Boston’s Pressley Still Outspoken

First-term Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley says she enjoys making people feel uncomfortable. That is, she finds that candor, facts and meaningful solutions don’t come easy and don’t come through avoidance.

You can click the player below to hear her half hour with me today on Left Ahead. She covered what she’s done, what’s next and ongoing, what she sees as the role of herself and the Council, and of course, the reelection campaign.

Seemingly as a matter of course in going for her goals, she has gotten considerably scrutiny. For one, in starting comments and hearings on sexual violence, she admitted to having been raped in college. In her initial campaign, she was also plain about coming from a poor family with a drug using father who was in and out of prison. She believes quite reasonably that being candid about her own struggles and circumstances informs the dialog, gains identity from constituents, and even advances solutions to the problems at hand.

Today, she opened by expanding on why she had been hard to schedule. Her mother has been in a local ICU and she called into the show from the hospital. She also did not ignore that in a rich profile of her on WBUR a few months ago, Bianca Vasquez Toness quoted me as saying Pressley might be putting herself at risk with voters by championing such big issues. Today, she answered that directly as well.

Pressley clearly believes that local bodies like the Council can, should and must address major concerns. In that vein, she discusses where she is trying to find funding where it is lacking in these very tight times. Listen in as she speaks to the role the Council plays.

The series of five at-large candidates follows, with links to their half-hour shows. This list includes the four incumbents and former Councilor and body President Michael Flaherty. Two others who qualified, Sean Ryan and Will Dorcena are not scheduled. Ryan intends to speak with us. Dorcena has not responded to requests.

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