Two state legislators are vying for the Senate seat in the same state. The former resident, who held the post for 15 years, is looking for a comeback after his time in prison and is focusing on community activism. A long-time federal housing officer, local pastor, and first-runner for public office.
These four — state representatives Nika Elgard and Liz Miranda, former state senators Diane Wilkerson and Miniard Culpepper — are front-runners in the second Suffolk Senate election.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary on September 6 is certain to be inaugurated in January, as no one will oppose the candidate in the November general election.
The Second Suffolk area includes Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Rosslyndale, South End, Fenway and Mission Hill.
For Elgard, the road to victory is through Jamaica Plain and Mission Hill. “Hyde Park, Matapan, Dorchester and Roxbury have a lot of voters,” she said. “I think there will be a vote to win or be very competitive,” she said.
Elgardo boasts that he worked as a manager for a statewide anti-foreclosure program that helps people stay at home. Although she briefly worked in the State Legislature before becoming an MP, including working under Senator Sonia Chandias, Suffolk’s second Senator since 2009, her work on foreclosure prevention has been her most formative. one of her favorite jobs. (Since her fall from the gubernatorial race, she has devoted herself to backing progressive candidates in demerit elections, but Chandias apparently entered the race to become her successor. No. She did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.)
During her time on the state capitol, where she has been a state legislator since 2019, Elgardo has called for more funding for Main Street and youth jobs. She’s trying to offer her hopes based on the reaction her campaign is getting on the streets.
“People can be cynical and depressed about what we’ve been through. Not just with Covid, but over the last few decades.” Having shared a great deal of suffering, we are ready to try something new and I am ready to lead it.
Her state legislative colleague, Miranda, has since 2019 represented nearby districts covering Dorchester and Roxbury. She has been campaigning for a Senate seat since December, she said, highlighting her efforts to support immigrant rights and police reform. Or do you know my job?”
Miranda, a first-generation immigrant whose brother Michael was killed outside a Boston nightclub in 2017, has experienced what others in her neighborhood have gone through, including losing loved ones to violence. It’s what I feel the community connects to me because they know they understand,” she said, adding:
“People are clearly feeling the pinch more than ever, so restructuring and reimagining what health equity, housing and public safety look like is the hottest topic at the door. That’s it.”
Culpepper, a 20-year district attorney for the Federal Housing and Urban Development Administration, says he’s the “housing candidate” in the campaign. Shortly after walking through the Caribbean Carnival parade last weekend, he pointed to support from the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Owens and Bolling families, who have been involved in Boston politics for decades. .
“I think we have the momentum. If you look at Liz and Nika, they don’t understand this district, because if they did, they’d put in a bill that would effectively legalize heroin.” Because they don’t,” Culpeper said.
Elgardo countered, saying Culpeper “doesn’t understand policy laws or how to read them”, adding that he was trying “a bit of a political tactic to divert people’s attention”. With a bill focused on legalization, Elgardo explored what was happening in places like Portugal, which had legalized drugs in several regions, and how it worked for different demographics. The bill remains with the Beacon Hill Commission.
“You can’t keep arresting people to get out of a public health crisis,” Miranda said.
“I think that shows that Reverend Culpeper is out of touch with what’s really going on in our city,” she added. The only person without
During the interview, Culpepper also took aim at the race’s fourth contender, former Senator Wilkerson. Culpeper simultaneously brings up time spent in HUD and time spent in prison on bribery charges, where he said: She betrayed her trust as a charitable trust employee, she says. “
Wilkerson’s campaign was unable to provide her with comment at this time, but on a forum in July she said the past three years, including the pandemic, have focused on vaccines and testing among black people. Her desire to return to public office was “definitive.”
Earlier this month, she pitched a $7.5 billion “Contemporations” plan. The money will go to the city’s Black residents, including cash payments, support for Black and Latino businesses, and a Homeownership Fund. “
Two years ago, racial accounting and social justice became familiar words,” she said in a statement. “This plan will do just that.”