BU News Service reached out to every candidate on the ballot for this year’s municipal election with the same questionnaire. These are the responses.
At-Large
Annissa Essaibi-George
Michelle Wu
The following at-large candidates did not respond to the questionnaire: Michael Flaherty, Ayanna Pressley, Stephen Murphy.
District Races
District Three
Donnie Palmer
Which office are you running for?
I’m running for Frank Baker’s seat! It’s time to get him out of office.
The city council of Boston needs a conservative and a pragmatist. The council needs an individual ready to tackle issues straight on. I’m not here to dance around issues; I’m here to fight to make life better for the people.
I seek to conserve our city; I want our city to be never be Detroit or a Baltimore. I’m a veteran who cares about my country, and I am ready to tackle the task of making it better.
My first focus would be our school system. The city’s public school system is a bust and it needs to be reformed. We need to kick common core out of our schools and get our students reading. What good is a school system if kids are not learning? It cost $18,500 a year to attend Boston Public Schools and students still are not reading on grade level!
My focus is on the people! Liberals of our city pass policies that make them feel like a “good guy” or “bad guy” instead of focusing on if the policy will work and benefit the people.
I seek to conserve our city. The less government involvement, the better. The people and the communities know more about our neighborhoods than our government.
Thomas Sowell also spoke for me when he said “Out of every hundred new ideas, ninety-nine or more will probably be inferior to the traditional responses which they propose to replace. No one man, however brilliant or well-informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for those are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history.”
How many years do you have in office?
This is my first run at office. Win or lose, I’ve won! I have the experience to run and I will utilize the skill of campaigning again later.
What issues are most important to you?
The issues that are most important to me are: public safety, common core, Boston not becoming a sanctuary city, finding jobs and housing for homeless vets and fighting to keep black lives matter activist out of Dorchester.
How would you describe your district?
Dorchester is a melting pot of many nations. Dorchester has the most homeowners in Massachusetts. It has weak representation and it needs a real leader, which is why I am running.
What are the priorities of your constituents?
My obligation to my constituents is to not be like Frank Baker, to be a man of my community, take a stand for what right and be the voice for Dorchester residents. I told myself that I would campaign by not taking money from my Dorchester people. Times are hard for the residents in Dorchester, not only in my neighborhood but all over. I knocked on hundreds of doors this year and shook thousands of hands. I walked everywhere in Dorchester to meet people and greet them face to face. I will keep an open door policy unlike Frank Baker.
What does your district bring to the City of Boston?
What my district brings to the city of Boston is diversity. We have large Latino, Vietnamese, Cape Verdean, Polish, Albanian, Irish and African American populations all over Dorchester. My mom and dad were immigrants from Honduras. I grew up with every nationality I just previously listed played sports hung out with and befriended. My experience and who I am makes me the best candidate for Dorchester city councilor.
