Pregnant, White to stay in race

The last time Patricia White ran for office, she shook so many hands that she worried about swollen fingers. This time she'll worry about swollen ankles.

White said yesterday that she discovered she was pregnant only weeks after committing to a second run for an at-large seat on the Boston City Council.

Now, after consulting with friends, relatives, and her doctor, she says she's decided to go ahead with her campaign.

She believes she is the first pregnant woman to run for a Boston city office. Jane Swift became the first woman in Massachusetts to campaign for statewide office while pregnant when she ran for lieutenant governor in 1998.

"Everyone I talked to said, absolutely, I should go for it -- that I should try to do both and I can do both," said White, 35, who is due in the beginning of July.

"Thousands of women around Boston do the same thing every day."

Her parents, Kathryn and former Mayor Kevin H. White, support her decision, she said.

White said she expects to campaign hard through June, take time off to deliver, then return to the campaign trail in August.

"There's no question I'm going to have to campaign differently," said White, who lost by fewer than 900 votes in 2003. "At times there will be some physical limitations, especially as I'm heading into the eighth and ninth months. I'm not going to be standing in front of Forest Hills T station or the Roche Bros. for hours at a time. I'm not going to be able to walk in parades.

"There are things I won't be able to do, but my commitment will not be lessened."

After giving birth, she said, her family and a hired nanny will help care for her newborn child, whose sex she doesn't yet know.

Her campaign office will be close enough to her Roslindale apartment that she can return frequently during the day, she said.

As a new wife and mother, White has a perspective that will make her a stronger candidate, she said.

"We're trying to save for a house," she said. "So when people talk about affordable housing, I know what they're talking about. We'd like to be able to send our children to the Boston public schools, but I know that people leave the city for two reasons -- education and housing. These are issues I'm dealing with in my own life."

She's unsure how voters will react, but hopes that by election day she will have returned to her previous size and her pregnancy will be a nonissue.

"I don't know what the response will be," she said. "I think people will have an opinion. I'm hoping it will demonstrate my commitment to the city."

"People don't know how physical campaigning is," White added. "Try doing it with an extra 70 pounds."