District 7 campaign focuses on community

November 07, 2011|By Martine Powers, Globe Staff

For Tito Jackson, District 7 city councilor, the campaign never seems to end.

Tomorrow’s City Council vote will be his fourth time on the ballot for a council election in 11 months, leaving him little opportunity to stop and, well, govern.

But in Jackson’s mind, the marathon of campaigning is a good thing. When done well, he said, governance and campaigning are the same thing.

“I think you should always be focused on staying in the job,’’ he said. “You do that by having an open door and being accessible to constituents.’’

Jackson’s challenger, Sheneal Parker, is working to keep him from getting that chance to stay in the job. A Boston public school teacher fresh out of Emerge Massachusetts, a political leadership training program, Parker, 41, is looking to snag the seat with her platform of economic development and violence reduction through building alliances in the community.

“I’ve been doing this stuff for years,’’ said Parker, a Fenway resident. “Now, I want to take it from a small neighborhood to a bigger neighborhood.

Parker’s history in the community includes holding positions with several organizations: former president of the Fenway Community Development Corporation, member of the Children’s Hospital Community Advisory Board, member of the community task force at Wentworth Institute of Technology.

She has garnered an endorsement from the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.

By all indications, Jackson is the favorite in the district, which encompasses parts of Roxbury, Lower Roxbury, Fenway, and the South End: In the Sept. 27 preliminary election, he won 76 percent of the vote, while Parker advanced with just 11 percent.

Jackson’s popularity may have much to do with his pedigree: His adoptive father was Herb Kwaku Zulu Jackson, a prominent community organizer.

Or it could have something to do with his predecessor, Chuck Turner, convicted of bribery and expelled from the City Council last year.

Jackson said Turner’s legacy helped, not hindered, his first months in office.

“Honestly, the expectation people have in District 7 is great constituent services and advocacy for the things we need and deserve,’’ Jackson said. “I know [Turner], I know the work he did, and there’s a great deal to build on.’’

In his half-year in office, Jackson said, he has kept his focus on jobs and education. He is quick to point out his role in keeping three community centers open and the work he did connecting local residents with 54 openings at a local Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.