ArtS and Entertainment
Examining the beauty and harmony of Islamic artist Shirin Neshat
Shifting demographics erode Cambridge pols’ voter base...........pg. 7
pg. 13
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Blacks, Latinos split support between Connolly, Walsh Yawu Miller The mad dash that’s taken candidates John Connolly and Marty Walsh to seemingly every corner of the city has given Boston res-
idents multiple opportunities to meet them. And Ron Armstead has met both. But like some in Boston’s black community, Armstead still hasn’t made up his mind.
City Councilor John Connolly greets businessman Clayton Turnbull at a recent campaign event. (photo courtesy of the Connolly campaign)
Standing outside the VFW Post on Morton Street in Dorchester, Armstead has just digested an hour’s worth of Walsh’s agenda for providing better services and better opportunities to veterans. Earlier that evening at an NAACP Boston Branch meeting, he heard City Councilor Tito Jackson extolling Walsh’s virtues. And Connolly, who has been equally aggressive in pursuing the black vote, also appeals to Armstead. “There’s something that can be said for a guy who’s got his kid in a school two blocks from my house,” says the Vietnam vet, referring to the Trotter School, which Connolly’s daughter attends. Still, Armstead hasn’t made up his mind. He’s too preoccupied with what happened, and what didn’t happen in the September preliminary. “I’m still suffering from the fact that we haven’t figured out how to win the mayor’s seat in a city where we’re majority people of color,” he says. Armstead’s split feelings are indicative of where black and Latino voters are at in the mayor’s race — divided between both candidates, with one poll showing Connolly maintaining a 10-point lead among blacks.
State Rep. Marty Walsh greets Louis Elisa outside the Reggie Lewis Track before a mayoral debate last week. (Photo courtesy of the Walsh campaign) This may well be the first race in recent history where black voters have not lined up solidly behind one candidate — like Menino who consistently received more than 80 percent of the black vote or Mel King, who received more than 90 percent.
The split support is not limited to people of color. The Boston Globe reported Monday that Connolly’s own internal polling shows a statistical dead heat between the two candidates. Connolly supporters in the black and Latino communities cite his commitment to school reform and small business development and his
willingness to work on constituent issues in their neighborhoods. “He’s been known to folks in the black community,” says social worker and political activist Dan Janey, who lives in Roxbury. “A lot of folks in Roxbury vote more on personal interaction. Connolly’s been in the community for different events. His daughter is at the Trotter School, so he’s interacted with a lot of parents.” Walsh’s supporters, too, cite long-term relationships and the Dorchester representative’s commitment to progressive causes. Those relationships in part have earned him endorsements from mayor, continued to page 21
Quincy Street Corridor gets $100m investment Martin Desmarais Over a few short blocks of Quincy St. in Dorchester, beginning on Blue Hill Ave. and heading east to Columbia Rd., a push to revitalize the area is on full display
Quincy Heights project, which will rehabilitate nine former public housing buildings and construct two new buildings to create new affordable housing units in two phases. The proposal is for 80 new affordable housing units in the first
“I think it should be a lesson for other communities around the country — you can revitalize neighborhoods to the benefit of the current residents.” — Aaron Gornstein with four major projects spread out on both sides of the street and close to $100 million designated for investment. At the heart of the work is the
phase and 49 new affordable housing units in the second phase. The $56 million budget of the project includes $3 million for increased social services in the surround-
ing community and $3 million for community developments around Quincy Heights. The project is a culmination of six years of work by Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp., Quincy Geneva Development Corp., United Housing Management, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and Project RIGHT. Construction on the development started this summer and is expected to finish in December 2014. Dorchester Bay EDC is also taking the lead on another development project on Quincy St. — the $14.5 million Pearl Small Business Food Production Center, which will help startups and small food businesses get off the ground. CropCircle Kitchen Inc. is leading the renovation of the 36,000-squareQuincy St., continued to page 12
Jorge Martinez, executive director of Project RIGHT, speaks during the visit of Mayor Thomas Menino, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Massachusetts Housing Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein to the sites of the development currently underway along Quincy St. in Dorchester. (Photo courtesy of The Mayor’s Office)
VOTE NOV. 5, 2013
in the Mayoral and City Council elections. For more information visit massvote.org