Legislators face another thorny election-year issue
Yesterday's redistricting decision drops another contentious battle into the laps of state legislators, who are already dealing with the divisive gay marriage debate and fights over the state budget.
The decision, in particular, leaves House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran to juggle another major issue, one that has a direct bearing on his own political future. By ruling that the speaker and his lieutenants drew all 17 Boston districts in a way that sidelines minority voters, the US District Court dealt a direct blow to Finneran's power. One of the districts is Finneran's own.
"In a political season full of very tough issues, this may be the toughest issue of all for Finneran," said Lou Di Natale, a political analyst at the McCormack Institute of the University of Massachusetts at Boston. "He already had a full plate. This is a scoop of mashed potatoes too much."
Now the redistricting panel will have to go back to the drawing board -- or more accurately, its computer program -- to redraw the boundaries in a way that satisfies the court. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit want a majority-Latino district in Chelsea and East Boston and the "unpacking" of two districts that are filled with minority voters to allow those residents to influence elections in adjacent districts.
Redrawing the districts while dealing with gay marriage and ongoing budget hearings won't be easy, but Finneran's trusted lieutenants say the House leadership is up to the task.
"This is what leadership is all about. You can't predict everyday what issues are going to come to the forefront," said Representative Peter J. Larkin, a Pittsfield Democrat. "Clearly the court case is a setback, but it's one we can deal with, and we have time to do that."
Finneran declined to comment on the ruling, but spokesman Charles Rasmussen said the speaker believes "the most important task ahead of us is to complete an honest balanced budget on time."
Even some of Finneran's opponents have faith in his ability to deal with the court ruling and perhaps even benefit from it.
"I certainly don't expect him to act battered and bruised as a result of this decision," said Representative Paul C. Demakis, a Boston Democrat. "He has survived to the extent that he has because he takes things like this and turns them into opportunities."
Finneran's testimony last year that he didn't pay much attention to how the redistricting plan would affect his own district, even though he is well known for micromanaging the House, was widely greeted with derision. The court rejected that testimony in a footnote yesterday.
"Although Speaker Finneran denied any involvement in the redistricting process, the circumstantial evidence strongly suggests the opposite conclusion," the three-judge panel wrote in a footnote to yesterday's ruling. "For one thing, he handpicked the members of the [Redistricting] Committee and placed [Representative Thomas M.] Petrolati at the helm. For another thing, he ensured the Committee hired his boyhood friend and longtime political collaborator, Lawrence DiCara, as its principal functionary."
Greenberger can be reached at greenberger@globe.com. 