With the Special Election Preliminary for the District 1 City Council seat less than two months away the two candidates are pounding the pavement, knocking doors, raising money, releasing their plans for the district and squaring off at community forums.
East Boston’s Gabriela Coletta and Tania Del Rio will face each other during the May 3 Preliminary Election and with no Republican challengers the winner of that race will become the District’s next City Councilor.
The month of February was a busy month for the two candidates as they attended several community forums in the district as well as recent Democratic Ward Caucuses that elected delegates to the state convention in June.
Also, Coletta and Del Rio have been busy raising money for their campaigns but it seems Coletta has taken the lead.
According to the Office of Campaign and Political Fiance Coletta raised $27,010.67 during the month of February and has $71,784.07 cash on hand according to her fundraising disclosures.
Del Rio raised $11,957.98 last month and has $34,606.39 cash on hand according to her report.
Coletta could increase that total with two upcoming fundraisers this month. Coletta will host a fundraising event alongside supporters at the Cunard Tavern in East Boston on Wednesday, March 23 at 5:30 pm.
Despite trailing in fundraising Del Rio recently picked up the endorsement of former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, who served during the Dukakis Administration.
“I am so excited to announce the support of former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts Evelyn Murphy, a real trailblazer in our state,” said Del Rio. “As the first woman in our Commonwealth to hold a constitutional elected office, Evelyn is a pioneer of women. We first met when I was the Executive Director of the Office of Women’s Advancement, and she now chairs the Boston Women’s Workforce Council. I am proud to call Evelyn a close mentor of mine and to have her support.”
On Monday, the two candidates addressed members of the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association (JPNA).
Coletta, who worked at the New England Aquarium on climate resiliency and equitable access to the waterfront after leaving Sen. Lydia Edward’s office where she was Chief of Staff, said she recently released her environmental justice and climate change policy.
“We’re dealing with a compounding displacement crisis, due to both development and gentrification and in the very near future, about 11,000 people, a majority of them low income people of color, will be displaced due to coastal flooding and sea level rise,” said Coletta. “The city has a significant role to play in planning for our future with waterfront investment to protect our neighborhoods from sea level rise. I’m pleased to see the recent announcement by Mayor Michelle Wu to launch the Municipal Harbor Plan for East Boston that prioritizes waterfront resiliency and equity. I’m proud of my work at the New England Aquarium for the last six months where my main responsibility was pushing the city to implement exactly what she announced. Whatever happens through this process it needs to be community led with an emphasis on the needs of centering or centering the needs of residents are what their vision is for their waterfront and I believe it should utilize contemporary resilience strategies seen around the world. I believe we need to meet the sea on a district wide scale by using both passive and active permeable spaces and I’d also like to see living shorelines that act as waterfront classrooms for BPS and community based organizations and we must plan for the inclusion of all Bostonians to enjoy the waterfront regardless of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status”
Del Rio said she also has an eye on the environment and ideas on how to address the issue.
“We need a process that really puts planning first and brings the neighborhood’s voices into account,” said Del Rio. “On my green agenda I’ll be fighting to accelerate carbon emission reductions. I want to really focus on creating smart traffic solutions that make public transit more accessible, affordable, reliable and more attractive for people to use so less cars are traveling our streets. I want to make our city resilient for the next generation by fighting for frequent and reliable water transportation to the district and protect the public’s access to the Harborwalk. The three neighborhoods that are part of our district are all facing the challenges that come with being harbored connected like climate change, flood risk and a lot of other challenges. So if today we feel separated by the harbor, we need to find ways in which it can unite us because our community really values diversity. We’re a tapestry with threads that run in different directions with different textures and different colors, but we come together and we form a beautiful work of art.”