Attorney Jovan Lacet (left) is running for the 12th Suffolk District seat being vacated by Rep. Dan Cullinane (right).

Race for seat will likely be competitive

State Rep. Dan Cullinane announced last week that he will not be running for re-election, leaving an opening in the 12th Suffolk District.

Cullinane has represented the district, which includes Dorchester, Milton and Mattapan, since 2013.

So far, two possible candidates have emerged: attorney Jovan Lacet, who ran for the seat in 2018, coming within 420 votes of Cullinane; and first-time candidate Donovan Birch Jr., who has raised more than $25,000 but says he’s not sure whether he’ll run.

“I’m still trying to decide,” he told the Banner.

The district is diverse, with Haitians, Caribbean-Americans, Irish, Vietnamese, Koreans and Cambodians all represented, said Mary-dith Tuitt, who has run for the seat before but has not decided whether she will run this year. She added that the district is split economically: one side of the district is stabilized and doing well, whereas the other side is “asking to be stabilized.” She said that the next representative must understand that the district is not equal across the field.

“This district is so diverse in cultures,” she told the Banner. “It has to be a person that’s culturally competent, understands each corner of the district and each need of the district.”

Lacet, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said that the district is about 87% people of color and that African Americans make up the majority of the population.

“The Dorchester and especially the Mattapan district that it represents, we are so underrepresented here,” he told the Banner. “The disparity in the education system, employment, and the transportation system ...There are so many things that need to get done. We need somebody who has the life experience and the true will to do the work that the people need.”

Lacet is a Haitian-born, self-proclaimed “family man” who lives with his daughters in the 12th think, what should happen in any election, and not just win with just a bloc of people.”

Holmes said that he currently attends 15 or 16 neighborhood meetings a month. He’s concerned with the needs of the district, he said, not the priorities of the Democratic Party.

Lacet said that he hoped to focus on the disparities of the district as a whole. That includes transportation equity, something that Mattapan has especially struggled with Suffolk District. He is an ex-police officer and a 22-year practicing attorney. He said that he started preparing his campaign before Cullinane announced he would not run for reelection.

Russell Holmes, the representative for the adjacent 6th Suffolk District, told the Banner that listening to every voice is key to representing an entire community.

Instead of just focusing on one area, a representative must reflect on the needs of the district as a whole.

“Any person who wants to run for the seat and win the seat and represent us well, must, from my perspective, go and hear from people in all of the communities,” he told the Banner. “Which is, I due to the Red Line trolley.

“We have the old trolleys,” Lacet said. “The people want new trolleys. However, the politicians and the MBTA think they’re going to give us secondhand green line trolleys 10 to 15 years from now. We want new trolleys now.”

Lacet added that many people with disabilities struggle with the trolley system. He said he would fight for a system that complies with handicapped standards. “Because right now, if you are disabled, there are certain stops on that trolley you cannot use, because you can’t get on the trolley,” he said.

Lacet also noted the importance of job growth throughout the district. He said he hoped to support local businesses as well as invite bigger companies to have satellite locations throughout Mattapan.

“I’m running to put true money into Mattapan Square,” he said. “To help the small businesses in Mattapan Square improve the storefronts, help them get the education that they need … to learn about creating different kinds of businesses.” He later added, “There’s no reason why everybody should have to go downtown, or past downtown, for employment.”

An economic boost is especially vital, since many young people are leaving the city to find more stability, said Tuitt. She said that many young up-and-comers in the city are fleeing the district due to a lack of housing.

“They move out of the district because they can’t live, there’s no apartments for them, no one-bedrooms, no studios, nothing that they can really afford,” she said. “I think that who’s coming in needs to understand — for us to be able to keep our young people in this district, we have to figure how we’re going to work with homeowners, property owners, developers to create housing for… our future.”

Timing matters

The state primary election is set for Sept. 1, but both Lacet and Holmes agreed that the early timing is inconvenient. Many families enjoying summer vacation may not even be home, since the election is before Labor Day.

The Sept. 1 date might typically help an incumbent, but this year the election will feature new faces hoping to try their luck. The chance of a Republican challenger entering the election is very low, noted Lacet.

Holmes said that it will all depend on who’s running, but he predicted that 5 or 6 candidates would join the race. Birch has gathered around $25,000 already, including his own donations, and Lacet raised more than $1,600 last year.

To win the seat, Holmes said, the candidate would need around 1,250 to 1,500 votes. Tuitt echoed this sentiment, saying, “If you want to be ahead of the game, you have to know you have at least 1,500 solid … those are your votes, they’re not going to go anywhere, they’re going to come out just to make sure you have a good foundation.”