Special election this Tuesday, January 10

[ron_newman]

This coming Tuesday, January 10, there will be a special Democratic primary election for the 27th Middlesex seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. This seat covers about half of Somerville, including Davis Square. Two candidates are running, Denise Provost (now an Alderman-at-Large) and Elizabeth Moroney. No Republicans or independents are running, so the winner of this primary will almost certainly win the seat.

To find out whether you live in the district, go to this page and enter your address. If the "Rep in General Court" is listed as "VACANT - TWENTY-SEVENTH MIDDLESEX DISTRICT", then you do. Moroney's web site also includes a map of the district.

To vote in this Democratic primary, you must be either a registered Democrat, or an registered independent ("unenrolled") voter. If you are not registered, or are registered as a Republican or Green or Libertarian, it is too late to (re-)register now.

I'm supporting Denise, but I consider both candidates to be generally progressive Democrats.

Comments

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

If Denise Provost wins, do we get yet another special election to replace her?

It depends ...

[ron_newman]

She can legally keep her seat on the Board of Aldermen, and hold both offices. There is plenty of precedent for this -- for instance, Tim Toomey is both a state rep and a Cambridge city councilor.

However, Denise has indicated that she doesn't want to hold both seats for the long term. If she steps down before the end of 2006, then yes, we need another special election to replace her. If she waits until 2007, then the Board of Aldermen can appoint her replacement instead.

Re: It depends ...

[ceo]

I believe she's said that she doesn't want to force another special election, so she'll keep the seat unil she can quit without forcing one.

(because you know someone on the School Committee would win, and then we'd have yet another special election...)

Re: It depends ...

[ron_newman]

One possibility is to try to schedule the special city election to be at the same time as the state primary in September. But if more than two candidates run, I think you need both a preliminary and a final. Assuming she wins next week, Denise will have to consult with the city's lawyers to see what can be done.