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DISTRICT FOUR
Yancey wins, but has his work cut out for him
BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

Just about twice as many people voted, but the result of the general election was essentially the same as that of the preliminary: Councilor Charles Yancey defeated challenger Ego Ezedi by 10 percentage points.

An invigorated Yancey did not sound like a man chastened by a serious show of opposition from within the District Four constituency he has served for 20 years. He blamed the media and forces outside the district for tarnishing his reputation, and described the re-elected progressive triumvirate of himself, Chuck Turner, and Felix Arroyo as a new power center in the city. "We’re going to build on the unity that the three of us have established and bring others in," he said. "It’s the Flahertys and some of my other colleagues who have become insensitive — not just to people of color, but to all hard-working people in Boston fighting to put a roof over their heads."

Yancey would not comment on whether the group would put forward a challenger to Michael Flaherty for council president in January, but he did say this: "I don’t think Flaherty deserves to be president again."

In an impressive display of graciousness after a bitterly fought campaign, Yancey invited Ezedi and his supporters to his victory celebration in Codman Square’s Unity Hall. Ezedi received rousing applause from some 100 Yancey supporters. Earlier in the evening, in his concession speech at the Zodiac Sports and Cultural Club, Ezedi also spoke of making peace with his former opponent — with a caveat. "If something is not broken, then I don’t think you need to fix it. But in two years if it’s still broken, we’re gonna fix it."

Two politicians who put their own political capital on the line for Yancey — Turner and State Senator Dianne Wilkerson — also spoke at his celebration. "This is a new day in Boston," Turner said. "This was a race that focused on the unity of the community."

"This victory is an incredibly loud statement about who we are as a city," Wilkerson added from the stage.

Several black political leaders heralded the election as a sign of new political involvement among Boston’s minority population. Turner himself pointed to the higher-than-expected District Four voter turnout of close to 6700 — not far behind the 7118 who voted in the district in 2001, which was a mayoral-race year.

Some also saw Yancey’s re-election as a rebuke to Flaherty and even Mayor Tom Menino, whom many felt had hoped for Ezedi’s victory. Flaherty had even lent support to the challenger.

Off stage, Wilkerson acknowledged that Ezedi’s challenge was a wake-up call for Yancey not to let his constituents feel taken for granted. "He’s got his work cut out for him," Wilkerson said. "He’s got to do a better job of talking about what he does." He also needs to make a "public peace offering with many community leaders, including a group of clergy who were split and divided by the campaign."


Issue Date: November 7 - 13, 2003
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