The Blackstonian has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 5 seconds. If not, visit
http://blackstonian.com
and update your bookmarks.

Showing posts with label District 7. Show all posts
Showing posts with label District 7. Show all posts

Imprisoned, Turner refuses to remain silent

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Imprisoned, Turner refuses to remain silent

By Andrew Ryan
Globe Staff / May 11, 2011

Chuck Turner was convicted of accepting a bribe. His colleagues threw him off the Boston City Council. And voters overwhelmingly elected Tito Jackson to replace him in the district that includes the heart of Roxbury.

But none of that has silenced Turner. From a federal prison in rural West Virginia, Turner has written several dispatches over the last six weeks he calls “Reflections from Behind the Wall.’’

The writings have been posted on his website, published in a weekly Internet magazine, and distributed via e-mail by his former chief of staff, who has since been hired by another member of the City Council.

The lengthy communiqués take direct aim at Jackson, in the first month of his tenure. Turner has promised a weekly posting on key issues that “demand the attention of Councilor Jackson.’’

FULL STORY HERE
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/05/11/imprisoned_former_boston_councilor_refuses_to_remain_silent/?p1=Local_Links
READ MORE - Imprisoned, Turner refuses to remain silent

Hundreds celebrate as Jackson joins City Council 35-year-old cites safe streets, jobs, schools as priorities

Monday, March 28, 2011

Hundreds celebrate as Jackson joins City Council
35-year-old cites safe streets, jobs, schools as priorities
Jackson thanked his mother, Rosa, for her support growing up. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
By Matt Carroll
Globe Staff / March 27, 2011

Tito H. Jackson was sworn in as a city councilor yesterday before a raucous crowd of several hundred supporters in an event that was part campaign rally and part community celebration — with a dose of official business thrown in.

The festive occasion reflected the optimism and enthusiasm residents of District 7 see in the new councilor and also relief at closing a tumultuous chapter on former City Councilor Chuck Turner, who entered a federal prison on Friday following his bribery conviction.

The event, at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury, was packed to overflowing with supporters from the district, from across the city, and beyond. People munched fried chicken and corn bread, cheered singers, and applauded dancers. But most of all, they cheered the 35-year-old lifelong resident of Grove Hall, who was sworn in before the full City Council and took his seat to cheers of “Tito! Tito!’’

FULL STORY HERE
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/03/27/hundreds_celebrate_as_jackson_joins_city_council/
READ MORE - Hundreds celebrate as Jackson joins City Council 35-year-old cites safe streets, jobs, schools as priorities

In Roxbury, new Jacksonian era

In Roxbury, new Jacksonian era
By Peter Gelzinis  |   Sunday, March 27, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Columnists
Photo by Ted Fitzgerald

For the past couple of years, Roxbury’s political landscape has been dominated by Dianne Wilkerson’s sullen sphinx on one side and Chuck Turner’s snarling goatee on the other.

Yesterday, it basked in the warmth of Tito Jackson’s smile.

Exactly 24 hours after Chuck Turner began his three-year federal prison sentence in West Virginia, his exuberant 35-year-old successor to the District 7 seat was sworn in.

“I want to tear down walls and build bridges,” Jackson told me, a half-hour before Mayor Tom Menino and 11 city councilors came to Dudley Square to administer the oath of office to their new colleague.

“I want people to know that Roxbury is the center of Boston,” Jackson said. “As goes Roxbury, so goes the city of Boston. I want them to know that economic development and jobs need to — and will be — flowing into this community.

“This is a community that has gone through so much politically, has gone through so much economically, but it is indeed still standing,” he said. “It’s a community of survivors.”

Yesterday, that community of survivors ecstatically embraced the adopted son of the late community activist Herb Jackson and his wife, Rosa, as its newest, and perhaps its brightest hope.

Indeed, the atmosphere inside Roxbury’s refurbished Hibernian Hall felt more like a huge family reunion or a wedding, rather than the christening of a new political voice.

But the significance of the moment wasn’t lost on Mayor Menino or the City Council.

Given the political tsunami that has washed over District 7, Steve Murphy, the council president, felt it was important to convene a special council meeting in Dudley Square “for the express purpose of swearing in Tito.”

“He’s got so much energy and optimism,” Murphy said, “I think we’re all looking forward to working with him.”

East Boston’s Sal LaMattina agreed: “This is a very good day for the city. Tito’s got so much energy and optimism. He’s someone who adds a lot to the public discussion.”

So what happened in Dudley Square yesterday was a kind of mini state-of-the-city moment, complete with the mayor and the councilors filing down the middle of this famous banquet hall with all the necessary downtown pomp and circumstance.

“What we’re doing today,” Tito Jackson said, “ is rebuilding, we’re connecting, we’re collaborating, we’re partnering for that new Roxbury, that new District 7, which I think will impact a new city of Boston. I want to make sure that this community and the whole city of Boston is connected.

“A kid from Roxbury should be able to go to any other part of the city,” Jackson said, “and a kid from any other part of the city should be able to come to Roxbury.”

Amen.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1326362
READ MORE - In Roxbury, new Jacksonian era

Turner grooms successor, targets foes Heads to prison after e-mail flurry

Friday, March 25, 2011

Turner grooms successor, targets foes
Heads to prison after e-mail flurry
Chuck Turner headed to a speaking event yesterday at Northeastern University.
(Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)
By Andrew Ryan
Globe Staff / March 25, 2011

Chuck Turner sent a trove of e-mails in the 36 days he served on the Boston City Council after his felony conviction: He groomed his successor, Tito Jackson; sparred with critics; and fanned resentment against councilors who voted to expel him.

He also reveled in constant affirmation from his followers, and he refused an offer to lobby prosecutors for leniency, saying that would amount to “collaborating with the enemy.’’

“From a consciousness-raising standpoint, the best thing would be for them to put me in jail,’’ Turner explained in an e-mail to his staff Nov. 8.

That day has come for the 70-year-old, who is required to report to the Bureau of Prisons today and begin serving a three-year term at a Hazelton federal penitentiary in Morgantown, W.Va.

FULL STORY HERE
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/03/25/ex_councilor_chuck_turner_grooms_successor_targets_foes/?page=full
READ MORE - Turner grooms successor, targets foes Heads to prison after e-mail flurry

Chuck Turner goes out roaring

Chuck Turner goes out roaring
By Colneth Smiley Jr.  |   Friday, March 25, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics
Photo by Herald File

On the eve of his departure for a three-year prison sentence, Chuck Turner last night gave a barn-burning speech — billed as “Framing the Innocent” — to an overflow crowd of rapturous supporters at Northeastern University.

“If we’re allowing the prosecutors to target those who are speaking up and trying to bring justice and we’re allowing them to tear them down, then obviously we’re not going to be able to achieve our other objectives in terms of equity,” he said. “We can’t allow the system to be controlled by rogues who are operating in the interests of the oligarchy rather than the interests of the people of the country.”

The longtime city councilor was convicted last fall of accepting a bribe from an FBI informant.

His address — interrupted repeatedly by applause — drew 130 supporters inside and dozens outside the lecture-style classroom, and Turner exited to a crowd chanting “Chuck! Chuck!”

Turner told the waiting backers to visit supportchuck turner.com, and urged his former constituents to become his pen pals.

“I’m going to be sent to Hazleton Penetentiary, a minimum-security camp in front of the maximum-security prison,” in Bruceton Mills, W.Va., Turner said.

“I put my address in the (Bay State) Banner so people can write to me.”

The ex-councilor promised to write back.

“I intend to keep writing, particularly about things that are going on in Boston,” he said.

“I think sharing my perspectives with everyone will be helpful in terms of the community keeping together.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1325942
READ MORE - Chuck Turner goes out roaring

A stitch to pass the time

A stitch to pass the time

By James Hinton  |   Friday, March 25, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics

A crocheting expert yesterday said convicted City Councilor Chuck Turner may well benefit from the arts and crafts program offered at the low-security satellite camp at the federal Hazelton penitentiary.

“I have had several customers that have learned to knit and crochet while incarcerated and they’re really pretty skilled at it,” said Annissa Essaibi-George, owner of Stitch House in Dorchester. “I know for lots of my customers it’s a way of distracting yourself from any personal challenges you may be facing.”

Essaibi-George noted the age-old art offers mental-health benefits that have made it an increasingly popular pastime for law-abiding citizens and cons alike.

“Lots of people do take crocheting and knitting as a relaxing technique, because it is a way of releasing tension and anxiety,” she said. “They definitely take it up as a hobby for therapeutic purposes.”

Turner will have three years to master the art — and the populist politician may come to value the egalitarian culture of crocheters.

“In knitting circles our only initial bond is our craft, so under regular circumstances I might not have too much in common with a convicted criminal, but crafts help bring people together,” Essaibi-George said. “It’s a nice opportunity for people to come together and meet on a mutual playing field.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1325934
READ MORE - A stitch to pass the time

Locked up, but not shutting up

Locked up, but not shutting up
By Peter Gelzinis  |   Friday, March 25, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Columnists

As expected, Chuck Turner did not go gently into that miserable night of prison.

Personally, I like that.

There’s something endearing about Chuck going off to jail in West Virginia with his fists clenched, screaming about how he was “set up” by the morally bankrupt FBI before a crowd of supporters at Northeastern University last night.

It’s just too bad Chuck didn’t scream about all this three years ago, when Ron Wilburn slipped a wad of cash in his palm.

That’s when Chuck, the community activist, the grassroots pol, the old social radical should have gone to the press and yelled, “They’re trying to frame me!” That’s when we might have believed him.

But he didn’t. Instead, Chuck took the dough.

Those who love him foolishly continue to argue against visual evidence of cash being tucked into Chuck’s fist, in what he would infamously call “a preacher’s handshake.”

“What if it was only 20 bucks instead of a thousand?” one true believer argued yesterday. Sadly, you can’t seem to convince them a bribe is a bribe is a bribe. The amount is not the point.

It’s the breach of trust, the grabbing of the cash.

Make no mistake about it, Chuck Turner is right when he talks about the moral bankruptcy of the FBI. Their history in Boston is indeed deplorable.

The federal government has already shelled out well more than $100 million in damages to people who were framed and/or murdered by FBI informants.

Sadly for Chuck, he’s not one of these victims.

Some people, including Joe Salvati, Louis Greco and Peter Limone, got framed by the FBI. While others, such as Chuck Turner, got hooked.

There’s a difference, a big difference.

Chuck Turner, like a great big fish, took the bait that was dangled in front of him.

It is baffling because Turner was never known as a “player.” He never seemed to be about money or the trappings of political power. And yet, he cuffed that wad of cash from Ron Wilburn like an old pro.

At the end of a long conversation yesterday, one of Chuck’s close friends admitted that he “might have made a mistake in judgment.”

He then rightly asked, “Does he deserve three years in prison for that?”

The answer is no. Chuck is going to jail for three years because he didn’t apologize. He’s going to jail for three years because he didn’t cop a plea, or beg for mercy, or stop saying bad things about former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan.

In truth, he’s also going to jail for three years because we don’t really know how many other “preacher’s handshakes” he pocketed over the years.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1325930
READ MORE - Locked up, but not shutting up

Chuck Turner in store for crochet & chili dogs Prison knot so tough for cell-ebrity

Chuck Turner in store for crochet & chili dogs
Prison knot so tough for cell-ebrity
By Laurel J. Sweet and Dave Wedge | Friday, March 25, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics

Photo by Christopher Evans
Deposed politician Chuck Turner today will trade his view of Fort Hill for the Appalachian Mountains as he reports for a three-year hitch at Club Fed — 577 miles from the City Council office he sacrificed for a $1,000 kickback.

The 70-year-old Harvard University alum will likely be admitted to a minimum-security, dormitory-style camp at the Hazelton big house in Bruceton Mills, W.Va. — a facility nestled in the hills of Preston County, where he will be able to partake of crochet classes, drawing, painting and what an inmate orientation handbook calls “paper arts.” The camp has no locking cells, offers periodic Town Hall meetings for airing gripes and serves up fare including oatmeal, fruit, chili dogs, Tater Tots, lasagna and chicken fajitas, according to the Bureau of Federal Prisons.

Fellow New England politicians who belong to the elite ex-con fraternity yesterday had encouraging words for the Roxbury rabble-rouser.

“It’s just one day at a time,” said former state Sen. Joseph Timilty, 72, who served four months at a federal prison in Pennsylvania for mortgage fraud in the 1990s. “In order to get through that thing, you have to be disciplined.”

“Find the humor in it,” advised former Providence Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, 69, who logged four years at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey on corruption charges. “There’s humor in everything.”

Turner, who represented District 7 for 11 years, was convicted last fall of accepting a bribe to push a nightclub liquor license for a Hub businessman secretly taping him for the FBI.

At Hazelton, according to the inmate orientation handbook, the ex-councilor will be allowed to sport the hairstyle of his preference (bald), and his beard and goatee can stay. He may not walk around with his underpants showing. The knit caps will have to stay home — only slammer-approved headgear allowed.

Inmates at the camp are customarily assigned to sling hash, landscape or perform general maintenance.

“It’s not a country club,” said Cianci of his own experience. “It’s not like those in charge were cruise directors in their previous lives. There are rules. If you mess up, you’ll find yourself in trouble.”

Turner will not, of course, be the only Bay State solon behind bars tomorrow.

Former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, 55, is two weeks into her own three-year bribery stint at the minimum-security camp at FCI Danbury in Connecticut.

“The fortunate part about her situation is she’s close to home,” said son Cornell Mills, an also-ran to succeed Turner in City Hall. “West Virginia is like another country.”

Mills plans to visit Wilkerson for the first time this weekend. He said she finds Danbury to be “very low-key” and is “looking forward to doing some teaching.”

Danbury is also where Patrice Tierney, 60, wife of U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D-Salem), on March 15 completed a monthlong stint for aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns by her fugitive brother. The prison was previously the home-away-from-home of Boston Mayor James Michael Curley (mail fraud) and “Queen of Mean” hotel tycoon Leona Helmsley (tax evasion).

As for Turner, when he reports to Hazelton today, he will be screened for any medical, psychological or security issues, said Bureau of Federal Prisons spokesman Chris Burke.

“Chuck will be all right,” Timilty said. “I was treated fairly. You don’t get any special treatment and you don’t seek any special treatment.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1325917
READ MORE - Chuck Turner in store for crochet & chili dogs Prison knot so tough for cell-ebrity

Chuck Turner's last stand

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Chuck Turner's last stand
READ MORE - Chuck Turner's last stand

Brothers For Boston - MARCH SAT. APRIL 2nd GROVE HALL - DUDLEY


Where are the men in our community?

BROTHERS for BOSTON
MARCH
1pm SAT. APRIL 2nd 2011
WEAR BLACK

Gather 1 pm grove hall - STOP & SHOP PARKING LOT
MARCH 1:30 PM FROM GROVE HALL TO DUDLEY SQ.
ARRIVE 2 pm HIBERNIAN HALL - Facing Love IV
Brothers for Boston will attend the Facing Love IV
community forum on Black/Latino relationships & family.

Organized by Brothers For Boston
ALL ARE WELCOME!!!
WEAR BLACK

Men, Women, youth, elders, Black, Latino, Cape Verdean,
Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, South End
TAKE A STAND!
education, crime, violence, drugs, guns, gangs, housing, family




READ MORE - Brothers For Boston - MARCH SAT. APRIL 2nd GROVE HALL - DUDLEY

No silent farewell for Chuck Turner

Sunday, March 20, 2011

No silent farewell for Chuck Turner

Photo by Herald file
By Jessica Fargen / Pols & Politics  |   Sunday, March 20, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics

Disgraced former City Councilor Chuck Turner, who reports to prison Friday for a three-year sentence, is hoping to get the last word.

Turner, 70, who was convicted of bribery in a federal corruption scandal, is hosting a talk Thursday at Northeastern University titled “Framing the Innocent.”

Turner has frequently alleged that federal law enforcement targeted him. Turner was convicted in October of taking a $1,000 bribe. The talk is being dubbed as Turner’s last public appearance, according to a story on blackstonian.com. The event is a “public discussion about the U.S. Attorney’s Office and what we can do to hold it accountable to our concerns.” It starts at 7:30 p.m. at 240 Dockser Hall.

A reporter who attempted to reach Turner at his Roxbury home yesterday was turned away.
READ MORE - No silent farewell for Chuck Turner

Roxbury’s future in the "post-racial" era

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Roxbury’s future in the "post-racial" era
by Shirley Kressel
contributing writer South End News
http://www.mysouthend.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=city_streets&sc2=&sc3=&id=117456
Wednesday Mar 16, 2011

The race for Chuck Turner’s District 7 City Council seat has been fraught with bitter ironies and troubling questions about the future of Boston’s black community.

As the media have amply reported, Senator Dianne Wilkerson and City Councilor Chuck Turner, long-time black leaders, have recently been sent to prison for accepting money from a paid FBI informant in a liquor-license imbroglio. What does this signify for their fragile community?

The candidates, both black men, represent different visions for the District. Cornell Mills is the son of Wilkerson, who broke the color barrier at the state senate in 1993 and pursued an activist legislative career, while Tito Jackson, son of a labor-rights activist, is endorsed by Turner, an old-school firebrand. Interestingly, Mills echoes Turner’s spirit of fighting to protect the poor and disadvantaged, while Jackson pushes further Wilkerson’s talk about business incentives to attract job creation and developers’ gifts to the community.

Jackson has enjoyed far more funding and voter support. However, his experience is in mainstream politics and his campaign chest is filled heavily by white contributors and business interests outside the district. This has sparked concerns about the dilution of the black community’s power to defend against economic and political exploitation.

Indeed, some suspect a larger strategy to neutralize minority defenses against discriminatory governmental policies.

On March 6, I attended a forum in Roxbury titled, "The Attack on Black Leadership: Is there an ongoing effort by the US Government to destabilize the black community by targeting its leadership?" In impromptu remarks, Wilkerson talked about documents she had read indicating that the FBI had been targeting her and Turner for seven years, looking for reasons to prosecute them. Finding none, she said, the Bureau finally hired a black informant to bait them with money.

If her account is accurate, it is extremely alarming. It is at least suspicious that in the FBI’s lengthy investigation of the license issue, only two black officials were (literally) "caught," leaving unbaited and uncharged seven white officials implicated by FBI documents. Turner accused the US Attorney of racial bias and, because there was no evidence of previous wrongdoing by him to constitute probable cause, entrapment. The FBI informant, a black man, expressed anger at this apparently biased outcome and tried to refuse to testify at Turner’s trial.

This week, I came across a 2003 South End News bit on now-deceased City Councilor Jimmy Kelly, reporting his acceptance of unlawful financial contributions: "Infractions included accepting individual contributions over the $500 limit and accepting corporate contributions, which is not allowed at the city level." The full report (pdf) at the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) website listed numerous violations. Kelly paid a $1,000 fine and made a charity donation of $7,500, equaling the contributions he got from business corporations, excess contributions, excess cash contributions, and money from a federal PAC. The matter was never sent to the Attorney General for further action.

Kelly was proven to have committed financial violations worth about $11,000. He simply settled up financially, with no criminal prosecution.

Turner was never proven committing any offenses -- before the FBI created one. The informant himself later told the Boston Globe that the money (an amount the FBI said, but never proved, was $1,000) that he handed unbidden to a "naïve" Turner while expressing his "gratitude" (with these words, turning Turner’s scheduling of a hearing on licensing discrimination into a crime, as the FBI instructed), "could have been a gift or a campaign donation." As a contribution reporting error with no criminal intent, a civil fine would have ended the story. Instead: felony conviction and three years in federal prison.

Unlike Kelly, Turner’s case was all over the media, inflaming a wave of public venom. The City Council enacted an ordinance to expel him. The two young new minority Councilors, Felix Arroyo, Jr. and Ayanna Pressley, cited him as their mentor as they voted him out.

Why such disparate fates?

Perhaps the answer lies in a Boston Globe editorial: "Turner... isn’t a venal man. ... But he has spread unreality among his supporters for decades. And that may be his greatest crime. In a Boston neighborhood that so desperately needs sensible leadership to address crime, joblessness, and poor education, Turner has fed his constituents a steady diet of political fantasy." Do our media leaders believe that Turner’s punishment for an unproven bribe was justified by his discomfiting politics? The newspapers endorsed Jackson; is he their "sensible leader" -- bringing practical compromises to counter Turner’s audacity of unbending aspirations?

Selective justice is a great injustice, and one well known to the black community. What really happened here? And what will be the impact on a District ripe for -- or vulnerable to -- radical change?


Shirley Kressel is a landscape architect and urban designer, and one of the founders of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods. She can be reached at Shirley.Kressel@verizon.net.
READ MORE - Roxbury’s future in the "post-racial" era

Chuck Turner to begin prison term

Chuck Turner to begin prison term

By Associated Press  |   Saturday, March 19, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics
Photo by John Wilcox (file)

BOSTON — A former Boston city councilor convicted of taking a $1,000 bribe will begin serving his three year sentence in the coming week.

Chuck Turner was convicted in October of taking the bribe from a businessman who was cooperating with the FBI. He was also convicted of lying to the FBI.

Turner is scheduled to report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Friday to begin serving his sentence. It was unclear where he will serve his time.

Prosecutors said Turner accepted a wad of cash in 2007 during a handshake with a businessman seeking help getting a liquor license. Turner testified he didn’t remember his meeting with the businessman, which was secretly captured on FBI video.

The 70-year-old Turner, a longtime community activist, was expelled from the City Council after his conviction.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1324519
READ MORE - Chuck Turner to begin prison term

Path cleared by downfall

Friday, March 18, 2011

Blackstonian Editor's Note:
This may be the most offensive article in the entire media coverage of the Wilkerson case. I usually just post things and let the readers draw their own conclusions. In this case however, you must notice the obvious slant here and the sick pleasure received from this tragedy.

(photo by Don West, individual rights)

Path cleared by downfall
By Brian McGrory
Globe Columnist / March 16, 2011

Can you actually send a thank you note to someone in federal prison? If so: Dear Dianne Wilkerson, Inmate, Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, thank you for clearing the way — unintentionally so — for some real leadership in the minority communities.

I was thinking this as I stood in a crowded second-floor room in a nondescript building in the South End one morning this week where young children and their parents are given the kind of rare helping hand that a frightening number of lawmakers would ax in the name of tax cuts and deficit reduction.

US Senator John F. Kerry was taking a tour. Say what you will about Kerry, he has taken on the Republicans over the federal budget with a vengeance, telling anyone who will listen that we’ve arrived at a moment that will define this country for many years to come.

But before Kerry stepped to the microphones, there was Sonia Chang-Díaz, the state senator who won the office that Dianne Wilkerson was forced to leave. “We used to say ‘women and children first’ in the lifeboats,’’ Chang Diaz said amid a brief speech that was at once firm and fiery. “Now it’s women and children last, and millionaires first.’’

Also present, Ayanna Pressley, the new Boston city councilor at-large who is rapidly becoming the face of the black community in the halls of power. When I asked her how she was doing, she said without flinching, “About as well as a person can be doing when everything they’ve ever believed in is under attack.’’

Felix Arroyo was also there, the same at-large councilor who is often promoted as a likely and formidable mayoral candidate in the future. He listened to parents describe how important the federally funded, ABCD-administered Head Start program was to their families, then slipped out before being given the stage. Imagine that, a politician who doesn’t consider his or her voice the most important one to be heard?

Chang-Díaz, Pressley, and Arroyo could pass for actors on a Fox primetime drama about inner city politics — “Mean Streets,’’ if you will — each of them young, attractive, and well-spoken. But the reality is their collective cause is painfully real and quietly carried forth. “These people live on the planet Earth,’’ the Rev. Eugene Rivers said of them yesterday. Added the Rev. Ray Hammond: “We’re going through a period of generational change, and we’ve got some great people rising up in leadership.’’

So back to Wilkerson for a moment, as well as to Chuck Turner, the ousted city councilor who disgraced himself more with his carpet-bombing reaction to the federal indictment and conviction than the bribe that he pocketed in his self-described “preacher’s handshake.’’

Before heading down I-84 toward Danbury last week, Wilkerson indulged her penchant for accusation rather than contrition. Specifically, she accused Hammond and Bishop Gideon Thompson of working with federal authorities to get her indicted — “doing the damage,’’ in her words. Hammond and Thompson both said they didn’t work with the FBI, and it is absurd to think that their help was even necessary.

“It was a cheap shot at people who’ve made a difference in the city of Boston,’’ Tom Menino said yesterday. Added Rivers: “Why on your way out the door would you trash two of the nicest guys in town, completely honorable men?’’

Because that’s just who Wilkerson is. In a state with a black governor who is close friends with our black president, Wilkerson and Turner lacked the talent and temperament to ever get out of their own way. It’s always easier to blame than achieve, or as Rivers said of the convicted duo, “They were all protest, no programs.’’

Say this for our new frustrated felons, though: At least they were kind enough to show the new generation of minority leaders exactly how not to handle the public trust.

Brian McGrory is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at mcgrory@globe.com.
READ MORE - Path cleared by downfall

Tito Jackson sets out to engage voters

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Tito Jackson sets out to engage voters
By Colneth Smiley Jr.  |   Thursday, March 17, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics
Photo by Mark Garfinkel

Vowing to combat the voter apathy he witnessed in his own election, District 7 City Councilor-elect Tito Jackson took to the streets of District 7 to thank his supporters after a quiet congratulatory breakfast with his mother and family yesterday morning.

“Apathy is a two-way street,” Jackson told the Herald. “Residents should know what’s going on in their community, but it’s incumbent upon elected officials to make sure they know what’s going on and to deliver to them.”

The former aide to Gov. Deval Patrick received 82 percent of the votes, beating out opponent Cornell Mills, who received only 16 percent of a total 3,452 votes for the seat vacated by the ouster of Chuck Turner, who has been ordered to start serving his three-year prison term on federal corruption charges March 25.

The turnout was a slight uptick from the last month’s primary, which brought out only 2,887 voters. The district has more than 30,000 voters listed as active on city rolls.

Winning on a platform to provide employment opportunities and safer streets for inner-city residents, Jackson celebrated his victory Tuesday night at Biff’s Lounge in Dorchester and engaged with the public yesterday through interviews on local radio stations Touch 106.1 FM and Big City 101.3 FM.

“It is important for people to have access to their city councilor,” said Jackson, who said he plans on using senior centers, local libraries and restaurants to interact with his Roxbury/Jamaica Plain/Dorchester and Fenway constituents.

“It’s a huge honor, and I’m humbled by people coming out to support not only me but the vision of people in our community working with one another to make sure the city lives up to its true potential as a destination rather than a pass through,” Jackson said.

Mills, the son of disgraced ex-state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, reportedly offered congratulations to Jackson with a handshake and hug. Mills could not be reached for comment.

Jackson will be sworn in as councilor within the next two weeks.

The city councilor said he plans to continue to thank voters today with a possible “stand-out” in Roxbury’s Grove Hall.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1323933
READ MORE - Tito Jackson sets out to engage voters

Councilor Jackson If You're Nasty

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Councilor Jackson If You're Nasty

Published Mar 16 2011, 10:22 AM by David S. Bernstein, Boston Phoenix

Congratulations to Tito Jackson, who scored a convincing win over Cornell Mills yesterday and will be the new Boston City Councilor from District 7. Topping the 80% mark should make him safe in the rapid-turnaround defense of his seat this fall; Mills is likely to try again, but that's a big mountain to climb, and others will probably stay out.

That said, the low turnout numbers mean that Jackson enters office with considerably less political power than one might have anticipated. Vote totals matter in this town. If you're seen as bringing a large vote, you're a valuable ally for anyone looking to run city-wide, now or in the future -- which applies to almost everybody in Boston politics. Yes, it was a special election, in a weird time of year for an election, but still... if I'm Steve Murphy or John Connolly or even Tom Menino right now, I'm more interested in sucking up to Felix Arroyo or Matt O'Malley than Tito Jackson, given those vote totals.

One other observation: the two newest city councilors, O'Malley and Jackson, took very similar paths to office. They both ran solid but losing races for at-large seats, followed by high-level roles in statewide campaigns (Pagliuca and Grossman for O'Malley, Deval Patrick for Jackson), and then took advantage of mid-term openings to win district seats. One might suggest that both used their out-of-district networks -- for volunteers, name-recognition, and funding -- to overwhelm the in-district competition. (Also note that in both cases the top opponent had the advantage of bloodline networks: Maura Hennigan's brother and Dianne Wilkerson's son, respectively.)

Read more: http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/talkingpolitics/archive/2011/03/16/councilor-jackson-if-you-re-nasty.aspx#ixzz1H3asaisx
READ MORE - Councilor Jackson If You're Nasty

Tito Jackson grabs District 7 seat

Tito Jackson grabs District 7 seat

By O’Ryan Johnson  |   Wednesday, March 16, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics
Photo by Mark Garfinkel

The same day a federal judge turned down disgraced ex-City Councilor Chuck Turner’s jail sentence appeal, Roxbury voters turned out in low numbers to elect Tito Jackson as his successor.

“I feel wonderful,” Jackson told the Herald last night. “I just walked into my mom’s room and gave her a hug. She said she knew it was going to happen. It was the culmination of her prayers and her mother’s prayers. My first step is to attend to a couple hundred folks who worked long and hard in the cold, who have pushed through a labor of love for this community.”

Jackson, a former aide to Gov. Deval Patrick, defeated Cornell Mills, the son of disgraced ex-state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, with 2,829 votes to 556. There are more than 30,000 people on the active voter rolls in District 7.

Each man had voiced confidence earlier yesterday that he would emerge victorious heading into the final hours of the election, with Mills saying his campaigners would do everything they could to get more voters to the polls.

“The weather has been nice, but turnout has been slow,” Mills said yesterday afternoon. “We’re going to target some areas and try to push those numbers up.”

Mills couldn’t be immediately reached last night.

Jackson said he felt the community was rallying behind his campaign.

“There’s been a lot of hugs,” he said. “But there’s nothing like the elders in the community coming around you, encouraging you. We’re both (Jackson and Mills) sons of this community.”

Meanwhile, U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock scolded Turner in federal court paperwork, ordering him to report to prison next week.

“My review satisfies me that the defendant’s appeal is without merit and consistent with other litigation initiatives pursued by defendant, taken for the purpose of delay,” he wrote. Turner must report to federal prison on March 25 to begin serving a three-year sentence. Turner, who endorsed Jackson could not be reached for comment.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1323642
READ MORE - Tito Jackson grabs District 7 seat

Boston Herald recognizes Tito Jackson "owes" endorsers/donors

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Boston Herald recognizes Tito Jackson "owes" endorsers/donors


"For one thing his campaign is backed by every public employee union known to man and he will be expected to return that support in kind."

- Boston Herald on Tito Jackson Tue. March 15th




READ MORE - Boston Herald recognizes Tito Jackson "owes" endorsers/donors

VOTE!!!! TODAY!!!! MARCH 15!!! VOTE CORNELL MILLS

VOTE!!!! TODAY!!!! MARCH 15!!! VOTE CORNELL MILLS
READ MORE - VOTE!!!! TODAY!!!! MARCH 15!!! VOTE CORNELL MILLS

ALL NEW INFO: PEOPLE'S REPORT: TITO JACKSON Part II; The Anti-Chuck

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

BLACKSTONIAN EXCLUSIVE
ALL NEW INFO!

PEOPLE'S REPORT:
TITO JACKSON Part II
The Anti-Chuck

Editor's Note:

Many of you by now may have read the Blackstonian People's Report on Tito Jackson. I have received many, many comments about this article and I would say out of 100 or so comments to me personally, via email and phone, there were about 4 people who had problems with the report.  I told them as I tell everyone, If you have a problem then do the research and point out what is factually untrue.  Many of us may get emotional about some of the information contained therein, but it cannot be disputed based on merit and fact.

One significant emotional response has been...
(paraphrasing)
"You are wrong for putting out this information on another Black Man"
This is a very destructive logic. So, the inference is because Tito and I are both Black Men his record and actions should not be questioned and challenged? That's dangerous. I have no allegiance to color. My only allegiance is to Right versus Wrong, which is why I have called out Black Men who participate or contribute to any of the ills we are facing as a people. This is an open public political campaign and one in which is the District that I live in and have since I was born. I will not only exert my right to research, study and inform our people, I will defend it and there is nothing stopping you from doing your own research and prooving me factually wrong. I encourage and challenge you to do it and then you vote your conscience on March 15th.

MONEY IN

Part 1 of this report contained a graph on where Tito is receiving his money.
This Chart shows where his money comes from.

MONEY OUT

ALL NEW INFO:

A. This Chart shows where his money goes.

B. This Chart shows how much money has been spent
on his staffing and stipends from the campaign.


What does all of this mean for a Candidate who is campaigning as
the "Jobs" "Employment" "Economic Development" "Relationships to benefit District 7" candidate?
In my estimation it means that you can expect the same results indicated by the already proven results.

Endorsements


As we covered in Part I of the report
Tito has been endorsed by several unions and received money from unions, individuals and organizations which have historically been proven as the same entities who have prevented our community from achieving full access and equality.

Boston Police Patrolmen's Association (BPPA)

The newest Addition to his endorsements is the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association which is the Union for BPD Officers, the very same Union that has fought tooth and nail for well over a decade over every issue that came up for Affirmative Action or improvements in Hiring/Promotions within the BPD. They are the Union which has fought MAMLEO (Mass. Assoc. of Minority Law Enforcement Officials) at every juncture where equality and diversity was in question.

This is also the same Union which produces a racially charged and clearly uber-conservative publication which forces you to wax nostalgic about the Good Ole Days with the Good Ole Boys circa 1950 The Pax Centurion http://www.bppa.org/PAX/default.asp
If you go there right now you can find such intellectual insights and colorful terms like "yummie (young urban maggot)" which really can give you a perspective on the thought process of many of OUR "Public Servants" these are the people who are supposed to Serve and Protect us and these are the same people who have endorsed Tito.
http://www.bppa.org/bppaems/pax/story3_may05.asp

Or really just check this out from the Feb. Edition (ironically in Black History Month) where he calls the young teenage man brutalized by Police a "scumbag"

By Jim Carnell, Pax Editor

Many of us may have missed the Globe and Herald editions dated Jan. 23rd about
a rather unique and interesting exhibition by the staff of the Boston Police Academy designed for local politicians, media, and community activists. (“In defense of the proper use of force”, Boston Herald, Peter Gelzinis, 1-23-11, and “Police give lessons in how they use force”, Boston Globe, Maria Cramer, 1-23-11).
The exhibition was designed after much criticism was heaped upon the department
following a “You-tube” video which appeared on-line after the arrest of a young
scumbag who resisted arrest at Roxbury Community College last fall
http://www.bppa.org/PAX/PAX%20JabFeb%202011.pdf




Firefighters Local 718

This Firefighters Union has fought with axes and hoses against each and every attempt towards diversity.
They are the Union which has fought Boston Vulcans (Boston Black/Latino Firefighters) at every juncture where equality and diversity was in question.
Their reputation is so notorious one just need do a simple google search
"firefighters local 718 affirmative action"
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=firefighters+local+718+affirmative+action


IBEW Local 103

This union is a basic example of most unions who have fought diversity within their various professions. Whether it be Electrical Workers, Pipe Fitters, Carpenters, etc. etc. you will find that predominantly Black/Latino/Women have the most difficult time in terms of gaining employment, diversity, and equality in promotions and placement.



Bringing Big Corporations to Boston...

Constantly throughout the campaign, Tito has alluded to "2500" jobs he "created" for the State primarily with big tech companies like "Microsoft and Google" and although none of those jobs that came to the State made it to Roxbury and although Gov. Deval Patrick claims those same "2500" jobs, the true question is how many employment opportunities are available in those entities at all....

Microsoft

While Tito touts companies like Microsoft, who admittedly does some wonderful things locally, nationally and globally (foundations, donations, computer labs) we are not to think that there are not diversity problems even within the mighty corporate giant. So for District 7 the question becomes how many employment opportunities will open up beyond warehouse, etc.
Here is a record of at least one problem that may be indicative of potential problems for D7.

Microsoft Sued by Employees Over Racial Bias 01/03/2001


Google

Same thing with Google, most big tech companies are sorely lacking African-American and Latino faces. Even in "Diversity" we are suspiciously missing. I did a pretty good searh you let me know when you find someone that looks like you or something that applies to you. Yeah. Google it.




Threats/Armed Security

To me this is possibly the most alarming part of this report. The Blackstonian has learned that Tito Jackson has hired armed security guards during this campaign.
"Heavyweight Security"  $100
We are not suggesting that this payment equals hours spent, but apparently the campaign has deemed it necessary to  hire armed guards (armed, witnessed by several people and no secret). The question here becomes, what does it mean for a candidate to have armed security in a district they are campaigning to represent?  As hated by powerful forces that Chuck Turner was he never had armed security.

The curious thing here is throughout District 7 we have alot of  impassioned people and some in varying mental health conditions who frequent major thoroughfares and some who attend public meetings.  When a candidate has armed security the implication is that if something "popped off" you could get shot. Thats a tad insensitive and probably not a "good look" in a community where we are trying to send a message that's opposite of that. I don't think this speaks to any "Gangster" mentality by the Jackson Campaign, in fact I think it speaks more to a fear of some very skewed realities of the same District 7 one would seek to represent. While this is a critical campaign and there have been heated debates, there is nothing here that would warrant having armed security in a local race like District 7... Deval before being Gov.. maybe.. after.. definitely... Obama.. before.. during.. after.. MOST DEFINITELY... but armed security in a District 7 race?

At last night's RoxVote forum I had the opportunity to meet and speak to Mrs. Jackson, Tito's Mother. I told her that I had heard she had concerns for her son's safety. I told her that I knew and admired her husband Herb "Kwaku Zulu" Jackson and that no none of the Black Men I know and work with would harm Tito.  This after all is a Political Campaign and while we may have to discuss tough issues and have distinct differences this is not the type of campaign that should require armed security.

Throughout Busing, Charles Stuart I have never heard of a District 7 City Councilor or a Candidate who felt the need for armed security, it sends a message of fear of your own community and an unfair advantage to the elderly, women and youth who don't have the luxury of purchasing security.



READ MORE - ALL NEW INFO: PEOPLE'S REPORT: TITO JACKSON Part II; The Anti-Chuck

 
 
 

Labels

Twitter