Ward Representation Trial Week 2

SPRINGFIELD - School Committee member Marjorie J. Hurst testified today that backing failed mayoral candidate Thomas M. Ashe in 2005 boosted her political career in by exposing her to more white voters.

Hurst, taking the stand in the second week of a voting rights trial in U.S. District Court, said Ashe's lopsided loss to Mayor Charles V. Ryan coincided with her strongest-ever showing in a School Committee race.

Underscoring the dynamics of race and politics at the center of the trial, Hurst said she concluded there was one explanation for her success.

"I attended a lot of events with a lot of white people," said the lawyer and four-term incumbent, who served as Ashe's campaign co-chairman.

Hurst was testifying in a lawsuit filed by Arise for Social Justice Inc. and other groups seeking to change Springfield's at-large voting system to district representation.

The trial, based on a lawsuit filed in 2005, is pitting some of Springfield's most prominent civil rights advocates against the city. U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor is overseeing the non-jury trial, which is expected to last two or three more weeks.

Responding to questions from plaintiff lawyer Paul E. Nemser of Boston, Hurst said her vote total for 2005 was second only to Ryan, who coasted to victory against Ashe, a School Committee member and ally of Hurst.

CREDIT: Springfield Republican

Huh? One would figure that with more than a year to put together a coherent case for Ward Representation, the plantiffs in this case could've done a better job.

Is Marjorie Hurst upset that she had to talk to *gasp* white voters? Any candidate would get a boost in their poll numbers by publicly backing a mayoral candidate, never mind co-chairing their campaign. What is she mad at or trying to prove here? That she had to compromise her values and try and work cooperatively with people she disagrees with? What the heck is the issue at hand here?

This entire trial has proven nothing, except of course, that socialist candidates feel that they should be handed city council seats on silver platters without having to do what everyone else is doing.