Allison Cartwright was a relative unknown when she announced she was running for office in February. So, too, was the office she sought — the clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County.
Like so many idiosyncratic features of the Massachusetts political system, neither the office nor the outgoing clerk — 28-year incumbent Maura Doyle — were household names.
Facing off against at-large Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy, Cartwright appeared to face a slew of hurdles, including gaining name recognition, educating voters on the importance of the position and running for office while holding down a full-time job as a managing director for the Committee for Public Council Services, the state office that provides attorneys for low-income defendants.
When Cartwright’s campaign declared victory Tuesday evening, during a victory party at the Haven restaurant in Jamaica Plain, her 60% margin of victory in unofficial Boston Election Department results continued a trend of progressive change in Boston’s political landscape.
Addressing campaign workers, elected officials and supporters, Cartwright stressed that her win was a team effort.
“This is not a victory for me,” she said. “This is a victory for us. This is a victory for democracy, a victory for the independence of our courts, and especially, for our state’s highest court.”
Her remarks underscored a key aspect of her campaign strategy, as outlined by state Sen. Lydia Edwards, who served as a co-chair of the campaign.
“We knew she would lose if it was about name recognition alone,” Edwards said in a phone interview. “So we had to make this about the position.”
Over the course of her campaign, Cartwright and her supporters emphasized her experience working as a criminal defense attorney and leading an office of public defenders — a mixture of legal experience and managerial experience they said was necessary to run the Superior Court and manage its personnel.
Murphy, who worked as a Boston Public Schools teacher prior to her election to the City Council, seemed to struggle more with a case for her qualifications to run the court, arguing that a law degree wasn’t necessary for the job.
With the state primary on Sept. 3, the day after the Labor Day holiday, political pundits predicted low turnout. Indeed, little more than 14% of Boston voters cast ballots in the primary. Typically, low-turnout elections in Boston have favored conservative-leaning candidates, pulling out more Irish American voters in traditionally working-class precincts.
Murphy, who supports police officers in schools and opposed changes to the admissions policies at the city’s exam schools where Black and Latino students have been underrepresented, certainly drew from the traditional conservative-leaning strongholds. She won Ward 2 in Charlestown, wards 6 and 7 in South Boston and Ward 16 — the most heavily white ward in Dorchester.
But Cartwright won the other 18 wards in the city, including the West Roxbury-based Ward 20, which for decades was an Irish American stronghold, eking out a 3.7% percent lead over Murphy there.
In Suffolk County’s other three towns, Murphy won Winthrop, while Cartwright won Chelsea and Revere.
State Rep. Russell Holmes said Cartwright’s clear articulation of her qualifications for the job swayed voters.
“I could feel the groundswell of support before election day,” he said. “Her message about the importance of having an attorney in the job resonated.”
Jonathan Cohn, policy director at Progressive Massachusetts, said the election results point to a progressive majority in Boston that has rendered it virtually impossible for conservative-leaning candidates to win.
“It’s like a rainbow coalition that brings together Black Boston, Chinatown, Latinos and white liberals,” he said. “That kind of coalition is one that can win power, and has won against more conservative interests in the past.”
While many Black voters stayed home, with turnout less than 10% in many precincts in Roxbury and the predominantly Black parts of Dorchester, support for Cartwright was strong in the community. In the Roxbury-based Ward 12, Cartwright received 75.8% of the vote.
District 7 City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who handed out literature supporting Cartwright and Governor’s Council candidate Stacey Borden at the Higginson-Lewis School, said many in that area were unaware of the Sept. 3 primary date.
“We need to do better as a city to get higher voter turnout,” she said.
At-large City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, who also supported Cartwright, noted there were no lines at any polling locations in her Hyde Park neighborhood, where voters turned out at 14.8%.
“Voter turnout in Boston is primarily financed by campaigns,” she said. “It costs a lot to talk to voters.”
Louijeune, who raised more than $250,000 during last year’s council election in which she was the top vote-getter, knows the drill. In citywide races, campaign mailers are the most reliable means of getting a candidate in front of voters. But such mailings are expensive. Cartwright’s campaign, which had to reach out to voters in Boston as well as Revere, Chelsea and Winthrop, was able to raise $108,772 between March and September.
High-powered support
Cartwright’s campaign also benefitted greatly from volunteers, including U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Edwards, state Sen. Liz Miranda, Louijeune and other elected officials. On the morning of the primary, a group of elected officials and volunteers gathered with Cartwright and Governor’s Council candidate Stacey Borden at Mozart Park in Jamaica Plain.
“I know there are a lot of eyes on the top of the ticket,” Pressley said to the gathering. “But we have the opportunity to make history in Suffolk County.”
The elected officials and volunteers who came to Jamaica Plain to knock doors and draw out voters may have made a difference. In the Ward 11 section of the neighborhood, turnout was slightly above the city average, at 16%. In the Ward 19 section of Jamaica Plain, turnout was 22%.
When the dust settled and the celebratory cheer died down at the Haven Tuesday night, the race went quiet. Despite Cartwright’s commanding lead, Murphy neither offered congratulations nor conceded the race that night.
The following day, Murphy issued a concession-like statement on social media.
“Life is not measured by the victories or defeats we encounter, but by the wisdom we gain, the resilience we develop and the meaningful connections we build along the way,” the post reads. “After this campaign, I’ve grown both wiser and stronger, and I’m truly grateful for the new friendships I’ve gained.”
Still no congratulations, though.
In other contested primary races, incumbent District 4 Governor’s Council member Richard Iannella won reelection, with 56% of the vote, while challenger Stacey Borden garnered 39% of the vote. In District 3, incumbent Governor’s Council member Marilyn Petitto Devaney lost to challenger Mara Dolan.
First Suffolk District Sen. Nick Collins garnered 74% of the vote, fending off challenger Juwan Skeens. In the Sixth Suffolk District, Rep. Holmes fended off challenges from Haris Hardaway and Samuel Pierce, garnering 73% of the vote.
