WE’RE WITH HER ... AND HER ...
Wishes for change propel Mass. women’s political wins
Get it, girl! Massachusetts women rocked and shocked the old boys’ network when they beat out their male rivals for powerful political posts during Tuesday’s primary election.
Caryl Rivers, a Boston University journalism professor who covered politics, said there’s a lot of energy behind progressive women candidates amid a general disgust of politics.
“The wish for change seems to be very, very strong, particularly in places like Boston and certainly we saw that in New York,” said Rivers, referencing political newcomer Alexandria OcasioCortez, who crushed longtime Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowley in June.
But now, Rivers said, the question is whether this “phenomenon” will play out in the red states.
On Tuesday, City Councilor Ayanna Pressley trounced serial Congressman Michael Capuano in a surprising upset, despite Capuano having the support of Mayor Marty Walsh and spending a lot more dough during the campaign.
Like Pressley, Capuano is a liberal Democrat and doesn’t like President Trump, either.
But in this era of frightening rhetoric and hateful divisiveness, voters wanted tried-and-true change.
Capuano acknowledged that in his concession speech, telling supporters, “Apparently the district just is very upset with lots of things that are going on. I don’t blame them. I’m just as upset as they are, but so be it. This is the way life goes.”
In the Democratic race for Suffolk District Attorney, Greg Henning appeared to be the shoo-in for the city’s top prosecutor job.
Not so. Henning got elbowed out by political newbie Rachael Rollins.
Henning had been a prosecutor for outgoing DA Dan Conley for a decade and most recently ran the department’s gang unit. Conley, who is stepping down after a 16-year run, threw his support behind Henning, also the son of the late John Henning, a legendary and longtime TV reporter in Boston.
In November, Rollins will square off against independent Mike Maloney, and if she wins, Rollins becomes the first woman to hold the post.
It’s still too close to call, but Lori Trahan was claiming victory over Dan Koh yesterday in the Democratic race for the Lowell seat held by Congresswoman Niki Tsongas. Koh, the former chief of staff for Walsh, had been leading in recent polls.
In another upset, longtime Bay State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was ousted by fellow Jamaica Plain Democrat Nika Elugardo.
“A lot of these young women are not buying the idea that politics is a man’s game, women don’t belong there,” Rivers said. “There’s this fresh wind blowing in. You never know if that wind can sustain itself.”
She pointed to the “Year of the Woman” when 24 new women were elected to the House and five to the Senate in 1992 following Anita Hill’s sexual harassment testimony. “It kind of faded out,” Rivers said. “So it’s encouraging to see this new group of women running and you certainly hope that it will continue.”
Let’s hope the momentum keeps on going.
Next stop for women? The presidency.