Althea Garrison

Early years

In 1982 and 1986, Garrison ran unsuccessfully for the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a Democrat.^[15] She ran unsuccessfully for Boston City Council in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, and 1991. During the 1991 campaign, the Boston Herald noted that she had run for office nine times,^[16] although Garrison herself later described the race as her 10th or 11th bid for office.^[17] In the 1991 race, Garrison finished in third place in the District 7 preliminary election.^[18]

Massachusetts House (1993–1995)

In 1992, Garrison ran successfully for the 5th Suffolk district in the Massachusetts House, representing the Dorchester and Roxbury areas of Boston. Garrison's 1992 election to the legislature was made possible in part by the fact that she challenged some of the signatures that the then-incumbent representative, Nelson Merced, had submitted to qualify for the Democratic primary ballot. Her challenge was successful and meant that Garrison did not have to run against an incumbent in the general election.^[8] In the general election, Garrison defeated Democratic candidate Irene Roman, 2,451 votes to 2,014.^[19]

The fact that Garrison had been born male was not widely publicized until shortly after she was elected to the legislature.^[8][12] When the Boston Herald asked whether she was a man, Garrison denied it and ended the conversation when asked about her past, including her name change.^[12][20] The newspaper publicly outed her against her will.^[20]

In the Massachusetts House, Garrison consistently voted in favor of labor unions, resulting in her being endorsed for re-election by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO^[21] and eight unions.^[15] On many votes, she voted with the Democrats in the legislature rather than with the Republicans.^[15] However, she opposed same-sex marriage and abortion.^[20]

Garrison was defeated in her 1994 bid for re-election by Democratic nominee Charlotte Golar Richie by a margin of 2,108 votes to 1,718.^[22]

Unsuccessful bids for office

Garrison has run for office at least 46 times, only once winning election.

In 2019, former Boston City Councilor Lawrence DiCara noted that Garrison's many runs for office had afforded her a notable degree of name recognition among Bostonians, commenting "Althea has run for office many times and knows a lot of people."^[23]

Boston City Council tenure (2019)

Garrison took the at-large seat of former councillor Ayanna Pressley on the Boston City Council, as Pressley left the City Council following her November 2018 election to Congress from Massachusetts's 7th congressional district.^[35] City rules require that vacancies for the at-large council seats are filled by the next-placed candidate in the previous election, which was Garrison in November 2017.^[36] Garrison was sworn in on January 9, 2019.^[37][38] Thus, Pressley's election gave Garrison the right of first refusal to assume Pressley's seat.^[39] Garrison claimed that she had, despite ideological differences, supported Pressley's campaign for the House of Representatives with the knowledge that, if Pressley were elected, Garrison would have the opportunity to be Pressley's City Council successor by virtue of her own finish in the previous city council election.^[40]

Garrison differed ideologically from the rest of the city councilors. She was noted to be the only strong conservative on the Boston City Council, and was a steadfast supporter of then-president Donald Trump and an ardent backer of the Boston Police Department.^[41] Around the time she joined the Boston City Council, Garrison described herself as an "independent conservative".^[42] She once explained, "I'm basically a conservative, but I also have some liberal ideas," and also explained, "I am a conservative, I am independent also," calling herself "a Black conservative."^[40] In a separate instance, she described herself and her voter base as being "moderate to conservative". She described her views as more closely aligned with the Republican Party than the Democratic Party.^[43] In September 2019, Sean Philip Cotter of the Boston Herald described "the Trump-supporting Althea Garrison" as being a source of annoyance for other members of the council, characterizing her a thorn in the side and a "conservative irritant" to a council that was left-leaning and progressive.^[23]

As a city councilor, Garrison supported reviving rent control in the city.^[44][45] In April 2019, she introduced a home rule petition for the city to seek state permission to reinstate rent control in the city. The petition was heavily criticized by many fellow city council members.^[45][46] She also voiced support for eviction control and price controls related to development.^[43] Garrison was supportive of the controversial "Operation Clean Sweep" effort by the police in August 2019 which saw 34 arrests in a two-day period in the so-called "Methadone Mile".^[45]

Garrison proposed a pro-police resolution (in support of the city's police and police union) in the aftermath of Super Happy Fun America's 2019 "Straight Pride Parade" and unrest that occurred related to it. The ordinance would have resolved to "unwavering support for the Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association in their work of keeping Boston safe, and to unequivocally condemn any and all violence and disrespect towards Boston Police Officers.^[47][48] The ordinance was not voted on, with two councilors objecting to holding an immediate vote on it. Council President Michelle Wu, who offered her personal praise of the city's police, objected on the grounds that the resolution should first go through the council's committee hearing process. Councilor Lydia Edwards objected to the resolution on the grounds that she believed Garrison's intent in introducing it had not been to offer support the city's police (who Edwards praised as "amazing superheroes"), but rather to "support a political agenda".^[47]

Garrison opposed a proposal by Council President Wu that would have generated revenue by imposing fees for residential parking permits. While believing that planning and development needed to be "community based", Garrison also dismissed a proposal by Councilor Wu to abolish the current Boston Planning and Development Agency as merely being a ploy for reelection by Wu.^[43] In late-February 2019, Garrison proposed a measure to hold a hearing on the possibility of withholding city payments to the MBTA over the state of its service. At the time, the MBTA was proposing divisive fare increases. The measure was signed-onto by a majority of councilors. Council President Wu had introduced a similar measure the year prior.^[49]

Boston City Councilors can invite local religious leaders to deliver the City Council's convocation.^[50] In her first turn to select the convocation, Garrison invited pastor and right-wing perennial candidate Roy Owens. Owens is vocally anti-LGBT.^[50][51]

Garrison was a candidate for re-election in the November 2019 election, but finished seventh in the general election field of eight candidates.^[52][53] In that election, she had urged voters to unseat the three other sitting at-large city councilors (Michael F. Flaherty, Annissa Essaibi George, and Michelle Wu), and urged voters to "bullet vote" by casting a vote only for her in the at-large councilor column instead of voting for multiple (up to four) candidates.^[43]

In December 2019, the lame duck Garrison was one of only three city councilors to vote against a home rule petition requesting that the state allow the city to impose a real estate transfer tax.^[54]

Massachusetts House

Massachusetts Senate

Boston mayor

Boston City Council

† write-in votes

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† write-in votes

Suffolk County Register of Probate

Republican State Committee Woman