Clapprood for Congress

A singular choice in a crowded field

Voters are very fortunate this year. In the Eighth Congressional District -- which includes most of Boston as well as Charlestown, Chelsea, Somerville, Cambridge, Watertown, and Belmont -- an impressive number of highly qualified candidates have stepped into the ring. It is hard to imagine that there is another district in the nation where the citizens are blessed with so many good choices.

Now, in a district that will surely send a Democrat to Congress, the September 15 primary is less than two weeks away. It is time to choose.

Several of the candidates have made a strong case that they deserve the honor of representing the Eighth. Tom Keane has emerged from the ranks of the relatively high-profile, but nearly powerless, Boston City Council to show that he is an energetic, forward-looking thinker who truly understands the tough choices that public policy demands. Mike Capuano, the Somerville mayor, has shown that a politician can embrace progressive values without losing touch with a blue-color constituency. John O'Connor has kept the environment on the agenda. One cannot help but admire George Bachrach's life experience and unswerving dedication to the social good. And self-made Chris Gabrieli has combined a deep knowledge of a wide range of issues with a willingness to challenge the Democratic orthodoxy; he represents the best kind of "outsider" campaign.

But our choice is Marjorie O'Neill Clapprood.

Clapprood is a fighter. She is willing and eager to do battle even when the odds are against her. In the vast sea of conservative talk radio, she was an unflinching voice for liberal causes -- for the ignored, the unpopular, the dispossessed. Gays and lesbians throughout the district remember that she has been unfailing in her support -- one reason so many in the community favor her so strongly. They understand that she is loud -- and that is good.

Clapprood is also a woman. There can be no doubt that women bring a different perspective to office. And there is no doubt that they are sadly underrepresented in office. Why does Massachusetts, a supposed bastion of progressive values, have so few female elected officials? Why is the congressional delegation an all-male affair? Clapprood represents a chance to fix that. She does not need to be told why a woman's right to choose is so fundamental -- she knows instinctively.

Indeed, perhaps the most compelling aspect of her candidacy is her deeply held belief in the family. Clapprood -- a working mother from a hardscrabble background, a onetime resident of public housing -- knows what family values should mean. Family values means a welfare program that encourages people to succeed instead of setting them up to fail. Family values means that health care is not a luxury. Family values means that public education must be made to work. Family values is the firm conviction that a hungry child is a sign of a failed society. Clapprood knows these things, and she will not forget them when she goes to Washington. She is an experienced legislator. She learned how to wheel, deal, and, yes, compromise on Beacon Hill.

We have our differences with Clapprood. We believe, for example, that she needs to be open to more radical fixes for the school system. But we expect that, on this and other policy issues, she would grow into her new position.

Clapprood is also among the best positioned to beat the presumed front-runner, Ray Flynn. We harbor no ill will toward Flynn. As mayor, he brought the city through an achingly difficult and divisive period with masterful, brilliant touches. That, however, was many years ago. His time is past; he is out of touch. He does not support a woman's right to choose. And he has cynically avoided a discussion of the issues in this campaign. Indeed, it is difficult to escape the feeling that, for Flynn, this race is not so much about representing the people of the Eighth as it is about Ray Flynn -- about salvaging a flagging reputation and finding a job. On the political landscape, he is now less of a force and more of a fixture.

The irony is that Flynn owes his lead to the very richness of the field. With so many choices, the progressive vote has splintered, leaving him the leader by default.

Make no mistake about it: all the candidates have a right to run. The public has been well served by their campaigns. But the time has come for progressives to unite. The reality is that many of the men and women in the field have more in common with each other than with Flynn. We urge the candidates who, in their hearts, suspect they cannot win to throw their support to the candidate who hews closest to their ideals. After so many months of hard work and sacrifice, this would not be an easy decision, but it would be an uncommonly noble and public-spirited one. The public needs clearer choices. We should not send our next representative to Congress on a sliver of a mandate.

The race for the Eighth has drawn the nation's attention. It is a historic seat, the former bailiwick of John F. Kennedy and Tip O'Neill. In the 12 years he served, Joseph Kennedy honored the legacy he won. We do not now need an unsteady pol in the twilight of his career. We need a fighter, a woman who understands the importance of choice, a candidate who is an experienced legislator, a person who understands what it means to struggle and what it takes to succeed. We need Marjorie Clapprood.

What do you think? Send an e-mail to letters[a]phx.com.