By Laurel J. Sweet | Monday, March 14, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics
Photo by Ted Fitzgerald
A former Gov. Deval Patrick aide and the son of a disgraced state senator vying to fill the Boston City Council seat vacated by Chuck Turner’s ouster both say they want to help the district move beyond scandal to prosperity after tomorrow’s special election.
“Councilor Turner gave his life to this community for well over 40 years. His impact on the community is still present. But the reality people are facing day to day is, ‘Can I pay my bills?’” said District 7 candidate Tito Jackson, a motivational speaker and Patrick’s former political director.
Cornell Mills, meanwhile, said his own family’s political misfortunes have given him strength. Just two days after dropping his 55-year-old mother Dianne Wilkerson off at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn., Friday, Mills said, “It was a tough day, but it gave myself and the rest of the family a lot of resolve.”
The former state senator will spend the next 3 1⁄2 years in prison for pocketing $23,500 in kickbacks.
“She was very confident and very strong,” said Mills, 36, a real estate agent and former employee of the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office. “She’s got a wealth of knowledge about politics that’s been preparing me for this run for years.”
But the candidates’ biggest obstacle may be persuading people to head to the polls between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Only 2,885 of more than 30,000 people with active voter registrations in the district that includes the South End, Fenway, Roxbury and Dorchester turned out for last month’s preliminary election. Culled from a field of seven, Jackson took 67 percent of the vote to Mills’ 9 percent.
Jackson, 35, said he was feeling “super fantastic” yesterday as he headed out to Grove Hall to shake the hands of prospective constituents. Jackson’s war chest stands at a healthy $25,553 to Mills’ $708. Jackson also has the overwhelming financial support of trade unions and businessmen.
“We are not an island unto ourselves. Do we need to have relationships? Do we need to partner? Yes, we do,” Jackson said. “The overarching objective is to make sure people from District 7 have more access to jobs, more access to capital and that we’re able to walk down safe, clean streets.”
Mills, whose backers include his mom’s attorney, famed Harvard University law professor Charles Ogletree, said he believes those looking to develop District 7 see Jackson “as the path of least resistance.”
“People should get out and vote for me because I’m the candidate who’s closest to their issues,” said Mills, who was introducing himself around Uphams Corner yesterday. “It’s been a rough economic time and people don’t have a lot of faith in the political system to change their status.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1323157
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