Alderman switches parties, endorses Patrick
By George P. Hassett

“The time has come for me. I would like a change of registration form please,” said Alderman-at-Large William A. White Tuesday afternoon at the city’s elections department. White changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and endorsed Deval Patrick for governor.

“It is not with anger or animosity but with a profound sense of sadness that I leave the Republican Party. Over the course of the last few years, I have come to recognize that the people such as Ed Brooke, John Volpe and Frank Seargeant and Elliot Richardson, and their philosophy that brought me to the Republican Party are gone,” White said.
   ‚ÄúRepublicans aren‚Äôt Republicans anymore,‚Äù said state Democratic Party Chairman Phillip Johnston who was on hand at City Hall to greet White. ‚ÄúWelcome to the Democratic Party Mr. White.‚Äù
   Johnston said White‚Äôs endorsement is a ‚Äúkey‚Äù in getting Patrick elected in November. White said he endorsed Patrick because of the candidate‚Äôs stance on the income tax rollback.
   ‚ÄúI admire Mr. Patrick‚Äôs courageous stand on the state income tax rollback issue. The average taxpayer in a city like Somerville would receive only $150 a year from the rollback. But the cost to taxpayers from increases in property taxes, fees, and reductions in services is much more than $150,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúAs chair of the Finance Committee on the Board of Aldermen for the last four years, I witnesses the devastating impact that state cuts in local aid and in education have had on communities like Somerville.‚Äù
   White, who was previously a registered Democrat when he worked for former Congressman Thomas ‚ÄúTip‚Äù O‚ÄôNeill in Washington D.C. had been a Republican for ‚Äú25, 26 years,‚Äù before switching back. He first became a Republican because ‚ÄúJimmy Carter had an impact on me,‚Äù he said.
   White said he became disillusioned with the Republican Party during his unsuccessful run for state Senate last year against Patricia D. Jehlen.
   ‚ÄúOne of the reasons that I had remained a Republican was to try to be a voice for working class communities such as Somerville in the Republican Party. Last year, in my run as the Republican candidate for state Senate, I realized that there was not much support for my views within the Republican Party and that my efforts as a Republican have been largely in vain.‚Äù
   Congressman Michael E. Capuano, D-Somerville, joined White in his trip to City Hall Tuesday and said White is not the only former moderate Republican to become frustrated with the increasingly radical Republican Party.
   ‚ÄúThe voting patterns at the polls are changing too,‚Äù he said.