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Dianne Wilkerson hopes past isn't prologue; signals intent to run for the state-senate seat she lost during bra-gate

By adamg on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 9:52pm

GBH reports former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson has pulled nomination papers to run for the 2nd Suffolk district she lost to Sonia Chang-Diaz in 2008, following her arrest in a bribery scandal the month before the election.

Chang-Diaz is running for governor this year. Wilkerson, who got 3 1/2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges in 2010, has become a force in Black electoral politics in Boston again. She spearheaded two "Wakanda" efforts to elect Black candidates, winning with Rachael Rollins for DA in 2018, but losing with Kim Janey for mayor last year. Wilkerson was also active in a Covid-19 task force at the start of the pandemic.

Several other candidates have already announced runs for the 2nd Suffolk seat, including state Reps. Nika Elugardo and Liz Miranda. Also running: Rev. Miniard Culpepper.

Neighborhoods: 
Jamaica Plain
Roxbury
Topics: 
Politics
Free tagging: 
Dianne Wilkerson
2nd suffolk
2022 elections
state senate


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Comments

By MassMouse on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 10:01pm.

JUST GO AWAY!!!

By MassMouse on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 10:03pm.

JUST GO AWAY!!!

By Waquiot on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 10:40pm.

But on a related note, I think you misspelled "Kim Janey" in the text above. I wouldn't give her credit for Rollins the first time, but Rollins sat things out last year.

By adamg on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:16am.

Thanks.

By SatansFist on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 11:00pm.

That Rollins for mayor run was rather forgettable.

By Username Unknown on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 11:47pm.

She will get votes. Plenty of folks in her district supporter her crooked ways for many years and they will do so again. They see it as one of their own beating the system.

By anon on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 8:16am.

Exactly!!! She was just playing the same game as all the others. They didn’t like it, so they set her up.

By Lee on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 11:23am.

… with a black woman was more than some of them could bear.

By Username Unknown on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 12:18pm.

You can't be set up if your hand is out and you accept the money...

By Sock_Puppet on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 2:07pm.

If you've been to jail, vote for me. I know what it's like.

By MassMouse on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:15pm.

The Pride and Joy of Providence

By HolyMolyCodPiece on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 6:34am.

Go back from whence you came, oh corrupted one!

By Wiffleball on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 8:14am.

Dunno why. You'd think she'd be big in the House.

By John Costello on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:49am.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/06/23/senator-agrees-lower-her-ro...

By Sock_Puppet on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 2:07pm.

Who was in the Big House

By StillFromDorchester on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 8:56am.

Monica Cannon- Grant as her campaign manager. :)

By brianjdamico on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 8:22am.

at least for a while...

By Anon on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:11am.

I believe in redemption and while I found her political activism to be a little uneasy it was still benign as she was just influencing not deciding.

There is a difference between forgiveness and not learning lessons though. What she did was a severe breach of the public trust. She has not shown remorse for her actions. In fact she was more remorseful that she did not bring a bag with her than actually taking the bribes.

That does not mean she should live in the sewers but lets not pretend like nothing happened.

By jmeltzer on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:42am.

Anyone know? :-)

By cybah on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 10:18am.

Erin go Bra-less

By Lee on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:46am.

… she was likely just the tip of an iceberg. Small peanuts.

What I recall as being more disturbing was the city councilor, whose name escapes me at the moment, who was found guilty of accepting a small bribe. This after many years of admirable efforts and successes working to protect the poor and working class in his district.
No excuses for him either. But it was disappointing to lose such a dedicated hard working advocate.
Both he and Wilkerson were made much of in the press. Republicans were all over it like ants at a picnic.

By Waquiot on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 10:06am.

The difference between Wilkerson and Turner is that Turner spent decades of advocating for the community (he was involved in stopping the Southwest Expressway, to give you the scope of his work.) Wilkerson was a politician true and true. Remember that the bribes came after her numerous violations of campaign finance laws. That's a lot of financial malfeasance.

But, I'm not in the district, so whatever.

By JayF on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 11:28am.

This was not a case of apples and oranges. After Dianne was able to secure $23,500 from the Feds' guy, she sent him to Chuck who then took $1,000 from him, all caught on tape, which he would later lie about to the same feds who caught him in the sting. At the time it seemed like there was a certain way of doing business in Roxbury that involved multiple parties at different levels of government. This was all over a liquor license which we all know are in short supply so there's no need to pay anyone beyond the $400K asking price.

Also, back in '04, Chuck Turner accused American soldiers of raping Iraqi women and provided photographic evidence of it which later turned out to be a low-quality porn shoot, among a host of other embarrassing activities. He was not the great political mind some revisionists would like to believe.

By eeka on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 11:29am.

She is actively involved in the community and frequently offers advice and assistance to people she doesn't even know. She's shared her legal/policy knowledge and her network of folks to helpe a lot of our neighbors with issues with mortgages and medical bills and such.

By Lee on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 11:56am.

And I remember that.

By Pete Nice on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 1:34pm.

And she will be very helpful.

By ScottB on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 1:56pm.

But there are thousands of bright, capable women of color in that district who aren't convicted felons, disbarred lawyers, and tax evaders! Someone with a J.D. has no excuse for the shenanigans she pulled. If she didn't know better, what the f--- did she get out of law school??

If she really wants to have a meaningful impact for the community, maybe she ought to try mentoring younger women who can fill that role and avoid the obvious mistakes she made. But no, it's all about her.

By Refugee on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 12:27pm.

The crazy thing about Chuck Turner is that at the time he accepted the cash (which seemed to be offered more as a gratuity after the fact than as a quid pro quo bribe) he had loaned his campaign like $150k, was driving a beat up car, and was the only councilor maintaining a second office in his district. His real offense was not being diligent with his paperwork.

By Dave on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 2:25pm.

Chuck and his racist pal Sadiki were the ones who convinced the all-too-willing dumbasses at the Globe to print (on Page Two of their family newspaper) some visible-dong selections from their pr0n collections in a scheme to try to damage Dubya's reelection chances during the Iraq war.

By Waquiot on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 10:35pm.

Here's an interesting fact. One of Chuck Turner's classmates at Harvard was Theodore Kaczynski. Suffice to say, they were both in jail at the same time. Again, not to excuse Turner's crimes, but he never killed anyone.

By stonian on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:52am.

I would NEVER vote for her. I appreciate her redemption arc, but I'm not voting for her for public office.

By Homer Bedloe on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 9:57am.

And WILL vote for her.

By Username Unknown on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 12:17pm.

I am honestly curious about your reasons for supporter her?

By cybah on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 10:19am.

Welp when the private sector knows you don't have any marketable skills except maybe a bra fitter at Playtex.. gotta go back to the public dole.