Op-ed

Many people have stated, as consolation for Councilor Turner's departure from the Boston City Council, the fact that the council is still basically progressive. Others have sounded a line from Chuck Turner himself: he may not be on the city council but he will still be organizing, no matter the place. To all of them I offered one anecdote: the vote on Arizona.

Recently some of our City Councillors have been complaining about the effect of money in local politics. The topic, of course, was Terry Ragon’s financing of a successful petition to repeal the recent zoning re-write about commercial signs. In this case, one Cambridge resident was wealthy, clever, and motivated enough to get a piece of legislation which he found offensive removed. Several of our Councillors are pretty steamed about it. In years of watching our Council at work, I have never seen them get so worked up.

Massachusetts election results have left many sanguine about the prospects of challenging the Right in the future. Turnout, turnout, turnout! That is the mantra of the victorious. To their credit, many community-based organizations made a difference by knocking on doors and by having friends call friends to get out the vote. The results have prompted some to declare that the Scott Brown effect is no more. Methinks the celebration is premature.

When I first started medical school this past fall, I decided it would be a good idea to find some mentors at my school who shared my interest in immigrant health. So, modern girl that I am, I hopped online and entered “immigrant health Harvard Medical School” into my search browser.