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Scaccia to face competition in Hyde Park/Roslindale state-rep district

Segun Idowu

Segun Idowu of Hyde Park has announced an exploratory committee to look at running next year for the 14th Suffolk state-representative seat long held by Angelo Scaccia.

Idowu, 29 and a graduate of Boston Latin Academy and Morehouse College, was one of the founders of the Boston Police Camera Action Team, which has been fighting since 2015 to require BPD officers to wear body cameras.

Scaccia is the longest-serving state representative in office. Save for a two-year break in the late 1970s, he has represented Hyde Park, part of Roslindale and a sliver of West Roxbury since 1973.

In 2014, he fended off challenges from Virak Uy and Anthony Solamine.

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Comments

I think Segun would do a great job representing the district in the state house. He grew up in the district, worked hard in school and got an excellent education. He's worked on grassroots issues and he's studied the demographics of the district. I don't think you could find a better candidate for state rep. in the district.

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n/t

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and toss out the garbage incumbent. Sadly, that's rarely how this works around here.

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"form an exploratory committee", then perhaps more people would be inclined to run for office and try to unseat the incumbents.

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Anyone can take out papers, gather signatures, and get on the ballot.

Now, if you want to be a serious contender, you do what he did. As a bonus, Scaccia is now on notice.

I’m a Scaccia guy, but this guy seems nice.

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but there are book-keeping requirements if you spend money on a campaign, and if you raise money, you're not allowed to act as the treasurer of your own election committee (or chair, or something).

So there's a barrier that keeps armchair politicians out of the fray, which is to say there are rules to follow, which might discourage people with day jobs from taking the time to make sure that the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. People who aren't on the inside already might think they'd need to hire a lawyer to make sure they aren't exposing themselves to "something."

I've not formed an opinion on whether that's good or bad. It's just not completely correct to say "anyone can do it." You've got to have your shit together (which is good) but if you think it's too much hassle to be worth it, people won't bother (which is bad).

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That would be the difference between anyone running and someone mounting a serious campaign. I wouldn’t say the book keeping requirement is onerous, but it why this guy has an “exploratory committee”. He can decide not to run and return funds, but he now has the ability to raise funds before officially entering the race.

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What?

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He’s testing the waters. He has a budget for the race. Now he just needs the funds.

As for the other part, you know that people just get their names on the ballot and hope. If you haven’t, check out the campaign finance reports of a certain commenter here. Big loans to himself, which were paid back minus expenses.

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What makes him a "garbage incumbent" besides being in office a long time?

He could be horrible or he could be great but selecting your reps due to years in office (or lack thereof) seems like a horrible way to pick reps.

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Community meetings, met with DCR, got the neighbors behind it ... and Scaccia killed it using insider dealings behind the scenes.

Classic patronage politics overrunning democratic process.

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Scaccia has represented himself and his pension for longer than Segun has been alive.

Get the dog people out and he'll be golden.

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will he be the first graduate of an historically black college to serve in the MA state legislature?

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Who cares?!?

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And perhaps some of the African American residents of the district.

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Who are neither black nor grads of HBCs.

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Are you a resident of the district?

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What is the purpose of this comment? If this fact simply doesn't interest you you would have scrolled right past it. Are you intending to create a hostile environment for anyone who brings up issues related to people of color?

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How about we just choose the best person for the job?

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Gretchen Van Ness also announced today.

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Technically, there are only 2 candidates, unless you have confirmed that Scaccia is running for re-election.

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Segun is a smart, thoughtful guy. The 14th would benefit from a person like him representing them.

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