In progressive field, Essaibi George stands out

By CommonWealth Staff Elections 0 Comments Jun 2, 2021

In the world of Twitter and activist Boston, the unfolding contest for mayor looks like a battle to be crowned the undisputed progressive champion ready to lead the city in a new direction. In the world of early polls of the electorate, an imperfect yet probably much better snapshot of where the race actually stands, what’s clear is that there is room for a more moderate candidate to be competitive in the six-way race.

That survey-centered handicapping of the race, which has been the talk of political operatives and insiders for months, came into even sharper relief with the release of a new poll showing CIty Councilor Annissa Essaibi George leading the field.

The poll, carried out by two progressive political consulting firms and reported yesterday by The Bay State Banner, shows Essaibi George with 22 percent, followed by fellow at-large city councilor Michelle Wu with 18 percent and Acting Mayor Kim Janey with 16 percent. Trailing considerably far behind are City Councilor Andrea Campbell with 6 percent and state Rep. Jon Santiago and former city economic development chief John Barros, who each garnered 5 percent. The largest share of those polled — 29 percent — were still undecided.

The September preliminary election that will narrow the field to the two top finishers is still three and a half months off. But the poll suggests more moderate voters, at this stage, may be coalescing around Essaibi George. She made the biggest gain of any candidate compared with an April survey carried out by the MassINC Polling Group for WBUR, the Dorchester Reporter, and The Boston Foundation.

That poll had Wu and Janey running neck and neck with 19 percent and 18 percent of the vote, respectively. The four other candidates all trailed far behind, with support ranging from 3 to 6 percent, while nearly half of those polled — 46 percent — were undecided. The 17-point drop in the undecided number in the new poll, carried out by Poll Progressive and Emancipated Group, seems to have benefitted Essaibi George the most.

Essaibi George, Santiago, and Barros are seen by many as more moderate candidates in the field, but Santiago and Barros appear to have gained little traction in the roughly seven weeks between the two polls.

Asked on this week’s episode of The Codcast whether she is looking to carve out the more moderate lane and appeal to the political base of former mayor Marty Walsh, her Dorchester neighbor while growing up and a close political ally, Essaibi George answered by saying she thinks of herself as a “pragmatic and practical” elected official.

A former Boston high school teacher, Essaibi George has decried the “school to prison pipeline” that she says traps too many black and brown boys in special education classes where they are separated from mainstream classrooms, yet she parts ways with mayoral rivals who favor removing school “resource officers” from schools.

Against the backdrop of protests against police killings of black Americans, she says the city needs to hold police officers accountable, yet she has the largest share of campaign donations from police officers in the field, and recently won the endorsement of former police commissioner William Gross.

Essaibi George’s more moderate positioning may have left-leaning voters crossing her off their list as they weigh their choice, but there are plenty of voters looking more toward the middle, and right now they seem to be leaning her way.

MICHAEL JONAS

FROM COMMONWEALTH

White’s counterattack: Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White is promoting a new narrative that raises disturbing questions about the rush to fire him, which could come as early as today after a hearing with acting Mayor Kim Janey. Over the course of the last week, White has portrayed himself as the victim — not the perpetrator — of abuse and suggested former mayor Marty Walsh, despite his protestations, knew most of the details before promoting White to the police department’s top job.

Using affidavits from his eldest daughter and the sister of his ex-wife, White portrayed himself as the victim of abuse at the hands of his ex-wife. That narrative runs counter to the one put forward by an outside investigator hired by the city, who reported allegations that White abused his ex-wife in 1999 and a niece in 1993. The investigator’s report was based on information from four unnamed individuals — White’s daughter and the sister of his ex-wife were not interviewed.
White also recorded a sworn interview with his attorney in which he said he shared with Walsh that his ex-wife falsely sought a restraining order against him in 1999. Walsh has denied knowing anything about the allegation against White before appointing him commissioner just before leaving to become President Biden’s labor secretary. White buttressed his claim with an affidavit from the police department’s former chief of professional standards, who said he pulled internal affairs cases dealing with the alleged 1993 and 1999 incidents and shared them in 2014 with then-Acting Police Commissioner William Evans when White was promoted to the command staff. Evans, like Walsh, has said he wasn’t aware of the allegations.
Janey, in the midst of a campaign for mayor, seems intent on dismissing White despite the police commissioner’s counter-offensive. In a radio interview, she indicated the allegations of abuse are not the only reasons for his firing, referring to a letter she wrote to him in which she cited his “lack of cooperation and judgment” and his failure to “express any appreciation of the importance of domestic violence concerns to the public.”