‘Too much to the left’
MassGOP eyes Council
A newly elected MassGOP committeewoman from Boston is focused on recruiting Republicans to run for a seat on the all-Democrat City Council to combat what she says is a “dangerous” government structure limited to one political viewpoint.
Elizabeth Hinds-Ferrick, the only black person on the state committee, anticipates it will be a “struggle” to both change the dynamics of a left-leaning City Council, and draw more of the city’s black and brown community to the Republican Party, a group she describes as having been “brainwashed” by promises of help from Democrats.
“Only one point of view is very dangerous,” Hinds-Ferrick said of the Council. “They’re definitely leaning to the left, and it’s too much to the left — even against law enforcement and everything. It’s not correct. We need a voice of reason.”
The self-described fiscal conservative has worked for the state Department of Transitional Assistance, or “welfare” department, for more than 36 years, but has often found herself at odds with what she sees as wasteful spending from a state and city government that leans heavily Democratic.
Disillusionment with how the state was being run drove HindsFerrick, who immigrated from Guyana, South America to Boston roughly 40 years ago, to switch her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2012.
“I believe in more accountability and allowing people to be selfsufficient, not having them be dependent on the government for everything,” she said.
Hinds-Ferrick, who was elected assistant secretary for MassGOP, said the City of Boston needs to tighten up its budgetary spending, stop raising taxes, and merge or close underperforming public school buildings.
She echoed a recent statement issued by MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale, who was reelected to lead the state committee last month, in opposing a home rule petition from Mayor Michelle Wu, that, if approved by the City Council and state lawmakers, would give municipalities the option to tax businesses beyond the state limit for four years.
The mayor has stated her proposal is aimed at cushioning the shock of what would otherwise be a significant increase in residential property taxes due to a projected continued decline in commercial property values.
It has proven to be unpopular among the commercial sector, however, and has already drawn opposition from two moderate city councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, and resistance from Beacon Hill. House Speaker Ron Mariano said this weekend that he couldn’t see himself supporting a rise in commercial tax rates across the state.
Where the rest of the City Council stands on the proposal could become more clear during a Tuesday morning hearing on the mayor’s home rule petition, but, as Hinds-Ferrick notes, several members of the body tend to support Wu’s requests — a trend she hopes to shift by her efforts to recruit more Republicans to the fold.
“Two or three of the people who have recently been elected to the Council used to work for Mayor Wu, so of course they more or less will vote for everything that she wants,” Hinds-Ferrick said.
“Everyone doesn’t have a voice in the city,” she added. “We need some diversity.”
As the committeewoman for the first Suffolk District, HindsFerrick, 60, of Dorchester says she’ll be focused on changing those dynamics, as part of a statewide MassGOP push to elect more Republicans to city councils and boards of selectmen under Chair Carnevale.
She sees herself as being in a unique position to carry out the effort, as both someone who switched her party affiliation, and as somewhat of a rarity in today’s political spectrum, particularly in Massachusetts: a Black female Republican.
Hinds-Ferrick was elected for the first time after serving on the committee by caucus last year. She defeated Lori Kauffman, who, per media reports has posted antisemitic and pro-Hitler remarks on social media, in the March GOP elections.
Hinds-Ferrick joined the state Department of Transitional Assistance after graduating from Suffolk University, and later earned a doctorate in law and public policy from Northeastern University. She now works as assistant director of the department’s Nubian Square office in Roxbury.