QUINCY, RANDOLPH IN STUDY: Diversity scarce in local governments

By JULIE JETTE
The Patriot Ledger

Despite increasing populations of black and Asian residents, whites continue to have a firm grip on power in Quincy, Randolph and many other suburbs with substantial minority populations.

Quincy has the state’s highest percentage of Asians, at 16 percent, but the only Asians in elected or appointed positions are two members of the fair housing committee.

Randolph, where minorities account for 39 percent of the population, has a black selectman and a black member of the zoning board of appeals, but whites hold 56 of 58 major town positions.

Quincy and Randolph were not alone in having little diversity in government, according to a new report from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Lynn and Everett have a higher percentage of minorities than Quincy, but a slightly lower level of minority representation in city government.

The study looked at 12 major boards in each of the 10 Boston-area communities with the largest percentage of minority residents.

Overall, minorities make up 41 percent of the population in those communities, but just 14 percent of appointed and elected officials.

Nearly 60 percent of city and town boards have no minority members.

In Quincy, where the report looked at 76 appointed positions, only three were held by minorities. In Randolph, there is a single black member of the zoning board of appeals and one black alternate.

The report looked at mayors, city councils and boards of selectmen and a variety of appointed boards.

Call to action

Study author Carol Hardy-Fanta said she hoped the report would get the attention of local officials and minorities who are underrepresented in municipal government.

‘‘I don’t think the city and town governments have necessarily said ‘Hey, let’s think about how well our appointments are matching our population,’’’ she said. ‘‘We also hope the communities of color will take a look at this and say, ‘Wow, there are some opportunities for us here.’’’

Sen. Michael Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat, said part of the lack of Asian participation in city government is likely because many Asian immigrants are still new to the city and the American political process.

‘‘When I graduated school in the early ’70s, we had one Asian-American out of 550,’’ Morrissey said. In contrast, when his daughter, now a college senior, graduated, he estimated 30 to 40 percent of her class was Asian.

Not their main priority

John Brothers, executive director of Quincy Asian Resources Inc., said recent immigrants are ‘‘more focused on getting ahead economically and on their family than community issues.’’

Quincy restaurateur Jimmy Liang, the only Asian ever to run for office in the city, agreed.

‘‘It’s about putting food on the table,’’ said Liang, who was born in China, grew up in Quincy and ran for city council in 2001.

Beyond their long hours at work, the newest immigrants can’t participate in the most basic level of political involvement - voting - until they have lived in the United States long enough to obtain citizenship.

Tackey Chan, a member of Quincy Asian Resources Inc.’s board and an aide to Morrissey, added that most Asian immigrants come from countries without a democratic tradition, and so the U.S. system is foreign to them in more ways than one.

‘‘There’s voter education involved, trying to connect the dots with people as to why it’s important,’’ he said.

A lack of volunteers

Many cities and towns also struggle to generate any interest in appointed boards, said Tom Largey, an aide to Quincy Mayor William Phelan.

‘‘They are almost exclusively volunteer, they require a lot of time, a lot of effort, and we don’t get a big response when we reach out for people to be on them,’’ Largey said.

Phelan recently appointed Raymond Tung, an executive with United Commercial Bank, formerly the Asian American Bank, to serve on the Quincy Medical Center board. The hospital board was not one of those examined in the report.

‘‘We feel that’s a really important appointment,’’ Largey said, particularly considering the hospital is serving an increasingly Asian population.

In Randolph, Selectman Paul Fernandes said it isn’t clear to him why there is so little minority involvement in town government.

‘‘You would think at some point in time a government would reflect its people, but I can’t do an analysis for you and say why it’s not happening here,’’ said Fernandes, who is black.

He said ethnic diversity has not typically been a topic of conversation when the selectmen appoint members to other boards.

‘‘Some citizens talk about it, but I can’t recall hearing the board members saying we need to reach out to any particular group for representation,’’ he said. ‘‘I try to encourage people to participate and submit their names as volunteers.’’

Herb Lyken, a civil rights activist from Randolph, said he believes the town’s growing population of recent immigrants may be a reason as to why civic involvement by minorities lags behind their residence in town.

‘‘If you go into any supermarket and open your ears, you’ll hear a half a dozen different languages at any given time,’’ Lyken said. ‘‘I get the feeling that there’s a good number of minorities in this town that are probably not citizens, and not voting.’’

Diversity delimited

Among the findings of the UMass.-Boston study:

-17 of 186 top elected officials are minorities.

-Minorities make up 41 percent of the population, but only 15.5 percent of appointed city and town officials.

-Of the 96 appointed minority officials, 37 are black, 27 are Latino, 14 are Asian and seven are from other minorities.

-54 of 93 boards and commissions are all-white; 6 of 10 election boards are all-white.

Source: Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts-Boston

Julie Jette may be reached at jjette@ledger.com .

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Tuesday, February 06, 2007