Election shows new face of East Boston

The sign war is underway in East Boston, and like so many political contests in this neighborhood, it looks like another battle between members of the local Sons of Italy. The elections dates haven't even been set yet, but buildings are already papered with placards for Jeff Drago and Carlo Basile, pegged as the front-runners in the special election for the state representative seat left open with incumbent Anthony Petruccelli's recent victory in a special election for state Senate.

Mary Berninger, a longtime activist from the politically active Orient Heights neighborhood, has also thrown in for the seat. But the candidate giving the race a truly different flavor is Gloribell Mota.

The 31-year-old daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and the Dominican Republic is hoping to bring the makeup of the neighborhood's political leadership more in line with that of its residents.

An overwhelmingly Italian-American enclave 25 years ago, East Boston now is about 40 percent Latino, the biggest ethnic shift over that time in any Boston neighborhood. The huge change can be seen in everything from the restaurants that dot local business districts to the names of storefront insurance agencies. But it has barely made a dent in the political mix, where longtime residents still dominate the voter rolls, and the lineup of local officials reflects that.

Mota, on leave from her job on the staff of City Councilor Felix Arroyo, is fluent in Spanish, and equally comfortable with the policy debates on Beacon Hill and constituent worries on the ground. A graduate of East Boston High School with a degree from Emerson College, she ran the tenant task force at the Mary Ellen McCormack housing development in South Boston and worked on state tax policy for United for a Fair Economy, a national organization that focuses on income and wealth inequality.

Drago, 28, a longtime City Hall aide, is trying to parlay his Menino club membership into electoral victory, much as Petruccelli did when first elected rep nine years ago and City Councilor Sal LaMattina managed to do last year, when he won yet another Eastie special election. Meanwhile, Basile, 36, a former staffer at the state Registry of Motor Vehicles, is positioning himself as the independent candidate, a not-so-veiled reference to Drago's City Hall ties.

All four candidates are running in the Democratic primary -- though Basile has raised eyebrows because of his 2002 support for Mitt Romney and his backing of Kerry Healey in last year's governor's race.

Some Mota backers hope Drago and Basile will divide up the vote among the old guard while she cobbles together a coalition of Latinos and liberal-leaning voters. But buzz among Boston-area bloggers is no substitute for votes, and it's not clear where she will find hers.

Cesar Garcia was selling coconuts, mangoes, and other fruit last Sunday from a table in the parking lot of La Chiva, a Columbian restaurant in Day Square. On the brick wall behind him loomed an outsize sign for Petruccelli's now completed Senate campaign and three more for Basile, who has copied the same red, white, and blue color scheme.

Does he follow the local races? "Not so much," said Garcia, a Guatemalan native who has been here four years and is not eligible to vote.

When he won his seat 10 years ago, former city councilor Paul Scapicchio said his campaign combed voter lists and figured that about 275 Latinos in East Boston cast ballots. Last year, he said, LaMattina spent thousands of dollars targeting Latino voters in his race for City Council, yet only about 350 turned out. Many Latinos are not citizens and therefore can't vote, while few who are eligible do, said Scapicchio.

With a serious policy background and winning manner, Mota may be the most articulate candidate in the field. But Scapicchio said he's "not sure how the numbers can work for her."

Mota seems unfazed by her underdog status. "I believe I am exactly what East Boston has always been about and nourished," she said of the neighborhood's long history as a gateway for immigrant groups. And with a focus on education, public safety, and local services, she plans to go after votes from every corner.

"This is about what I want to do for all of us," she said.

Michael Jonas can be reached at jonas@globe.com.