Politics

Democratic new guard

by Seth Gitell

In a sign of the shifting power dynamics within the Eighth Congressional District, a gay Latino man, an African-American man, and two women will go to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles to represent Vice-President Al Gore. At a meeting over the weekend, a Democratic caucus voted for State Representative Jarrett Barrios of Cambridge, Derric Small, Lisa LaMattenia, and Mary Kilgallen.

Although such caucus votes generally smack of dry internal party machinations, political observers say this one is rife with implications. First, Barrios, who is Cuban-American, defeated Charlestown's Jimmy Walsh, a district director for Senate president Thomas Birmingham, in a runoff vote. Aiding Walsh in his unsuccessful bid was Representative Gene O'Flaherty of Chelsea, who could end up squaring off against Barrios in a Senate primary should Birmingham run for governor.

Second, the strength of Barrios's diverse coalition -- which included Latinos, progressive voters from Jamaica Plain, and Russian Jews from Mission Hill -- demonstrates the growing importance of the forces that led to the city-council victory of Mike Ross last year. "I will be able to take my affordable-housing message to the convention in Los Angeles," says Barrios, who is serving as an informal adviser to Gore's domestic-policy team. Barrios's partner, Doug Hattaway, is a Gore-campaign spokesman.

Walsh, who was elected as a delegate to the 1996 Democratic National Convention and was Charlestown's first delegate to the Democratic convention back in 1964, doesn't see any larger significance in his defeat. "There is no broad story here," he says. "I love doing this stuff. I worked seven years for Joe Kennedy. I thought it would be a neat thing to do one more time."

But Walsh brought a contingent of voters from Charlestown to aid him in his effort, and they were defeated by the larger numbers that turned out to vote for Barrios. This could reflect a growing political weakness in neighborhoods such as Charlestown and South Boston. Certainly rising housing costs are pushing politically active long-time residents out while younger, more-affluent residents -- who typically aren't involved in grassroots politics -- move in.

Although Walsh works for Birmingham, no one is viewing his defeat as a loss for the Senate president. Alison Franklin, a Birmingham spokeswoman, says Birmingham did not involve himself in the election -- which would be in keeping with his attempt to draw broad support as he seeks re-election this year and, potentially, the governor's office in 2002.