Diversity program grads to become Hub’s new leaders

Yawu Miller

Tito Jackson has long thought about throwing his hat into the ring and running for elected office. But as a political outsider, he knew he was missing valuable information.

“I always wanted to know what’s the actual skill set you need to run for office,” he said. “How do you raise money?”

Four months ago, Jackson took the first step, enrolling in the inaugural class of the Initiative for Diversity in Civic Leadership. The 16-week program, managed by ¿Oíste?, the Massachusetts Latino political organization, walked Jackson and 27 other people of color through the fundamentals of candidate training, public administration, adaptive leadership and public policy.

The initiative’s aim — increasing the ranks of people of color in elected and appointed public office — has already borne fruit. Jackson was recently appointed director of information technology industries in the Patrick administration and Carlos Da Silva was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals in Quincy.

Two other graduates are planning to run in the 2009 Boston City Council elections: Patrick administration scheduler David Halbert and Calvin Feliciano, a legislative aide to City Councilor Felix Arroyo.

Most notably, East Boston activist Gloribell Mota left the program a month early, throwing her hat into the four-way special election to fill the seat vacated by former state Rep. Anthony Petruccelli.

All 28 graduates gathered Monday at Suffolk University Law School for the initiative’s first graduation ceremony. Gov. Deval Patrick, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and state Reps. Gloria Fox and Byron Rushing joined the graduation, as did former gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross.

¿Oíste? Executive Director Giovanna Negretti says she is pleased with the early outcomes for the first crop of graduates.

“We strived to make a program that was comprehensive and real so people could come out with skills, so people could know what does it mean to be a leader of color,” she said.

The initiative grew out of the Boston Foundation’s work with nonprofit organizations that run the Civic Engagement Initiative, an effort that has helped community-based organizations working in communities of color in the Greater Boston area boost voter turnout.

The 2000 Census revealed that Boston now has a population that is more than 50 percent people of color.

“The theory was that more voters would yield more candidates,” said Angel Bermudez, senior director of grantmaking and special projects at the Boston Foundation.

Despite increased population and increased voter participation in communities of color, however, there has been a dearth of candidates of color seeking office in Boston. People of color remain underrepresented in City Hall and the State House.

Of the 13 Boston city councilors, just four are people of color.

“When you think about the city today and how it’s changed, don’t forget that we’re a majority minority city,” said Menino in his remarks to the gathering. “That should be reflected in our businesses and our government and everything we do.”

Patrick, who also addressed the group, said electing more people of color will inspire voters in their districts to be more engaged.

“Your participation at a leadership level will lead to greater participation at the citizenship level,” he told the graduates.

Jackson says he doesn’t know when he’ll run or for what office. But he says the people he’s worked with over the last four months will likely be willing to help, and that by the same token, he’ll help with their campaigns.

“So many people sit on the sidelines and complain,” he said. “It’s good to be with people who are willing to mix it up and work for real change.”