Democrats divided on Wilkerson candidacy

Senator Dianne Wilkerson is waging a sticker campaign.

A rally this week led by Governor Deval Patrick was billed as a unity event to pull Democrats behind state Senate primary winner Sonia Chang-Diaz. But Boston Democrats are anything but unified.

Incumbent Senator Dianne Wilkerson's bid to retain her seat with a sticker campaign in the general election, despite her narrow loss to Chang-Diaz in the primary, is dividing the city's politicians.

Patrick, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, and Senate President Therese Murray have lined up behind Chang-Diaz, despite having supported Wilkerson in the primary. Chang-Diaz also has the support of state Representatives Byron Rushing and Marie St. Fleur, both of Boston.

"The governor's decision was very straightforward," said Steve Crawford, a Patrick campaign spokesman. "Sonia Chang-Diaz is the Democratic nominee, and he has endorsed her."

John Walsh, chairman of the state Democratic Party, has been calling Boston's elected officials reminding them of the party's rules and urging them to support Chang-Diaz, or at least stay silent during Wilkerson's sticker campaign. Supporting Wilkerson will have consequences, the party said, such as revocation of party leadership posts and withdrawn invitations to party conventions.

But many Boston politicians worry that supporting Chang-Diaz could hurt their own political fortunes, given Wilkerson's popularity in Roxbury and lower Dorchester, neighborhoods where the 15-year incumbent received strong support in the primary.

As a result, many city leaders - including, most prominently, Mayor Thomas M. Menino - skipped the Wednesday unity rally led by Patrick and have not pledged support for Chang-Diaz. Menino insisted in an interview this week that worry about a backlash from Wilkerson's supporters in Dorchester and Roxbury had nothing to do with his neutrality.

"If anybody wants to say that, let them say it," said Menino, who has not announced whether he intends to seek reelection next year. Menino's official reason for not endorsing Chang-Diaz is that he is too busy on another matter: working for the defeat of Question 1 on the state ballot, a referendum that would eliminate the state's income tax.

"If Question 1 [does not get] defeated, I won't have to worry about anyone's alienation," Menino said in an interview. Besides Menino, three at-large members of the Boston City Council - Sam Yoon, Stephen J. Murphy, and John Connolly - did not attend the rally, held at the Harriet Tubman House in the South End.

They gave various explanations for staying silent in the general election.

"I am as divided as the district is," said Yoon, who is exploring a potential 2009 mayoral run. "I have been in the trenches with Senator Wilkerson, and I know that she is a fighter who works to give voice to people who haven't had a voice. Sonia Chang-Diaz represents a new generation of political leadership and is exciting. So the district has kind of an embarrassment of riches."

Connolly said he had to balance party loyalty and personal loyalty. "I'm not going to actively work against the party's nominee, but I feel a loyalty to Dianne, and I appreciate what Dianne did for me," Connolly said.

Councilor Charles Yancey, whose ward includes parts of Wilkerson's Senate district, said he is supporting Wilkerson despite party pressure to get behind the primary winner.

"I would ask why would the party be so aggressive in weighing in in this race where they have two Democratic candidates," Yancy said. "This is not a case of Wilkerson switching parties. She has made a commitment to continue to support the Democratic party. I think it's kind of shabby the way she's being treated by the Democratic Party."

Some leaders worry that the extended campaign could be racially divisive, because many of Wilkerson's supporters have lamented that a Chang-Diaz victory would cost the Senate its lone black voice.

"The seat was originally created as a safe seat for a person with roots in the black and Latino community," said Roxbury City Councilor Chuck Turner, a member of the Green Party and a Wilkerson supporter. "The seat wasn't created just so a person of color could be elected, but someone who had done work within the (community) organizations, and that hasn't been Ms. Chang-Diaz's focus."

Wilkerson campaign manager Boyce Slayman was clear about what he thought the political consequences could be for supporters of Chang-Diaz. "Is it smart politics to abandon someone who's very strong here for a nobody and then come back to that community and say, 'Hey, vote for me?' " Slayton said. "The question is, will this community forgive the governor if their state senator loses?"

Chang-Diaz, a former Jamaica Plain schoolteacher and policy analyst, upset the longtime incumbent Wilkerson by 213 votes in the Sept. 16 primary. Many voters said they were voting against Wilkerson's history of legal and campaign finance troubles. Wilkerson said less than a week later that she would wage a sticker campaign, hoping the expected high turnout in the presidential election would bring more of her supporters to the polls.

John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com.