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Progressives try to capture Democratic committees in Boston
By adamg on Thu, 01/30/2020 - 9:22am
On March 3, Democratic voters in Boston will get to vote for both a presidential candidate and members of their ward committee. The Bay State Banner reports on efforts by progressives to win those seats - and focuses on Ward 18, which includes large parts of Roslindale and Mattapan, but which has long been dominated by people from Hyde Park.
Boston ward map (1.5M PDF).
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
Can they update the boundaries?
So Roslindale isn't chopped up into 3 wards? I get that it's not possible to do something as neatly as Charlestown or East Boston but it's silly.
The article mentions "educating people on what wards do."
Then fails to mention what ward committees do. What do they do and why should people vote for them? I've lived here almost all my life and have never heard of these ward committees.
As designed!
They're supposed to help neighbors have a say in government, build grassroots activism for candidates & policies, hold community meetings, elect convention delegates who shape the platform and endorse statewide candidates.
Historically they have tended to be insular and served to promote the political efforts of their own members without reaching out to the community.
In Ward 18 a large chunk of the Democratic Ward Committee were out stumping for Charlie Baker...
Ward 18 Democrats who stumped for Baker
tmrozzie you stated in your post that "In Ward 18 a large chunk of the Democratic Ward Committee were out stumping for Charlie Baker..." Please name the persons in Ward 18 who stumped for Baker, whether there is any evidence or any reports of this etc. The reason for this request is that if a person stumps for a Republican or anyone running against a Democrat candidate, per Massachusetts Democrat party rules such persons are not allowed to attend the state (and possibly national) Democrat convention
Ward Committees!
Boston has 22 Wards. There are Democratic, Republican, and a few committees for smaller parties. Ward Committees SHOULD act as the grassroots of their respective parties. Sadly, many of Boston's Ward Committees are essentially dormant and/or secretive. So, depending on where you live, you might never hear about them because they don't want you to. This is part of the reason why these progressive groups are organizing to challenge their local insular Ward Committees.
One big job Committees have is to hold caucuses each year to elect delegates to their party's state convention. This year, the democrat caucuses have to be held between February 15 and March 22. Each Ward is supposed to advertise the date and time of their caucus since they are open to anyone who is registered with the party and lives in the Ward. During nominating (election) years, candidates have to get 15% of the delegates at the convention to vote for them to get on the primary ballot. For example, if Joe Kennedy III doesn't get 15% of delegate votes at the Democratic State Convention this May, he won't be on the primary ballot.
Active and transparent Ward Committees hold monthly meetings that are open to the public. Typically these meetings include discussions with local politicians (e.g. City Councilors, State Reps, State Senators) and local activist groups. Ward Committees endorse candidates and legislation, knock doors, send mailers, hold community events, host candidate forums, and hold their elected officials accountable.
A couple examples active Democratic Committees are Ward 4 (https://bostonward4dems.org/) and Ward 5 (https://bostonward5dems.org/).
You can key your address in here (http://www.sec.state.ma.us/wheredoivotema//bal/myelectioninfo.aspx) to find out what Ward you're in.
All democrats registered to vote in ward can join ward committee
Ryan's summary of ward committees is a good one however he left out an important element.
That is everyone who is a registered Democrat who is registered to vote in the subject ward who has attended the requisite number of meetings (usually 3) can join the ward committee. If there are no elective slots left then said persons can join as associate members.
Per transparency and inclusion one doesn't have to have a certain ideology, live in a certain section of the ward, be of a certain race etc to be on the ward committee
Legitimate ward committees encourage everyone who is a registered democrat registered to vote in the subject ward to join the ward committee, the more persons who are members of the ward committee the better. Associate members have all benefits and rights as elected members including voting for endorsements and officers etc. The only thing they can not do is be officers of certain positions. Technically the by laws call for associate members to be voted on however there has never been a vote against anyone joining the committee as far as is known.
The present ward 18 committee has never had a vote on associate members as the do not have meetings. This is in violation of the Massachusetts Democrat party charter which requires ward committees to have at least 4 meetings a year and practice transparency and inclusion.
Ward Committees
Ward committees are run by local politicians, and are all rigged.
Not anymore
We ran an independent slate in Eastie and won. We are not beholden to any politicians only the community of Ward 1.
The Ward 18 effort is
The Ward 18 effort is primarily an organizing effort by Michelle Wu in preparation to take on Marty Walsh. Not knocking it or her, that's just obviously what it is. She's the leader of it if you know what's going on or even just look at their Facebook page - Fresh Slate for Boston Ward 18.
Do they have people running
Do they have people running against them? A lot of those spaces do not have opponents and I won't vote for someone running unopposed.
Yes they do
Most or all of the current ward committee are running for reelection. They (35 of them) will appear on the ballot first, followed by the "Fresh Slate" challengers. This extract from their Facebook page lists the 35 names of those who are running to replace the current committee members.
Link?
Thx.
Link
I didn't include the link before because I was looking (unsuccessfully) for a page that didn't need a Facebook login, but here it is:
https://www.facebook.com/freshslatew18/
All politics are local
Where do progressives stand on these issues?
Free MBTA rides
Body Cams for all police officers working in the city
Gentrification
Rent control
Juvenile Justice
Protecting the homeless
Black Lives Matter
Ward Committee Members?
Does anyone know where to find a list of who is on each ward committee? My google-fu is coming up fairly empty... Have only been able to find the chairs of each committee here: https://massdems.org/your-party/town-and-ward-committees/
Ward Committee members
Here are the results from the 2016 Ward Committee elections. I didn't look closely at these results but if the number of candidates listed for each ward matches the "VOTE FOR UP TO nn" above each listing, then all the candidates were elected.
https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/2016%20-%2003-01-16%20-%20...
Elections are held each presidential election year in conjunction with the presidential preference primary. Therefore, these are the latest results.
Great place to get government job, pension
These committees are partisan by their very nature and mostly powerless as they do not represent or allow all voters (just Democrats) to participate. Republicans have the same thing but usually don't even fill the full slate. Despite the insignificance, they are a great place to go and mingle to get a government job, preferably one you've already identified but they will find one for you. Most already have one and are happy to share the wealth. It's a place for the grassroots (hacks) to network. For those seeking a career change and the pension that follows, it would be a good time to go "all in" with the progressives, then a in a couple of years tell Mayor Wu you were in the trenches on the ward committee back in 2020 when nobody cared. You'll also have the rare distinction of saying you won an election in Boston. Baker will also be dumped soon so you can tell the potential Democrat Governor you "paid your dues" on the ward committee.
Future Governor Healey
is a member of the Democratic Party, which you, like other right-wing jackasses, are apparently immune from saying.
Maura Healey, the conservative alternative to Baker
I agree with you on Governor Healey, so no need of the name calling
Joe BidenCoyote137. Healey's politics aren't my cup of tea but she has my vote against Baker. In fact, any non-crackpot Democrat will have most of the Republican vote, save for those who got a six figure job through Baker. Baker would be smart to run for re-election on both Democrat and Republican ballots because he could easily get knocked off in his own party. As Howie Carr said on-air, Polito has zero chance at Governor if Baker bails.Ward Committee
Sometimes the number of candidates on the ballot is less than the available slots.
You can write your own name on the ballot and maybe get elected if there aren't any other write-ins.
I did this once and it worked.
The other ward committee members looked at me funny when I showed up at the meeting and elected me as secretary. That meant I had to file an annual report with the Secretary of State. Pretty sneaky revenge from the ward heavies !
Ward..
What are we going to do about the Beaver?
Ward,
Weren't you a bit rough on the Beaver last night?
I think Eddie H had his eye
I think Eddie H had his eye on the beaver,,,,,,,,
Here's a full list of current Ward Committee Members
From the 2016 ballot:
https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/2016%20-%2003-01-16%20-%20...
Holdover from the past
When Republicans spit at European immigrants Democrats rushed to helping out. Late19th to 20th century. Like many institutions the club or whatnot outlives its need and becomes a thing that justifies itself.
Wards now are organized suckups. They exist to satisfy their members, but are negligent to dealing with the city as a whole.
I don't vote wards. I vote candidates. A ward endorsement means nothing to me. Tamany Hall died; it's cousins are on life support.*
*Tammany Hall did good when the established powers could not dirty their hands by reaching out to the bizarre south and east Europeans, the millions of greasy Catholics with their magical ways.
But as Tammany Hall calcified into it's own version of established and closed power, so have wards.
Jefferson's quote about nourishing the Tree of Liberty is extreme in its literal rendering, but absolutely wise in its essence.
Many of the leaders of the day are beyond old. In the days of early urban democracy they could still add to the well being of the city; but today, the traditional "big city" leaders are incapable of leading. They can only follow their predecessors; they can not see that the present is not their past.
All politics is petty...
...at least when it comes to ward committees. My advice is stay away from them! The fights, the feuds, they are nothing but a breeding ground for Irish Alzheimers. No power except to serve as an arena for the rival factions aligned with various politicians and self-styled, wannabe ward bosses. Generally they are filled with the type of people who make campaigns miserable: they won't do a thing except complain. The comment that Wu is behind the campaign in Ward 18 rings true.
good info about wards.
Good info in this thread about wards. Thanks to all who added to it.
As for the progressive push-. I unfortunately suspect they will be the key to a Trump 2020 victory. The last 2 popular dem Presidents were fairly moderate and charismatic. I just can't see Warren, et al., winning Florida, Pa, Michigan, etc. I'd like to see Klobachar, Buttegeg get more traction.
Ward 1 Fresh Slate Won
Ward 1 Fresh Slate Group 2 Won and is now working to organize this new Ward Committee. Learn more here: https://freshslateeastie.org/