Boston Ward 19 Democratic Committee

Our Committee, along with many local organizations and Democratic Town and Ward Committees, is cosponsoring the following on-line forum.

At its meeting on Monday, April 4, the Committee elected the following new associate members:

Emily Anesta	Steve Backman	Garrett Casey
Chris Hoeh	Haskell Werlin	Lisa Zankman

All contributed substantially to our recent caucus, and we look forward to their continuing participation. Welcome to all!

At its caucus on March 5, 2022, Democrats in Ward 19 elected the following people to represent it at the state convention on June 3-4, 2022. Alternates attend the full convention and become full voting delegates if one or more delegates are unable to attend. Congratulations to all!

Many thanks to the over 100 voters, guests, and candidates for office who attended the caucus, and for the patience of voters and delegate candidates who waited through the technical issues that extended the voting process. We all look forward to meeting in person next year!

The deadline for applications to the JFK Scholarship and Joe Moakley Internship Program is next Tuesday! This spring, MassDems interns will learn about our caucus and convention process, as well as help us prepare for our 2022 coordinated campaign. 

Click here to forward scholarship and internship information to students and recent graduates in your network. Applications are due this upcoming Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 5 PM, so please share this information ASAP.

Our spring cohort of Moakley interns is expected to run from March 28th to May 16th and is a part time, virtual internship that averages 20 hours per week at $15 per hour. JFK Scholarship recipients will be awarded $3,000 to support their Democratic organizing or other political work. JFK Scholarship recipients may intern with the MassDems.

Applicants must be registered Democrats in Massachusetts (applicants ineligible to vote should provide proof of engagement with a Democratic or service organization), and must be currently enrolled in a two or four year college or university, a trade or apprenticeship program, or be a recent high school, college, or post-secondary program graduate. You can view all eligibility requirements and the full application at massdems.org/intern.

MassDems interns have gone on to join campaigns, run government offices, and lead Democratic organizations across the country–and many of them have even joined our own office as staff. If you know anyone who may be interested in applying, make sure they submit their application before 5 PM this Tuesday, February 22, 2022. If you have any questions, please contact Convention Director Joe Sherlock at joe@massdems.org. 

In this busy election year, the Boston Ward 19 Democratic Committee will invite candidates for State and Federal offices to speak at our monthly meetings. The first of these will be on Monday, February 7. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm, and the two candidates for Auditor, Chris Dempsey and Diana DiZoglio, will speak at approximately 8:30.

We have also invited the new members of the Boston City Council to meet us. If any can join us on this meeting, they will be able to speak at approximately 7:15 pm.

The Committee’s meetings are open to all. We are still meeting virtually. The Zoom link for this meeting is here.

The Boston Ward 19 Democratic Committee will conduct its annual caucus on Saturday, March 5. The business of the caucus is to elect delegates to the State Convention, which is described in the post below this one. The caucus will be virtual this year; register to attend at this link.

The virtual doors to the caucus will open at 9:30 am; you must check in or be in the virtual line by 10:00. Ward 19 has 27 delegate positions, plus 5 alternates, this year.

The caucus is open to all. All registered Democrats in Ward 19 can participate in the process of becoming and/or electing delegates to this year’s convention, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 3-4, at the DCU Center in Worcester.

If you have any problem registering, or any other questions, contact info@bostonward19dems.org.

This year’s State Convention is an endorsing convention, meaning candidates seeking statewide office — Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Attorney General, Treasurer, and Auditor — must receive at least 15% of the delegate vote on the first ballot in order to be listed on the Democratic Primary ballot this September. Any candidate who receives the majority of the delegate vote will be the endorsed candidate of the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

The State Democratic Committee, at their meeting on January 22nd, passed the Rules for the 2022 State Convention which includes the following language:

“For a candidate to be eligible for endorsement he/she must have filed notice of their intention to seek that office in question with the Democratic State Committee by 5:00 PM, Friday, January 28, 2022 or have presented to the Democratic State Committee, 11 Beacon Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, a petition for endorsement containing the signatures of five hundred (500) Delegates not later than 5:00 PM, Tuesday, April 22, 2022.“

As of 5 pm on January 28, the following candidates have filed letters of intent:

• Allen, Danielle
• Chang-Díaz, Sonia
• Healey, Maura

Lt Governor:

• Bero, Bret H
• Driscoll, Kim
• Gouveia, Tami
• Hinds, Adam
• Lesser, Eric P

Secretary of the Commonwealth:

• Galvin, William Francis
• Sullivan, Tanisha M

Attorney General: 

• Campbell, Andrea
• Liss-Riordan, Shannon
• Palfrey, Quentin

Treasurer:

• Goldberg, Deborah

Auditor:

• Dempsey, Chris
• DiZoglio, Diana

As stated in the rules, candidates may still petition for endorsement by collecting the signatures of 500 delegates by April 22, 2022.

The committee has adopted the following statement concerning the status of the Forbes Building:

The Boston Ward 19 Democratic Committee supports keeping the Forbes building at 545 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain as long-term, subsidized,  affordable housing for seniors and persons with disabilities. We strongly urge the building owners to follow through on renewing long-term subsidy contracts. 

The Committee’s tentative schedule for 2022 is posted here. There may be changes made after the January 2022 meeting, which will be posted at the same link.

On Tuesday evening, October 26, 2021, the Committee voted to make the following endorsements for the municipal election on November 2, 2021:

For Mayor: Michelle Wu

For At-Large City Council: David Halbert, Julia Mejia, Carla Montiero, Ruthzee Louijeune

Ballot questions: Yes on 1 (City Council budget authority), No on 2 (East Boston power station, No Endorsement on 3 (Elected School Committee)