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The battle to replace Boncore

CommonWealth Magazine surveys next Tuesday's special election to replace state Sen. Joe Boncore, which pits Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards against Revere School Committee Member Anthony D’Ambrosio. The district includes East Boston, the North End, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Revere, Winthrop and a bit of Cambridge.

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Comments

He seems incredibly smart and talented but he is still just a one term school committee member who spent most of his life elsewhere and has not lived a life that even the more moderately affluent people in the district would recognize.

It also does not help that Edwards is based out of East Boston but also has strong support in the other parts of the district.

His pathway to victory consists of a blizzard hitting the Boston area on election day with rain in Revere and Winthrop and a foot of snow everywhere else

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Here is my analysis over at EastBoston.com

https://eastboston.com/?p=5108

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So, is he a decent option or more in the Sica-Bernbaum, Mayor Carlo north shore shithead vein of politician? Lydia Edwards I am familiar with (and like).

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He is sending out dirty flyers. His supporters tend towards the “blue lives matter” crowd. Outsiders tend not to fare well at the State House, whereas Lydia has a deep well of allies to work with, not only in Boston but throughout the district. Check out the photos from each campaign; Anthony’s base is pretty white and old school Italian, while Lydia’s reflects the diversity of the district. She needs every vote, especially in Revere and Winthrop!

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If Edwards wins, who gets the Council seat?

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(another one) I believe.

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For some reason, it's different for at-large and district seats.

If an at-large councilor leaves early, the first runner up take his or her seat.

That's how Althea Garrison got on the council for awhile - she came in fifth and then Pressley went to Washington. And that's how Erin Murphy got sworn in early this year: After Wu became mayor, Wu's seat for like six weeks was going to go to 2019 fifth-place finisher (by one vote) Alejandra St. Guillen, who decided it just wasn't worth the bother, so the city turned to sixth-place finisher Erin Murphy, who won election outright last month.

But at the district level, the council has to call a special election to fill the remainder of the term. So if Edwards wins the primary and then the final (which will be a formality since there are no Republicans running), at some point voters in Charlestown, the North End and East Boston will get to vote in a special election to replace her as councilor.

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Looks like not just a Special Election, but a preliminary, too.

A couple of years ago the City Council voted to extend their terms to 4 years claiming it would save money on biannual elections. If they're serious about saving money, come up with ways to cut down on the number of special elections and preliminaries for minor offices instead.

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I fully agree with this. There must be a way to handle these special elections better. The claim is that they can not sit vacant because people deserve representation. Is it really representation though when the only time we get to choose someone is during special shotgun elections where only the wealthiest and most connected can rush across the finish line?I would make an argument that having the seat empty for a year is better for Democracy than just launching a sprint to the finish line every time it opens.

Maybe they could designate the Council President as placeholder and that person can continue to direct the staff of the person who is leaving.

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...even old enough to vote? to drive? to attend the middle school prom?

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Or is it odd to anyone else to have a non parent on a school committee? I don’t know this gentleman from Adam and I’m sure he is fine/ nice but something about it just throws me off.

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