Michael McGee, a South Boston lawyer and neighborhood activist, says he'll be taking on incumbent state Rep. Brian Wallace for the Democratic nomination next fall in the 4th Suffolk district, which covers South Boston, Uphams Corner and Harbor Point. In a press release, he says:

My local activism has taught me that much can be accomplished if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and go to work. That is what I have been doing for our neighborhood for years as a volunteer--organizing neighbors, pressuring elected officials, planting trees, raising money, mentoring kids--all to make our neighborhood better for all of us. As your State Representative, I'll work just as hard as the advocate for our community.

McGee's Twitter feed
Wallace's Facebook page

McGee's complete statement:

Dan Dunn, who lives in Arlington, is not at all happy with his state rep, Jay Kaufman, because Kaufman didn't just vote to make Sal DiMasi house speaker, he did so with relish - and then defended him when the Globe first started asking questions about Cognos:

... End of questions about his integrity, Jay? Really? A grand jury still has some questions. So do I. And they're questions about you.

The South End News reports a newcomer has jumped into the 3rd Suffolk race. Ryan Higginson is in HR at Suffolk and has been involved in the city's Young Bostonian Advisory Council.

Susan Passoni, who made two tries for a seat on the city council, is running for state rep instead this year.

The South End resident today e-mailed potential supporters that she's in the hunt for the seat given up by former House Speaker Sal DiMasi (complete letter below). She filed papers with the state today to create a campaign committee for the May 19 special primary and June 16 special election in the 3rd Suffolk district.

Passoni joins DiMasi aide Aaron Michlewitz, who announced his candidacy in January. Last week, Lucy Rivera, a former aide to state Sen. Tom Birmingham and U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, filed campaign papers with the state.

Passoni's letter:

Blue Mass. Group runs down prospective candidates for the 3rd Suffolk seat just vacated by Sal DiMasi. So far, the only "official" candidate (new House Speaker Bob DeLeo has yet to set an election date) is Aaron Michlewitz of the North End (Facebook page), DiMasi's constitutent-services director, who filed organization papers with the state on Wednesday and who opened his campaign office today on Endicott Street in the North End.

Other possibilities: Lucy Rivera (former aide to Tom Birmingham and Michael Capuano), Susan Passoni (who ran against Jimmy Kelly for Boston City Council), both of the South End, and Stephen Passacantilli, of the North End, who is currently an aide to City Councilor Sal LaMattina.

Boston Daily reports state Rep. Byron Rushing has once again introduced a bill to strip the Mass. General Laws of a bunch of archaic sections, including ones that declare the Communist Party to be subversive, ban tattooing by anybody other than a physician and make fornication, lascivious acts and sex with an animal crimes (the latter punishable by up to 20 years in jail!).

The Roxbury/Fenway rep has been filing this sort of legislation annually since at least 2004 (read up on his 2008 and 2007 efforts), but apparently his fellow legislators are very concerned about unleashing an epidemic of Communists tattooing cows before performing lascivious acts on them.

Unless she wages a write-in campaign in November against Sonia Chang-Diaz - who unofficial results show is the winner in their rematch for the 2nd Suffolk state senate seat.

Click on the link for other Boston results in today's Democratic primaries, including: In the 5th Suffolk (Dorchester and Roxbury) state rep's race, Marie St. Fleur easily beat back longtime politico Roy Owens, while in the 6th Suffolk (Roxbury, JP and Roslindale), incumbent Willie Mae Allen showed Faustina Gabriel what's what. Over in the 10th Suffolk (West Roxbury and South Brookline), it was incumbent Mike Rush in a cakewalk over Pamela Julian.

Mike Ball reports from a pair of debates at Boston English High - the first between incumbent state Rep. Willie Mae Allen and challenger Kathy Gabriel and the second between incumbent state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson and challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz.

Elsewhere in Debateland:
John Kerry vs. Edward O'Reilly.

Seems like the only time you ever hear of this guy, the august state rep from Hyde Park (and my small sliver of Roslindale) is when he manages to grind the legislature to a halt over some issue that doesn't involve his district at all (anybody remember how he tied up the disposition of the old Boston State Hospital for years?). This time: A liquor license for some supermarket in Westwood.

Via Robert David Sullivan.