For Councilor Turner, indictment is no obstacle to reelection

Turner, 69, was indicted last year on allegations that he accepted $1,000 in cash in exchange for helping a nightclub win a liquor license. Turner has strongly denied the charges, pointing to his beat-up Mazda and his modest home as evidence that he is not one to live a high-end lifestyle.

He is scheduled to appear in a federal courtroom in March, and some voters who didn't vote for Turner said the unresolved case factored into their decisions. State Senator Dianne Wilkerson, a Roxbury Democrat who was indicted on related charges, lost her reelection bid last year and was forced to resign from her seat.

But to Turner, the message from voters was clear.

"I think we can see in the community’s reaction to the attempt of [former] US Attorney [Michael] Sullivan and others to drive me out of office ... that the community not only says no to that, but at the same time gives unprecedented votes for at-large candidates of color," he said.

Henriques expressed disappointment at the results.

"We need to continue to raise the level of expectations of residents in Roxbury," Henriquez, a 32-year-old community activist who also lost to Turner in 2007, said last night in a telephone interview. "I’m a little disappointed by the fact that 60 percent of our residents think the level of services are adequate."

"This is not something they should accept," he added. "Eventually, they’re going to have to hold him accountable.”

Henriquez refrained from making an issue of Turner’s indictment during the campaign, instead focusing on a critique of issues in the district, including public safety, schools, and clean streets.

Turner, a long-time activist who was first elected to the City Council in 1999, easily won a four-way preliminary election in September, with nearly 53 percent of the vote. Despite his indictment, Turner garnered more than twice the votes of his nearest challenger, a victory that he called “a resounding mandate.”

Following his speech at his district office, Turner and several dozen supporters went to Slades Grill in Roxbury, where live jazz music played and fried chicken was served.

"The people spoke tonight," said Kevin Donalds, a 33-year-old community organizer from Roxbury. "We all came out to prove all of the propaganda against Mr. Turner wrong."

A dozen voters interviewed this afternoon at the Orchard Gardens Community Center in Roxbury were almost evenly divided between Turner and Henriquez.

Those who supported Turner either didn’t believe the charges against him, didn’t care about them, or thought they should be overlooked.

“Innocent until proven guilty," said James Thomas, a 65-year-old retired Roxbury resident.
Those who voted against Turner said they were ready for a change, even if they didn’t know much about his opponent.

“New blood,” said Antonio Ortiz, a 60-year-old Roxbury resident who voted for Henriquez. “I don’t like any politicians who take dirty money. If people clamor for change, you’ve got to give a chance to new people.”

Winning an election while under a legal cloud has a strong precedent in Massachusetts political history.

Former Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, in fact, was elected to the Board of Aldermen in 1904 while in prison. In 1945, he was elected mayor while under federal indictment for mail fraud.

Thomas J. Lane of Lawrence successfully ran for reelection to the US House in 1956 after pleading guilty to federal income tax evasion.

In 1984, the assistant majority leader in the Massachusetts House, Vincent J. Piro of Somerville, won the Democratic primary after being indicted for allegedly taking a $5,000 bribe, saying he had to “grease a few guys” to get him a special liquor license. His opponent, Sal Albano, then ran in the general election as a write-in candidate and won.