Dianne Wilkerson not ruling out independent bid; but could be in more legal trouble

Ah yes there is always an excuse with Wilkerson, she never makes a mistake or loses without their being some conspiracy behind it all. She had the overwelming support of the political establishment, and she still lost, thats not about race thats about Wilkerson being incapable of running an effective campaign. Patrick and Menino both have effective machines in all of those areas, between that and the machine she should have been working on she should have won easily. Incumbants almost always win...

I dont understand the line about being a state senator and not representing a core of the voting base. There is more to that district then "black" areas so does that mean Wilkerson, for all these years, has only represented the black voters? Does that mean Deval Patrick should not be governor because he doesnt represent a core segment of Massachusetts voters race wise? That contest was never about race, and Wilkerson should be ashamed of herself for bringing it up as if that was all that mattered. If she doesnt like how the district is layed out then thats a whole other fight she can fight (and should have been fighting all along.)

OH and one other thing, who moved thosevoting locations? Im sure it wasnt Chang-Diaz, I bet you it had something to do with City Hall, which is run by Menino, a Wilkerson supporter! If she wants to blame moving the locations fine, but she should have noticed those problems and been a good state senator and done something about it when the city made those decisions.

I share Wilkerson's discouragement that there is only one African-American in the State Senate. I'm also discouraged that there is no Latino representation in the body. I also would trust that Diane Wilkerson would have represented me, as a white constituent, and I trust Sonia Chang-Diaz will represent all of her constituents as well. I mean, look, this was a vote. The Democratic Party voters of her district choose the candidate the feel is best equipped to represent them. That shouldn't make anyone sick.

I think this does expose one of the flaws of racial gerrymandering designed to ensure representation of ethnic minorities in elected office. It can also force multiple underrepresented groups to compete for a single office representing racial diverse precincts. This can create an effect where by concentrating minority voters in one district, it also limits their ability to influence a wider group of officials directly representing those voters. Might black voters have more clout if instead of being the core of one district, were a significant voting block in several? These are complex issues, and I don't mean to suggest that there are right and wrong answers or that answers are easy to come by. But I'd worry about feeling like we've accomplished something by designing a single district to produce minority voices in the State Senate. We can do more.

Wilkerson was still in a fighting mood, claiming that Chang-Diaz won't represent the overwhelmingly black precincts in their 2nd Suffolk district:

So, you've got to have the same skin color to properly represent people in government? Racism, anyone?

"I think what [the primary outcome] proves is that you could be a state senator without representing a good core of this community," said Wilkerson, "and that makes me sick."

Maybe the community felt that her conduct on financial and criminal matters did not represent them, more than the color of her skin *did*.

black or white she was a corrupt politician that was elected over and over. not much different than some of the old, corrupt, irish pols in boston's history. im sure she took care of her base and thats who kept re-electing her. now people are seeing how important her office could be for everyone in that district. out with the old in with the new. i wish sonia chang-diaz all the luck in the world and d. wilkerson should have enough class to do the same thing.