyed it."

Ramirez, whose term ends in December, won in his second try. The son of a machinist and the product of Lowell's upscale Belvidere neighborhood, he attended the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and later Suffolk Law School. His wife, Kathy , is the daughter of former state senator Daniel Leahy, and her brother, John Leahy, is a local School Committee member.

Jeffrey Gerson , an associate professor of political science at UMass-Lowell, said those were the connections that propelled Ramirez into office, not his Latino background, because he did not come from an activist, organizing, or union background.

"He wasn't a candidate of the Latino community," said Gerson. "People active in Latino politics did not see him as one of them."

Ramirez himself acknowledges that he did not use his background to garner votes. Rather, he said, he focused on his ideas.

"It wasn't my goal to be the first Latino" to win a City Council seat, he said. "My mom was the one who was proud of that fact."

During his campaign, Ramirez distanced himself from the Latino community, even though some community members would have liked to have made that affiliation, said Gerson, who said he even tried to help Ramirez make connections in Lowell's Puerto Rican community but was unsuccessful.

"When he was running, I didn't know him at all," said Maria Lopez, project coordinator for the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership and a longtime Lowell resident. "Even though he was Hispanic, I didn't know where he was coming from."

In Lowell, all city councilors are elected at-large, in contrast to places like Lawrence where candidates could run to represent a particular district or ward.

Based on that reality, Ramirez said he had to run a "mainstream" campaign in order to win over white voters, because he could not have won without their support.

"My advice to future [Latino] candidates is . . . don't run from a Latino point of view," said Ramirez, whose victory was clinched with strong support from largely white precincts.

Gerson said the at-large system in Lowell prevents more people of color from winning because the structure favors the city's more established, white ethnic groups that make up the majority of Lowell's voters.

According to the US Census, more than 60 percent of Lowell's approximately 100,000 residents are white. Asian-Americans make up 21 percent of the city's residents and are Lowell's largest minority group, while Latino residents make up 16 percent of the population.

Ramirez said that while he was on the City Council, he worked to "professionalize" the city manager position and pushed for all regulatory board meetings to be televised on a local channel.

"I didn't have a large agenda, but I came in with those two goals," he said, adding he is proud of those accomplishments.

Lopez said she found Ramirez "approachable" as a councilor. "Did he do anything for the Hispanic community? I'm sure," she said.

However, Gerson said Ramirez had a chance to make his mark for Latinos, but didn't take it. "He didn't open up City Hall for Latinos," he said.

Giovanna Negretti , executive director of ¡Oíste! , a statewide nonprofit group that trains Latino candidates to run for office, called Ramirez's term a "lost opportunity" for Lowell.

"In terms of a legacy, he leaves none," said Negretti. "If he had done his job, he would have mentored someone to be his replacement."

Now, she said, Lowell may not see another Latino on the council for years because the city's at-large system makes it hard for most to realistically have a chance of winning.

Ramirez disagrees.

"I think we'll have another one. Yes," he said.

"I'd like to think that some high school or college kid was sitting and watching me and saying, 'If that guy can do it, I can do it.' "

Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.