A new table - A new playbook

After getting over the sting of my own candidate not making it to the final, I had to step back and try to understand the bigger picture of the mayoral results. What does Tuesday’s election say about Boston and where it is?

Last night Labor spoke. Many of the pundits had counted them out. For quite a few months, they thought that labor couldn’t beat out the more polished candidates like John Connolly or Mike Ross. With a city that is 53% people of color, there were those who thought that a person of color would be able to ascend to the final round. Others thought that women would make their voices heard and coalesce around the only female candidate.

No, last night it was labor. Last night the unions made their voice heard. From bricklayers to plumbers to fire fighters, labor demonstrated their its power. Without the strong-arm politics of the past, labor organized their base, mobilized them to vote and put their guy at the top. As a person who believes in the importance of a living wage, fair working conditions and good benefits – I celebrate the importance of the labor movement. They gave us the weekend, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Marty Walsh is my neighbor and friend. While I respect him as an individual, I was concerned about the TV clips I saw from Marty’s celebration party. I saw a room full of mostly middle aged white men who probably don’t think of themselves as connected to me, but I bet they are feeling the pinch of the Boston economy just like I am. They were ecstatic to see someone like them make it to the final. I am sure they have hope that their next contract negotiation will go smoother. They hope that there will be more construction jobs for union members to feed their families.

However, as a young Christian, Black woman I know that there can be a huge downside to identity politics. You can get so focused on promoting someone who looks like you or who shares your experience, that you don’t get clear about what your vision is or how you want things to be run.

So my question to Marty’s base is – what is the point of having a construction job if your children won’t be able to afford the condos that you are building? If labor really wants to address the economic issues that are crushing them (and the rest of us), they have to start talking about affordable housing, inclusionary zoning, school-to-career opportunities, and other issues one which they have often been silent. Right now it seems like the traditional electoral structure just updated a page from their old playbook. I want to throw out that playbook and start with a whole new gameplan.

I haven’t figured out whom I will vote for and I have no idea who will win. I do know that I joined Team Barros because I believe in the issues that he raised and because I think it is time for a new day in Boston. I joined because I support a vision not because of one man. Our team grew to be a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, inter-generational team of people who believe that we can have “One Boston” where everyone has real opportunity. I am still committed to building that vision through elections but also through community groups like Right to the City.

Even as we were disappointed that it didn’t happen this round, last night many of us committed to continuing to build and organize for this fall, 2015 and beyond. Our table will be based on vision. We will elect leaders based on where they stand on the issues and for their ability to unite communities. I know that I will be getting calls from both camps to join their team. Instead, I want to invite them to join our team. We may not have gotten our candidate through, but we are still working and there is room at the table for white, working-class union guys, to sit with a Black, middle-class, activist gal to figure out how we make this city work for all of us!