Where do the candidates for Boston Mayor and City Council stand on policing, surveillance, and immigration? We asked them.
On September 27, the ACLU—along with our coalition partners Muslim Justice League, Families for Justice as Healing, Digital Fourth, Council on American-Islamic Relations – Massachusetts, Jewish Voice for Peace – Boston, Young Abolitionists, Boston Police Camera Action Team, and Boston Coalition for Police Accountability—sent a questionnaire to all the candidates asking for their views on a range of issues related to policing.
We asked the candidates to tell us their policy positions on:
- Information sharing with the federal government;
- Surveillance of Muslims and dissidents;
- Racial profiling;
- Drug arrests;
- Police militarization and use of force;
- Plain clothes policing;
- Overtime spending;
- Transparency and public accountability; and
- Community oversight.
We gave the candidates a deadline of October 11 to get back to us, so we could make sure we have ample time to educate the people of Boston about their positions. That deadline is tomorrow. Some of the city council candidates have already completed the questionnaire, and others have said they plan to respond by tomorrow’s deadline. Mayoral challenger Tito Jackson’s campaign said they would fill it out by tomorrow; we have heard nothing thus far from Mayor Walsh’s campaign.
Tomorrow night the Mayoral candidates will debate from 5:30-8:00pm at Roxbury’s Hibernian Hall. The event is first come, first seated, and will likely fill up fast. If you’re concerned about the issues we raise in our candidates questionnaires, please attend the debate tomorrow night and raise the issues with the candidates. We’ve produced a toolkit to help you understand the issues and frame questions to the candidates.
In the age of Trump, it’s clearer than ever that local politics matters. And so do issues related to policing and police practices. Help us bring them to the forefront of this important municipal election by raising your voice on social media and at in-person events with the candidates in advance of the November 7 general election.