IS THIS GALVIN’S LAST STAND?
Secretary of state hasn’t run into a foe like NAACP’s Sullivan before
It’s easily the most intriguing and competitive race on this year’s ballot — longtime Secretary of State William Galvin facing a stiff primary challenge from the head of one of the country’s oldest civil rights organizations.
Galvin, 71 and first elected to the office in 1994, represents the last bastion of oldstyle Massachusetts Democratic party politics once dominated by old white Irish men.
His challenger is Tanisha Sullivan, a prominent Black lawyer elected president of the Boston NAACP who is running her very first statewide campaign.
For decades, Galvin has been a mainstay on the ballot, running up the score against mostly white guys. He easily fought off a primary challenge four years ago from former Boston city councilor Josh Zakim, who actually won the endorsement of the state party.
But could this year be different? Galvin has never faced someone like Sullivan, who says she’s running “to help lead the fight to protect and expand voting rights, create a more transparent and accessible government, and foster greater economic opportunity for everyone in Massachusetts.”
She also says on her website that she’ll “champion policies to defend and expand voting rights and be a courageous partner with our communities to break down barriers to participation.”
Galvin comes from an era where diversity, inclusion and equity were not even in the political vocabulary.
It’s going to be a real test of Galvin’s ballot magic and how long he can remain standing. Will he be the next Massachusetts pol to get Capuanoed?
That’s what pols now call what happened to former U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, who got unceremoniously dumped in the Democratic primary by Ayanna Pressley.
Sullivan was born and raised in Brockton, got her law degree from Boston College Law School, and eventually served as chief equity officer in the Boston Public Schools.
Galvin, a lawyer from Brighton, was essentially raised at the State House. He’s been there since 1979, first as a state rep, when Jimmy Carter was president.
Galvin’s unimpressive campaign website includes a four-year-old video and a long biography that notes that he supports “advancing the opportunities of our citizens: the opportunity to speak out, to vote, to obtain justice, and to pursue health and happiness, to create strong communities brimming with hope for our citizens and our children.” Whew, that’s a mouthful. Galvin’s campaign Twitter account has just 1,624 followers; Sullivan already has 2,852 followers. Galvin resisted measures like mailin balloting for years but he now embraces it and sameday voter registration.
He hasn’t exactly been aggressive in defending public records requests that get ignored from state agencies — but that’s one of the most important duties of Secretary of State.
Galvin has fought off aggressive challengers before but can he make the magic work again?