By David Taber

A recent study of municipal governments in 10 of eastern Massachusetts’ most diverse cities singled out Somerville for practicing parity in its appointments, but also noted that all of the city’s elected officials are white.

‚ÄúThe administration is always looking at diversity as a desirable attribute in finding qualified people to serve,‚Äù said City Communications Director Thomas Champion. 
According to the study, “A Benchmark Report on Diversity in State and Local Government,” produced by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, 27 percent of the population of Somerville and 26 percent of appointed municipal officials are non-white.

Tony Lafuente, a Portuguese immigrant who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2004 said Somerville minorities have not yet won elected positions because their communities are comprised largely of recent immigrants.

The major influx of Haitian Creole, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking immigrants to Somerville occurred within the last 10 to 15 years and the process of obtaining citizenship and registering to vote has delayed these populations‚Äô enfranchisement, he said. 

“In the past, minority populations have been transient, they work a couple of jobs to make ends meet and they have no incentives to get involved because they don’t have candidates,” LaFuente said.

According to a 2005 report by Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, there are 4,182 Brazilians and 1,765 Haitians in Somerville, making up over one quarter of the city‚Äôs immigrant population. According to the most recent U.S census, Somerville is home to 5,036 African-Americans.   

Paulo Pinto, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Portuguese Speakers, said the city’s Brazilian population has been growing for the last two decades because it has traditionally been home a significant European-speaking population.

“When they first arrived they sought out places where people spoke the language,” he said.

But, Pinto said, that growth is starting to slow down. Once Brazilian immigrants were stabilized, they began to move to surrounding cities where housing is cheaper, he said.

This pattern is similar to the city’s other immigrant populations as well, said Aru Manrique, head of the city’s multicultural council.

The cost of living outside of Boston is making it harder for new arrivals to put down roots and stay in the city, he said.

Marty Martinez, a candidate in the upcoming special election to fill a recently vacated alderman-at-large seat, said affordable housing is a key issue.

‚ÄúAs we see improvements in development and improvements in the city, we see the city becoming more and more unaffordable,‚Äù he said. 

Martinez, who is Mexican-American, said maintaining and developing affordable housing options is important for long-time residents as well as recent immigrants, but he does see the fact of his ethnicity as adding significance to his campaign, he said. 

‚ÄúMy being Latino helps show people that they can get involved,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúI think it‚Äôs important that we get more folks to run and get our voices heard.‚Äù

Manrique said he expects to see more civic engagement and more candidates from Somerville’s minority communities in the future.

The current administration is going out of its way to provide them both services and opportunities for civic engagement, he said.  For example, Haitian Creole was recently added to the voice options for the city‚Äôs 311 telephone information service, which was launched last year in Spanish and Portuguese as well as English, he said. 

“The community is just beginning to trust the city government,” Manrique said.

“Everybody should feel free to get involved, civically,” he said, “If anything, I hope that is what this study kick starts.”

Martinez said he is one of three recent minority can-didates who have sought municipal posts in recent memory.

Haitian immigrant Herby Duverne lost a bid to be the Ward 7 School Committee member in 2004, and Anita Harris, who is African-American, served as Ward 7 representative on the committee from 1994 to 2000, he said.

“I did it because of education, not because of any lack of people of color in the city government,” Harris said.

With regard to her accomplishments on the board, however, Harris, in addition to recalling the opening of three new schools and instituting the city’s current, full-time kindergarten program, said she was instrumental in the committee’s successful application for a state grant to desegregate Somerville schools.

‚ÄúThat was a very chancy kind of thing, but we took a chance because it was the right thing to do,‚Äù Harris said. 

“We built a road for the city to revitalize its schools,” she said.