Meh! Tuning N2 the Mayoral Race

The 'choice' for Mayor of Boston comes down to this: Marty Walsh or John Connolly.  While Walsh has the backing (and endorsements) of the Democratic Party establishment, Connolly still has sufficient 'juice' to wage a viable contest for the Mayor's Office.  

So both men have followed traditional paths to office within the Democratic Party. Here and now, this leaves us with a mayoral race that is culturally-coded as a class-based tension between those who rose through the ranks, however brief (as in the case of Marty Walsh) and those bred to hold office (e.g., John Connolly).  

Even though both men have been public officials for years now, neither are forwarding their voting records as a basis for comparison. Marty Walsh has been a State Representative  (Dorchester) since 1997; and has sponsored legislation and taken key votes that might give Boston voters some insight on how he'd govern the City as its Mayor.  

John Connolly has served as a Boston City Councillor-at-Large since 2007.  He has taken on two committee assignments that should be of interest to Boston voters: Education, the one he's made the linchpin of his campaign; Environment and Health, the one he's relying on to paint himself 'green.' 

(See upcoming post cautioning against political 'green-washing' campaigns hurt movements to build civic engagement capacity overtime.) 

Yet voters are basically expected to (quite literally) overlook the track records of candidates Walsh and Connolly in favor of the implicit frame of class-based warfare.  Once Marty Walsh and John Connolly are successfully cast as the working-class hero versus the hero of political elites, voters can simply prefer one or the other on that basis.  

So which one will I choose?  Meh!

Presidential Primaries, Local Elections

Next Tuesday the Boston Elections Commission will once again oversee the conduct of the Presidential primary elections.  Of course Boston's Election Department does the actual work of managing 254 polling locations throughout the City on election day.


This means the Election Department hires people to work on a per diem basis.  Even at this late date it might not be too late to get hired as a poll worker, especially if you are bi-lingual.  The application can be submitted electronically as well.


If you get hired as an Elections Officer in time for Tuesday's Presidential primaries (not very 'presidential,' actually), other than the early call (6 AM), it's likely to be easy day-work.  


Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, is considered the inevitable winner of the Republican primary; and Barack Obama, current President of the United States, is running unopposed for the Democrats.  So turnout will be low.  


Certainly this comes as no surprise, however.  Mattapan voters must be used to an 'air of inevitability' hoovering over local elections by now.  Most of our local elections afford an opportunity to cast a vote; but more often than not, candidates running for office in Mattapan are running unopposed.


There's so little real choice that's it's no wonder so few register to vote, and so many registered voters don't bother showing up at the polls.  


This suggests a call to action--something for our working group to consider going forward.  


If we want people to get involved--to register to vote, and vote on election day, then our elections should offer them viable options from which to choose.  

Key Organizing Principles

Think  GLOBALly

Act            Locally.

Action    

is (far) better than 

inaction.  

Why We Sing, Why We Cry

Mattapan. The neighborhood conjures up mixed feelings.... It is an absolutely beautiful place to live (quiet, even). There are great places to explore the outdoors (if you don't mind getting your shoes dirty); and public parks provide opportunities for outdoor recreation.  Yet Mattapan has the highest obesity rate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Why?


Although FLOTUS' Let's Move initiative is building steam, a Mattapan-based food and fitness coalition has sponsored an annual event for the past several years called "Mattapan Moving for Life."  It's not exactly creating a groundswell among Mattapan's 25,000 residents, however, especially given two key factors:

1. 26% of Mattapan residents are between 5 and 18 years old;  
2. living in 2800 Mattapan households.

In other words, this annual "family-friendly" event doesn't reach the vast majority of Mattapan households with children. Why not?


The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) treats Mattapan like it's a "food desert."  But is it?  The USDA obviously doesn't consider it so.  Mattapan is not color-coded pink on its "Food Desert Locator."  Still the W. K. Kellogg Foundation has funneled money through BPHC into Mattapan for years now; ostensibly to redress the lack of access to healthy foods there.  While a cornerstore initiative--called "Healthy on the Block"--has gained some traction, its too new to point to measurable outcomes; and too fragile because its funding raises questions about its sustainability.  


Mattapan is a relatively stable community: where forty-two percent (42%) of its housing stock are single-family homes; where thirty-four percent (34%) of households are owner-occupied.  Even though 54% of households are apartment dwellers, people 'check in,' but are slow to 'check out.'  


True to it's name, perhaps Mattapan is "a good place to be."  Contrary to this particular Native American translation (citation pending), a more sinister one posits that "Mattapan" means "evil is spread about the place" (Saugus Public Schools). Any wonder, then, that some refer to Mattapan pejoratively as "murder pan?" 


At the time of this writing, a trial is underway for a 2010 quadruple murder on Sutton Street: a drug robbery already wrong; horrified all of greater Boston when it resulted in the death of a babe in the arms of its mother. Sadly, crime will always haunt the 'hood' so long as those who would bear witness against such acts are characterized as "rat," "snitch," etc.  Cowering in fear is not freedom.  Silence is, in fact, a form of social death. 


So Mattapan has become a harbor, of sorts-- where Boston's criminal mischief often comes ashore.  Though it's painful to admit it, criminals do roam freely here; and with the Commonwealth's blessings.  


Several years ago, a "prisoner reentry center" was established right in the heart of Mattapan Square--the neighborhood's primary commercial center; over, and against the expressed wishes of community residents, in fact. 

Instead of representing the will of the community, with the lone exception of then State Rep. Shirley Owens-Hicks, most public officials took to the task of bringing the community along (for the ride). This was not the first, nor would it be, the last time.

Mattapan.  As if in the movies, a river runs right through it.  This river, named Neponset, is now thoroughly polluted; after a very long period of paper mills dotting its shores, dumping chemical contaminants into it, the Neponset River can no longer sustain life.  


All to say, the need for urgent action is great.  The Neponset River rushes on; a metaphor for the experience of living, working, and playing in Mattapan today.  Like the river, Mattapan can be a lure, but it can make you sick if you 'drink the water.'

Future posts will draw out, and on, this metaphor; as we look for action steps to advance Mattapan.