| St. Fleur, a Dorchester Democrat,
plans to vacate her seat Saturday to take a
position as Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s chief of
advocacy and strategic investment.
Four candidates are running to replace her
but, because DeLeo declined to call for a
special election, her seat will not be filled
until a successor is sworn in Jan. 5.
That election schedule, with a primary in
September and general election in November,
means that residents of one of the poorest, most
violence-plagued districts in Boston will go
without a voice in the House for six months, a
period that will include deliberations on the
state budget this summer, the activists said.
“There’s too much going on for us not to
have representation at the legislative
table,’’ said William Milligan, a Bowdoin
Street resident and chairman of the board of the
Holland Community Center in Dorchester.
“Especially in a time of budget shortfalls,
and given the number of incidents of homicide
that have occurred within our district recently,
it’s unfathomable.’’
Kevin C. Peterson — executive director of
the New Democracy Coalition, a nonpartisan group
working to increase voter turnout in the
district — has sent a letter to DeLeo echoing
the concerns about the lack of representation
“given the many pressing matters now being
debated and decided upon on Beacon Hill.’’
Peterson’s letter asks DeLeo to use
“legislative innovation and flexibility,’’
to appoint a successor for St. Fleur, much as
the Legislature passed a special law last year
that allowed Governor Deval Patrick to appoint
an interim senator, Paul G. Kirk Jr., to fill
Kennedy’s seat until a special election could
be held.
“I ask, can’t we do this for the
residents in the Fifth Suffolk District?’’
Peterson wrote. “In theory and in practice,
their right to be represented in the House over
the next six months is no less important than
the need of a senatorial voice in Washington,
D.C., to replace the late Ted Kennedy.’’
DeLeo released a statement that did not
directly address the activists’ push for an
interim state representative.
“Following established custom for when a
vacancy occurs in the House, we will continue to
maintain an office of constituent services for
the Fifth Suffolk District until a new
representative is sworn in,’’ the statement
said.
Asked if she would support an interim
successor, St. Fleur said she was not sure the
state constitution would permit such an
appointment.
“The Constitution rules,’’ she wrote in
an e-mail. “I don’t have an opinion.’’
Some think the district can manage without an
interim representative.
Judy Meredith, a longtime activist and former
chairwoman of the Ward 15 Democratic Committee,
said that few, if any, significant votes will be
taken after the legislative session ends July
31.
She also argued that an interim
representative without seniority or stature in
the House “will be the skunk at the garden
party.’’
“I don’t think it’s necessary,’’
she said.
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.
|
