Co-op boards keep their power

Veto opponents say wide leeway allows class bias

A fight over screenings by exclusive housing cooperatives in the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and Cambridge ended this month when Governor Deval Patrick vetoed a bill that would have forced co-ops to admit anyone who could afford to buy.

That makes two years in a row that co-ops have scored a victory at the State House, despite arguments by lawmakers who say it is unfair to exclude would-be apartment purchasers for anything other than financial grounds.

Patrick told the Legislature he vetoed the bill again because he continues to believe that it would hamper efforts to create affordable housing in the state and possibly block creation of new complexes for the elderly as well as co-ops for artists.

"I am concerned that this bill undermines the efforts of my administration to enhance affordable housing options and protect vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, from the housing crisis," Patrick wrote in a veto letter.

Lawmakers who see the issue as one of class discrimination, not affordable housing, vowed to file their bill again next year.

The bill was first filed last year after a Beacon Hill co-op board rejected John P. Walsh, the chief executive of the Elizabeth Grady chain of skin-care salons, saying he "would not reasonably coalesce as a member of this cooperative community."

Walsh, who grew up in a Somerville housing project, claimed he was dis criminated against because he wasn't a "blue blood."

State Representative Barry R. Finegold, a longtime friend of Walsh's, said he was "absolutely baffled" by Patrick's decision to veto the latest version of the bill, which Finegold said had been redrafted to address opponents' concerns. It was passed by the Legislature on July 31, the last day of the formal session.

"To say I was disappointed in the governor is an understatement," said Finegold, an Andover Democrat. "We modified. We compromised. We worked with the anti-people."

Senator Bruce E. Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, said he, too, embraced the cause after learning of Walsh's experience.

"When I heard that this kind of discriminatory practice was being allowed to happen in this era, I was appalled," he said. "I thought this kind of thing had vanished from the landscape."

But Representative Martha M. Walz, a Boston Democrat who represents Beacon Hill and Back Bay, opposed the bill as unnecessary, because existing laws already bar housing discrimination in Massachusetts.

"I don't think there's a problem here that we need to solve," said Walz. "The law allowing co-ops is specifically designed to let people create a community within their building, as long as people aren't being discriminated against based on their race or gender."

She said that since Walsh made his claims she has not heard "a single story" of anyone else being improperly "denied the ability to buy a co-op."

On the other hand, she said, she has heard from constituents living in co-ops who are afraid that the law would hamper their ability to screen out dangerous criminals, or disruptive college students.

"Some of the co-ops in the Fenway are concerned they would have to allow any sort of sexual offender to buy into their building," she said.

Even if the bill eventually passes, it won't help Walsh.

The legislation, which would also require co-op boards to give rejected candidates a written explanation, would apply only to future co-op sales. Finegold said the bill is no longer about Walsh, who is staying put on the North Shore.

"As much as he's been the focus, he's never going to live in any of these co-ops," Finegold said. "That's a foregone conclusion. He was rejected. It's not about him. It's about the next person."

He said there are 60 to 70 cooperative buildings in the area, mainly in Boston and Cambridge.

"Not all co-ops are bad, but there are those that still use cooperatives to discriminate. We need to end that," he said.

In October 2006, Walsh filed suit against the board of 68 Beacon St., whose members include Jonathan Winthrop, a descendent of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The case went to trial in May, ending with a confidential settlement after two weeks.

Walsh could not be reached for comment Friday. His lawyer, Peter Antonelli, would not discuss the lawsuit or the settlement. "John Walsh supports the legislation and believes in the principles behind it," he said.