DotOUT MEMBERS ENDORSE REP. MARTY WALSH OCT. 25
Eleven days out and between World Series games, Dorchester’s LGBT group also
endorses four of the eight remaining at-large city councilor candidates.
BOSTON, October 26, 2013 – Mayoral madness end is near as DotOUT members gathered Friday night at Dorchester’s Carney Hospital to cast their endorsement vote for Boston’s next mayor and four at-large city councilor candidates. Mayoral candidate State Representative Martin (Marty) Walsh and seven of the eight at-large city council candidates addressed the night’s attendees in an open format. Candidate Boston City Councilor John Connolly, who was unable to attend, had Richard O’Mara, Cedar Groves Gardens owner and one of DotOUT’s founders, speak on Connolly’s qualifications for mayor.
“All of the candidates have a history of supporting LGBTQ issues,” DotOUT President Chris McCoy commented. “We heard their support at the beginning of their campaigns and we’re seeing it tonight at the Carney—they made the extra effort during the last days of the race to meet with our members. Their commitment to our issues is sincere.”
Dorchester resident, business owner and East Boston High School teacher Annissa Essabi George received the most votes for city councilor at-large. DotOUT members also endorsed: Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley (placing second) and First-time Boston City Council At-Large Candidates Michelle Wu (third) and Jeff Ross (fourth). Candidates also in attendance were Boston City Council President Steve Murphy and Charlestown’s Jack Kelly, III, who placed fifth and sixth respectively amongst the night’s voters. West Roxbury resident Martin Keogh, also in attendance, placed seventh while perennial Boston candidate Michael Flaherty, who was not at the event, placed last amongst DotOUT members.
Bay Windows posted both mayoral candidates LGBTQ platforms on October 16. One DotOUT member said having DotOUT endorse three female candidates, referring to Essaibi-George, Pressley and Wu, was the highlight of the evening for her.
The Dorchester Reporter noted Walsh was leading the mayoral candidates with high-level endorsements. “Endorsements, even ours, are just one small part of the political process,” replied McCoy. “It’s not enough saying you support a particular candidate, you have to act on it in November. Our members act—they came out tonight. They will be at the polls on November 5.”
While a quieter affair than the group’s mayoral forum in August and their April endorsement meeting, one of the night’s organizers pointed out some familiar faces. Senator Linda Dorcena Forry (D-First Suffolk) and Representative Dan Cullinane (D-12th Suffolk) were mingling with members and candidates earlier in the night. “Sen. Forry had received the group’s endorsement earlier in the year against Representative (D-Fourth Suffolk) Nick Collins and Rep. Cullinane has been a strong supporter of DotOUT the past year,” McCoy noted.
McCoy summed up the evening’s voting, “Yes, DotOUT members are committed to their own corners of Dorchester, but we know we’re not an island. If Dorchester is to prosper, all of Boston has to prosper. Our next mayor and city council members need to be committed to making all neighborhoods safer and more financially stable. DotOUT members voted resoundingly for Dorchester natives Walsh and Essaibi-George, but I firmly believe they did so with their ‘Boston’ hats on.”
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DotOUT (http://www.dotout.org) is a grassroots, member driven organization committed to the ideals of acceptance, inclusion, fairness and equality. We believe in the strength of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (“GLBTQ”) community in Dorchester and recognize that together through our activism and neighborliness we can positively influence local opinion on issues that are relevant to us and our community.
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