Powered by Google
Home
Listings
Editors' Picks
News
Music
Movies
Food
Life
Arts + Books
Rec Room
Moonsigns
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Personals
Adult Personals
Classifieds
Adult Classifieds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
stuff@night
FNX Radio
Band Guide
MassWeb Printing
- - - - - - - - - - - -
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Work For Us
Newsletter
RSS Feeds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Webmaster
Archives



sponsored links
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
PassionShop.com
Sex Toys - Adult  DVDs - Sexy  Lingerie


   
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend

Yoon is busting out all over, continued


Related Links

Sam Yoon, Boston City Council At-Large

Yoon’s campaign Web site.

Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department

The official government-sponsored Web site.

Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral

Cabral’s home page from the 2004 election. Includes numerous links to stories celebrating Cabral’s unexpected victory over at-large Boston city councilor Steve Murphy in the Democratic primary.

SWORD OF DAMOCLES FOR CABRAL?

A year ago, the political question of the moment was whether Tom Finneran, then-Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, would actually be indicted for perjury. Now Suffolk County sheriff Andrea Cabral — who’s reportedly the subject of a federal grand-jury investigation involving possible perjury — has replaced Finneran as the object of such curiosity. The investigation of Cabral allegedly focuses on her sworn testimony regarding Sheila Porter, an FBI informant and former nurse at the Suffolk County House of Correction. Porter, who worked as a contractor, says she was barred from the jail for assisting the FBI with its investigation of inmate abuse there, and has filed a civil suit of her own; Cabral reportedly testified that Porter was barred for failing to properly document an incident of abuse.

At present, no charges have been announced by US Attorney Michael Sullivan. And many Cabral supporters say they’re confident the sheriff will emerge unscathed. "Knowing the sheriff as well as I do, and having spoken to her about a lot of what’s going on, it’s hard for me to believe that anyone’s legally going to corner her and her legal team," says political consultant Frank Perullo, who worked on Cabral’s 2004 campaign. "These are some of the sharpest legal minds in Boston."

Maybe so. Still, there’s been a steady stream of ominous reportage about Cabral’s situation, with the Boston Herald writing last week that Governor Mitt Romney was considering whom to appoint as her successor if Cabral is indicted and steps down. (Also, in what seems to be a professional hazard for sheriffs, 10 jail guards filed suit against Cabral, charging that they were de-deputized as punishment for supporting her opponent, city councilor Steve Murphy, in last year’s Democratic primary.)

If things keep getting worse for Cabral, her own political future may be in jeopardy. Outside of Cabral’s inner circle, no one knows if the sheriff harbors loftier aspirations. But if she’s actually indicted — even if the charges don’t stick — the taint could be hard to shake, especially given the general inability of previous Suffolk County sheriffs to move on to bigger and better things. (Neither Bob Rufo, who was known as a serious policy wonk, nor Dennis Kearney, a popular old-school politician, had much success with mayoral bids.)

A Cabral indictment could also pose problems for Matt O’Malley, the at-large Boston City Council candidate. O’Malley ran well in 2003, but wasn’t elected; this year, he’s been a popular pick to land one of the council’s four at-large slots. However, O’Malley — who managed Cabral’s 2004 campaign — has also made every effort to hitch his star to the sheriff’s. Earlier this year, for example, O’Malley’s fliers featured him and Cabral standing in front of a happy crowd of supporters; from the picture alone, it was hard to tell who the candidate was. O’Malley may be able to draw on the legacy of his 2003 run if Cabral gets indicted. But he’ll have to change his sales pitch, and fast.

Then there’s the question of the overarching change Cabral’s win was supposed to represent. Few observers thought Cabral would beat Murphy in the Democratic primary. When she did, her win was promptly folded into a narrative of mounting progressive and minority electoral strength, a story that began with Arroyo’s 2003 council win.

For now, most political observers seem to agree that, even if things continue getting worse for Cabral, the bigger sea change represented by her election will continue apace. "Neither Arroyo nor Cabral are the change in the political landscape — they’re just the representation of the change," says one progressive observer.

It’s a compelling argument. After all, Cabral’s impolitic personal style has been widely noted, and the collective desire for a progressive voice on the council seems as responsible for Arroyo’s success as his own political skills. Furthermore, Cabral’s no longer the end of the story. Earlier this year, in a striking bit of electoral symbolism, Linda Dorcena Forry — a Haitian-American — won a special election to fill the 12th Suffolk House seat vacated by Finneran. Maybe Yoon will be the next candidate of color to turn heads by winning election; maybe someone else will. Whatever happens to Cabral, the seismic shift in Boston’s political landscape will continue. The only question is, how quickly?

Adam Reilly can be reached at areilly[a]phx.com.

page 2 

Issue Date: August 19 - 25, 2005
Back to the News & Features table of contents
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend
 









about the phoenix |  advertising info |  Webmaster |  work for us
Copyright © 2005 Phoenix Media/Communications Group