Hey, there! Log in / Register
Dianne Wilkerson hopes past isn't prologue; signals intent to run for the state-senate seat she lost during bra-gate
By adamg on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 9:52pm
GBH reports former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson has pulled nomination papers to run for the 2nd Suffolk district she lost to Sonia Chang-Diaz in 2008, following her arrest in a bribery scandal the month before the election.
Chang-Diaz is running for governor this year. Wilkerson, who got 3 1/2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges in 2010, has become a force in Black electoral politics in Boston again. She spearheaded two "Wakanda" efforts to elect Black candidates, winning with Rachael Rollins for DA in 2018, but losing with Kim Janey for mayor last year. Wilkerson was also active in a Covid-19 task force at the start of the pandemic.
Several other candidates have already announced runs for the 2nd Suffolk seat, including state Reps. Nika Elugardo and Liz Miranda. Also running: Rev. Miniard Culpepper.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Don’t go away mad…
JUST GO AWAY!!!
Don’t go away mad…
JUST GO AWAY!!!
Oh, this should be fun
But on a related note, I think you misspelled "Kim Janey" in the text above. I wouldn't give her credit for Rollins the first time, but Rollins sat things out last year.
Dumb mistake fixed
Thanks.
Hmmm
That Rollins for mayor run was rather forgettable.
There is no doubt
She will get votes. Plenty of folks in her district supporter her crooked ways for many years and they will do so again. They see it as one of their own beating the system.
Exactly!!! She was just
Exactly!!! She was just playing the same game as all the others. They didn’t like it, so they set her up.
Sharing a slice of the pie…
… with a black woman was more than some of them could bear.
Lol, Ok.
You can't be set up if your hand is out and you accept the money...
Talk about street cred
If you've been to jail, vote for me. I know what it's like.
Ah, the ghost of Buddy Cianci is amongst us
The Pride and Joy of Providence
Balrog
Go back from whence you came, oh corrupted one!
Chang-Diaz is running for governor this year
Dunno why. You'd think she'd be big in the House.
Well, Her House Was Too Big....
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/06/23/senator-agrees-lower-her-ro...
Unlike Diane?
Who was in the Big House
Rumor has it she is going to hire ...
Monica Cannon- Grant as her campaign manager. :)
Hey, it worked out for Buddy Cianci
at least for a while...
I believe in redemption and
I believe in redemption and while I found her political activism to be a little uneasy it was still benign as she was just influencing not deciding.
There is a difference between forgiveness and not learning lessons though. What she did was a severe breach of the public trust. She has not shown remorse for her actions. In fact she was more remorseful that she did not bring a bag with her than actually taking the bribes.
That does not mean she should live in the sewers but lets not pretend like nothing happened.
What did she pull those nomination papers out of?
Anyone know? :-)
Erin
Erin go Bra-less
Not to excuse her in the least but…
… she was likely just the tip of an iceberg. Small peanuts.
What I recall as being more disturbing was the city councilor, whose name escapes me at the moment, who was found guilty of accepting a small bribe. This after many years of admirable efforts and successes working to protect the poor and working class in his district.
No excuses for him either. But it was disappointing to lose such a dedicated hard working advocate.
Both he and Wilkerson were made much of in the press. Republicans were all over it like ants at a picnic.
That would be Chuck Turner
The difference between Wilkerson and Turner is that Turner spent decades of advocating for the community (he was involved in stopping the Southwest Expressway, to give you the scope of his work.) Wilkerson was a politician true and true. Remember that the bribes came after her numerous violations of campaign finance laws. That's a lot of financial malfeasance.
But, I'm not in the district, so whatever.
Apples and Oranges?
This was not a case of apples and oranges. After Dianne was able to secure $23,500 from the Feds' guy, she sent him to Chuck who then took $1,000 from him, all caught on tape, which he would later lie about to the same feds who caught him in the sting. At the time it seemed like there was a certain way of doing business in Roxbury that involved multiple parties at different levels of government. This was all over a liquor license which we all know are in short supply so there's no need to pay anyone beyond the $400K asking price.
Also, back in '04, Chuck Turner accused American soldiers of raping Iraqi women and provided photographic evidence of it which later turned out to be a low-quality porn shoot, among a host of other embarrassing activities. He was not the great political mind some revisionists would like to believe.
I live in her neighborhood
She is actively involved in the community and frequently offers advice and assistance to people she doesn't even know. She's shared her legal/policy knowledge and her network of folks to helpe a lot of our neighbors with issues with mortgages and medical bills and such.
I did also at one time.
And I remember that.
Slip her a Ben Franklin.....
And she will be very helpful.
That's great
But there are thousands of bright, capable women of color in that district who aren't convicted felons, disbarred lawyers, and tax evaders! Someone with a J.D. has no excuse for the shenanigans she pulled. If she didn't know better, what the f--- did she get out of law school??
If she really wants to have a meaningful impact for the community, maybe she ought to try mentoring younger women who can fill that role and avoid the obvious mistakes she made. But no, it's all about her.
The crazy thing about Chuck
The crazy thing about Chuck Turner is that at the time he accepted the cash (which seemed to be offered more as a gratuity after the fact than as a quid pro quo bribe) he had loaned his campaign like $150k, was driving a beat up car, and was the only councilor maintaining a second office in his district. His real offense was not being diligent with his paperwork.
Chuck and his racist pal
Chuck and his racist pal Sadiki were the ones who convinced the all-too-willing dumbasses at the Globe to print (on Page Two of their family newspaper) some visible-dong selections from their pr0n collections in a scheme to try to damage Dubya's reelection chances during the Iraq war.
Oh, one more thing
Here's an interesting fact. One of Chuck Turner's classmates at Harvard was Theodore Kaczynski. Suffice to say, they were both in jail at the same time. Again, not to excuse Turner's crimes, but he never killed anyone.
I live in that district and
I would NEVER vote for her. I appreciate her redemption arc, but I'm not voting for her for public office.
I live in her district
And WILL vote for her.
Do Explain...
I am honestly curious about your reasons for supporter her?
Welp
Welp when the private sector knows you don't have any marketable skills except maybe a bra fitter at Playtex.. gotta go back to the public dole.