Tobin, Rivera court voters for District 6 city council race

Vidya Rao

On November 8th, voters in District 6 will make a choice between activist Gibran Rivera and incumbent John Tobin for city council.

District 6 is comprised of Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and parts of Roslindale and Roxbury, making it a mix of working class communities, people of color, immigrants and the wealthier, generally Irish American demographic of West Roxbury.

Tobin has a stronghold in West Roxbury, while appealing to some voters in Jamaica Plain. Rivera, conversely, maintains a grip on voters in Jamaica Plain, while continuing to campaign for votes in West Roxbury.

The question is whether or not a grassroots, community organized campaign can beat out a candidate who has much more financial support.

“It’s pretty clearly a grassroots campaign up against a well funded incumbent,” says Patrick Keaney, campaign manager for at-large City Councilor Felix Arroyo. “Your heart says you want the underdog to win, your head says it is tough. [Rivera] has to do everything right and Tobin has to make a big mistake — which I don’t think he has.”

Debates have surfaced two of the main contentious issues in this race: neighborhood schools and rent regulation. Tobin is against the current busing system, favoring neighborhood schools.

“I staunchly support neighborhood schools because parental involvement and strong leadership are key and are greater when schools are part of the community — like the local library, police office, etc.,” says Tobin.

Rivera, however, contends that the option of neighborhood schools currently is not genuine, citing the fact that communities in Dorchester and Roxbury have fewer school seats per child.

“Boston will be able to have neighborhood schools when most neighborhoods have schools,” he says. “Then this will become a legitimate choice.”

Rivera says his current focus on education involves making sure that performance indicators improve throughout Boston, and his long-term goal is to increase the number of school seats in the communities that need them.

Another issue that the two candidates disagree on is that of rent regulation. Rivera supports the Community Stabilization Act, which would regulate annual rent increases. “This is not even rent control,” he says. “It’s not that you can’t raise rents, you just have to justify it.”

Tobin, on the other hand, makes it clear that he has not and will not support the CSA, saying that even if it is passed by the city council, it would “never in a million years be passed by the state Legislature.” Tobin adds that “I don’t want to be selling dreams and false hopes knowing full well it would never be signed into law.”

He acknowledges that rental rates have increased disproportionately to people’s incomes, and states that the issue is really one of housing production.

“I think he’s got a challenge on his hands, especially on the issues of housing and schools,” state Rep. Liz Malia says in regards to Tobin’s campaign in Jamaica Plain, as the largely progressive people of color and immigrant population have responded well to Rivera’s platform.

When asked about how he is campaigning in Jamaica Plain, Tobin simply told the Banner that he “says the same thing in both districts.” He says his record, while being education chair and his consistency with constituent services, will help him get the votes he needs to be re-elected.

“People say Jamaica Plain is my Achilles heel,” says Tobin. “But I won it twice, and I will win it again.”

Rivera says he believes he can garner the votes he needs from West Roxbury, stating that community rallies in the area have been very positive.

“The community values aspect of my campaign has resonated well with people [in West Roxbury]. Also remember that there is a huge number of union members in West Roxbury, and they have responded to issues of workers’ rights,” adds Rivera.

Rivera also notes that he has been freed up to spend much of his own time campaigning in West Roxbury because he has staff and volunteers that are continuing to organize and campaign in Jamaica Plain.

Keaney suggests that Rivera needs at least 25 percent of the vote in West Roxbury in order to win the election.

“When I first talked to Gibran, I told him he didn’t have a chance; halfway through it was a long shot; now it’s much better than a long shot and it’s up to the voters,” says Keaney.

Keaney also points out that because of the campaigning of Felix Arroyo to be re-elected city councilor at-large, there will be a higher voter turnout — of which Rivera will likely be a beneficiary.

Regardless of the result, Rivera says that his campaign has already been a success.

“When we set out on this campaign, we were committed to doing it in a different way. Most people that have not been included are included in our campaign. The way we have run is a significant victory.” Malia agrees that the campaigning on both sides has been positive.

“The campaign has been good for all of us,” she says. “The dialogue has been really good, both professional and positive and it has energized a lot of people, gotten a lot of people involved.”