A pro-Trump movement growing in West Roxbury
Conservative group seeks louder voice in blue Boston
A pro-Trump group is looking to take control of the Republican committee in West Roxbury in a push to have a louder voice in one of the few parts of Boston where conservatives have a foothold.
People grabbing the Republican ballot on primary day on March 3 in Ward 20 will be able to cast votes for the Republican Ward Committee. Two slates of candidates are running: Group 1, 16 people including the moderates who currently control the ward committee, and Group 2, with 29 people more closely aligned with President Trump.
“We need at least one energized group of neighbors who can be at the ready,” said Louis Murray, a member of Group 2 who was an adviser on Trump’s 2016 campaign. “This is a reflection of the grassroots trying to reflect the new realities of the Republican Party.”
The slate, which this weekend put up a sign along a main road extolling Trump and Group 2, wants the committee to meet more and speak with a louder voice in the progressive city, taking stronger conservative positions.
Another of the Group 2 slate, local publicist Peggy Rose, said the old ward committee had “flown under the radar for too long.”
“We want to become active participants when needed, and step up for our neighbors,” Rose said.
Current Ward Committee Vice Chair Diane McNamara, who’s on Group 1, said in a statement, “There’s room for all Republicans and Independent voters in our Ward. To create a committee based solely on the support of one political leader is short sighted and will not serve to grow our party, fight legislation and policies that will harm our community or create safer neighborhoods for all of us. There is room for 35 people on the Ward 20 Committee. Group 1 intentionally kept our slate small so that there would be room for a coalition of members from both Groups once this election is over.”
West Roxbury, with its large number of single-family homes, looks much more like the neighboring town of Dedham it borders than Boston’s business district, which is just under 8 miles away.
Larry DiCara, a former city councilor who studies Boston elections, said West Roxbury is a fairly conservative and a particularly politically engaged part of town, home to some of the highest-turnout precincts in the city and organized resistance to some of the more liberal policies proposed in Boston.
“You have those discussions in every part of the city, but folks in other places don’t show up to push back,” DiCara said. “West Roxbury, even though it has changed dramatically, is the closest you have to what the city was like 50 years ago.”
West Roxbury residents have organized against various progressive policy positions coming out of City Hall, most recently and adamantly over city’s “road diet” of converting lanes of traffic or parking into bike lanes. Vocal groups in West Roxbury are currently railing against a new Roxbury Prep school building, and have spoken against various development topics and city’s the plastic bag fees.
“We’re willing to push back — respectfully — and I think it’s for good reason,” said Group 2 member Joe Abasciano. Of the neighborhood, he said, “It’s kind of a throwback community. It’s not that all progress is bad, but at the same time there’s something to be said for what we have here.”
Walsh spokeswoman Samantha Ormsby said, “The city welcomes and values the input and contributions from all residents, and we remain focused on making sure that residents are engaged in decision-making that impacts their communities.”