Trav is Out -- Race to Replace Him Begins

Now that former Senate President Travaglini has resigned for greener pastures (he has three kids to put through college, after all), the Boston Globe has the early cattle call of the candidates to replace him in the First Suffolk and Middlesex district. The article lists Dan Rizzo, a city councilor and insurance agent from Revere; Representatives Anthony Petrucelli (D-East Boston) and Tim Toomey (D-Cambridge); Phil Boncore, a Winthrop city councilor at large, attorney and poker enthusiast(?); and Chuck Famolare, the Winthrop harbormaster. For those keeping score at home, both Petrucelli and Toomey voted against the gay marriage ban in January's Constitutional Convention. Other than that, I don't know much about the candidates. Petrucelli is said to have the backing of both Menino and Trav.

The First Suffolk and Middlesex District consists of all of Winthrop, all but three precincts in Revere, all of East Boston, Boston's North End, East Cambridge and Cambridgeport. The voting population center of the district is Boston, but not by as much as you'd think. In 2002's general election, the first year after redistricting, votes from Boston only accounted for 31% of the total vote with Cambridge coming in at 27% and Revere at 25%. In a special election, there's no reason why a candidate from Boston would necessarily have a built-in advantage.

As always, Blue Mass Group has more.