state senate

Unofficial city returns show state Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry with roughly 82% of the vote against Republican Joe Ureneck.

So who will host next year's St. Patrick's Day breakfast in South Boston?

Meanwhile, in the Democratic primary in the 8th Suffolk state rep's race, Jay Livingstone beat Josh Dawson roughly 68-32.

David Bernstein reports Therese Murray even got involved, with her office calling up the Collins camp to say exactly how displeased she'd be if Collins supporters tried an end run against the primary results with a sticker campaign against primary winner Linda Dorcena Forry. So grumpy Southie residents fuming about how the election was stolen from them somehow will just have to stay grumpy.

The Dorchester Reporter posts the tallies for the 1st Suffolk race, along with a report on the close election.

AP called the 1st Suffolk race for Collins early on, but as of 10:08 p.m., city results showed Dorcena Forry leading by a slim margin - and the Dorcena Forry camp was declaring victory. The Collins camp, however, was conceding nothing.

The Dorchester Reporter has more.

Just in case you were wondering.

So that leaves state reps. Nick Collins and Linda Dorcena Forry.

The proposed state House and Senate redistricting maps are out (Boston-area House districts / Senate). The thing that hit me immediately, since, of course, I looked at our place on the map, is that a piece of Roslindale (specifically, ours) would get shifted from Mike Rush to Sonia Chang-Diaz.

You're an editor for a metropolitan daily. Which story do you put on the front page: Jeff Perry and the strip search or Barney Frank lending his campaign some money? If you're the Herald, you go with the latter (don't forget to throw in some stuff about how Frank is "panic stricken") and ignore the former (save for a Margery Egan column declaring Perry is a cretin).

Chris Lovett of BNN, Gin Dumcius of the Dorchester Reporter and Steve Poftak of the Pioneer Institute analyze yesterday's legislative results in Boston and what could happen in November:

The Jamaica Plain Progressives posts answers to questionnaires sent to candidates in the 2nd Suffolk state senate race (Sonia Chang-Diaz and Hassan Williams), the 15th Suffolk state rep's race (Jeff Sanchez and Jeff Herman) and the 6th Suffolk state rep's race (Russell Holmes and Divo Rodrigues Monteiro; other candidates did not reply).

You can't tell the players without a program so here is your program. The candidates for State Senate in the Suffolk and Norfolk District are;

• Democrats Mike Rush, a state representative from West Roxbury,
• Westwood lawyer Michael F. Walsh,
• Wayne Wilson, a Roslindale Democratic activist.
• Brad Williams, chairman of West Roxbury’s Ward 20 Republican Committee

Avoiding debates is nothing new for Mike Rush nor is blaming his opponent for not having a debate.

Besides shaking Mayor Menino's hand, and inadvertently violating campaign finance law, it's not clear what is keeping Rush from spending time on a debate. According to his campaign facebook page, he has held exactly five (5) events since April 13, and nothing between May 25 and August 19.

The South End News reports on a debate between one-term incumbent state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Democratic challenger Hassan Williams.

David Bernstein notes certain aspects of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do-ness in Charles Rudnick's primary battle against state Sen. Cynthia Creem of Newton, such as saying he wouldn't take money from lobbyists, only to take money from lobbyists.

The West Roxbury state rep and would-be Marian Walsh replacement issues a statement to Wicked Local West Roxbury that basically says he's innocent, but can't say more because "I was questioned concerning a civil lawsuit against the state involving my dad and the trial court."

Wicked Local Needham reports Richard Ross is the new state senator in Brown's old district.

Massachusetts Election 2010 reports how Rush, a West Roxbury state rep who wants to replace state Sen. Marian Walsh, used the budget process to get back at a judge he feels slighted his father, a retired probation officer.

Mike Ball notes state Rep. Lida Harkins seems content to let a Republican keep Scott Brown's old seat in the state Senate now that she's not the Democratic nominee:

... Now, after losing the primary, Harkins certainly knew the expected and right and civilized thing to do was to congratulate the winner and endorse him in the final. Instead, she says, "I'm staying out of the race altogether." Low brow and low class...

The Allston Brighton North Neighbors Forum (ABNNF) hosted a forum attended by the 7 candidates running in the special election for the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex state senate district. The video can be viewed at http://allston02134.blogspot.com/2010/03/state-senate-forum-video.html

Wayne Wilson announces campaign on Blue Mass. Group. For gay marriage, against death penalty, wants to peg minimum wage to inflation and would reform CORI.

Sal DiDomenico explains why voters of the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex state senate district should vote for him in the special elections to replace Galluccio.

Coast Guard escorting an LNG tanker last summer.

Dan Hill, who lives near Boston Harbor and is running for state senate in a district that includes Chelsea and Everett, says the state should do everything it can to try to keep LNG tankers out of Boston Harbor - especially Yemeni ones - and phase out the Distrigas natural-gas terminal in Everett in favor of a new facility in Naragansett Bay:

Hill noted that for new LNG ports the Coast Guard requires "security zones" restricting movement within 1,000 yards on either side of an LNG tanker, a standard that could not possibly be met in Boston Harbor. "I find it disturbing that safety requirements for new facilities apparently do not need to be met for existing facilities."

Bizarre Foods guy Andrew Zimmern endorses Michael Albano in the special state-senate election:

My childhood pal Michael Albano is running for State Senator in Massachusetts, and in heady times like these I think it is crucial that we support progressive democrats like Michael. ...

Via Wicked Local Cambridge.

In addition to West Roxbury state Rep. Mike Rush, state Reps. Paul McMurtry of Dedham and John Rogers of Norwood are looking at possible runs, the Herald reports. Wicked Local West Roxbury, though, says McMurtry has already scratched himself from the race.

Republican Brad Williams is also running.

Conor Yunits crunches the numbers from Scott Brown's victory and thinks that based on them:

[T]here could be as many as 25 Senate seats in play this year (assuming the Republican party can mount a successful candidate recruitment drive).

That's pretty impressive given that a) there are only 40 Senate seats in the whole state and b) there are only five Republican state senators right now (and one of them's about to leave for Washington).

Won't take on Mike Rush for Marian Walsh's Suffolk and Norfolk state-senate seat, the Jamaica Plain Gazette reports.

Wicked Local West Roxbury breaks the news on the Suffolk and Norfolk State Senator. What this means for voters so far is a choice between a Republican and a Democrat who should be a Republican.