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Dorchester resident running for mayor

Dana Depelteau

Dana Depelteau filed papers with the state last week to run for Boston mayor this year.

In an interview, Depelteau acknowledged fairly few people have ever heard of him, but says problems related to youth violence, which ultimately tie into everything from education to gentrification, are just not getting the attention they need and that that convinced him to run.

That and the personal impact of Covid-19. Depelteau said he began thinking of running for mayor after he lost his job as a manager with Hilton Hotels last March due to the pandemic.

Why not start smaller and run for city council? He said the council just doesn't seem to have a grasp or ability to make major changes in the city, that it doesn't really know how to "work a budget."

"I don't necessarily find the city council to be beneficial," he said. He paused to think of what the council might have accomplished in recent years. "The plastic-bag ban," he concluded.

Depelteau, a New Hampshire native who has lived with his husband on Claybourne Street off Park Street in Dorchester for seven years, pointed to example of the problems caused by ongoing youth violence: As some parts of Dorchester and Roxbury gentrify, the gang members who live there are being forced to move onto unfamiliar turf - which could be leading to even more violence as they are forced to defend themselves from members of other gangs who already live there.

He said a key part of the solution is to do something about housing prices, to stabilize neighborhoods so longtime residents are not forced to move out. He said he would look at a moratorium on new residential development to sort the issue out rather than letting gentrification worsen.

Depelteau acknowledges the seeming contradiction of a gay white professional who moved into a largely minority neighborhood arguing he can deal with gentrification, but says his experience would make him a far better ally to his neighbors because he understands what they're going through.

He pointed to Michelle Wu's emphasis on improving the T. "That's like downtown Boston issues," he said. "It's not really Boston issues."

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Comments

isn't a Boston issue? And this guy, who admits that he IS gentrification, thinks he's going to win over voters in Dorchester and Roxbury by saying the T isn't an issue for them?

AND he thinks completely shutting off development will keep people in their homes?

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He's partly right LOTs of "Boston" have scant little good MBTA access. Look at the main part of Charlestown; Look at Brighton near Chestnut Hill; Look at Roslindale; or Readville (Hyde Park); or West Roxbury; or North End.

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"That's like downtown Boston issues," he said. "It's not really Boston issues."

Lol.

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Spoken like a true gentrification dunce. "I just drive to Whole Foods, who really takes the T in Dorchester anyways?"

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Apparently the 28, Ruggles-Nubian-Mattapan, is a "downtown issue". And so is the 111, Chelsea-Haymarket...

I can't wait to see this guy get called out for his (highly obvious) racism and class-ism.

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So he's only lived here (as a gentrifier, btw) for 7 years, has no children, thinks the T is a downtown Boston issue (is that not still Boston?) and is pretty much only running because he lost his hotel job? And then dismisses City Council (even if some points were made), which he would have to work with if even elected. If this is not privilege.....please just chill 2021. Still haven't recovered from last year.

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"That's like downtown Boston issues," he said. "It's not really Boston issues.""

What??? This guy is CLUELESS. And he identifies himself as "gay white professional who moved into a largely minority neighborhood". Well, I'm a gay white professional who grew up and still lives in a largely minority neighborhood of Boston and I still think he's clueless. Except now I think he's a clueless stereotype.

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to him. But he is completely wrong about the T not being a Boston issue. Tell it to the residents who live on overcrowded (before COVID) bus lines that take forever.

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It's not clear to me who interviewed this guy, was it you Adam?

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I talked to him by phone.

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I love this level of interest and access but if this guy decided the voters needed to hear from him and initiated the conversation, I admire his self confidence in reverse proportion to my esteem for his suitability for the gig.

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His solution to rising housing prices is a moratorium on new housing?

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Citizens: Housing is too expensive!

City: OK, We'll approve some new housing. More units will reduce demand.

Citizens: NO! That would be gentrifying! Only rich people would live there and our rents will go up.

City: OK, We'll only allow low-income housing.

Citizens: NO! We want developers who are going to build things with lots of public amenities. And we only want small buildings so they fit in and don't cause traffic.

City: So no new units?

Citizens: NO! You've got to do something to get more people housed. And also lower rents!

City: Umm, We'll just conduct endless hearings and hope to pass the blame.

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Are there any other cities we can look to, which have managed to stabilize or reduce housing prices by allowing a whole lot of new housing?

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N/t

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Houston TX. They never had to stabilize because they never tried so hard to regulate it. They have notoriously lax zoning.

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but I am a landlord in the Fenway/Kenmore area. A single condominium unit.

Rents pre-Covid were down 10% from 5 years earlier, and are obviously even lower now. All of that construction on Boylston pushed neighborhood rents down considerably at a time when prices elsewhere were going up.

FWIW

But also: giant sprawling cities in the South and Southwest, like Houston. I'm not arguing we want to become a giant sprawling 8 lane highway, but it is an example of lots of new housing and rents staying low.

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Tokyo. Hong Kong. Austin. Actually most cities in Texas.

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How many signatures does a person need to get on the ballot?

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Twice the requirement to run for City Council at large, and 15 times the requirement to run for most district seats (for the others, the requirement is even less.)

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Stopping the creation of new housing is *exactly* what a growing city needs.

And managing a hotel really qualifies you as an expert on youth violence.

Living near someone absolutely means that you understand their struggles.

::pause for the sarcasm to sink in::

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Swing and a miss on housing. Yikes.

There's no reason to feel bad about winning a bidding war, dude. That's life in a capitalist country. Opposing building of housing, however, is simply not human.

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I know this individual personally. He is not in tune with the black and brown community simply because he lives amongst us. He is pushy,overly sensitive and actually can’t even put an email together without spelling errors. I find it funny someone else on this thread mentioned privilege because I too advised him of just that.

You will need more than a desire and will to be mayor. You need the people of Boston! Pretty ambitious but start with a state representative position first and get to know the system first

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At least we'll have one Dorchester resident running for mayor who pays their taxes on time.

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At least Pat Payoso (RIP Kevin) wore makeup.

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Remind me, if I ever decide to run for office, not to rush here to read the comments about my candidacy.

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If you endorse taking a sledgehammer to the police budget, firing all the teachers and rehiring the good ones, and keeping government the (expletive) out of homebuilding and bar ownership, then, not only will I not trash you, I'll carry you in triumph like Ralphie's classmates did when he got the A+++++ on his essay in A Christmas Story.

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Given that the idea of spending most nights at public hearings is really depressing, I think I'll just hang around here and express my thoughts, rather than ask people for their votes.

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because apparently, no one else in his life is willing to be honest with him.

or, he's surrounded by people just like himself who don't even see all the problems with his "platform".

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using recycled, rusty nail infused plywood signs, hand painted in kelly green is a guaranty of a 25% primary vote share. This is solid Boston political advice.

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He should fit right in at City Hall.

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Maybe go work in City Hall and fix everything, how hard can it be, amirite? /s

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I'm quite familiar how hiring works at City Hall.

And I'll continue to criticize it even if I don't work there to fix things up., and as I already said.. this guy sounds clueless and will fit right in.

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I don’t live in Downtown Crossing and the bus route I use to take my child to school was eliminated.

Right. Sorry about the pandemic layoff, but managing a franchise hotel is not necessarily the experience we need to run our City.

FYI, City Council may be boring, but they do help constituents and approve the city budget.

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But hit the nail on the head regarding the council.

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Is he saying "As their natural habit is threatened, they move into new territory and are forced to compete for resources"?

That's a completely batshit argument, all the more so because he doesn't even seem to realize the implied racism in it.

Also: He suggests a moratorium on residential development to prevent gentrification. How would that work? People still need housing; if there's less of it available, it'll cost more; if it costs more, that drives gentrification.

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So his main platform is that gentrification is bad because it displaces gang members?

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Get him to post

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.. would encourage one of them to run and support their campaign, instead of insisting on speaking for them.

politically inexperienced gentrifier with a white savior complex attempting to fail upward in life, how novel.

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"he began thinking of running for mayor after he lost his job as a manager with Hilton Hotels"

just perfect.

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