Lorraine Wheeler
Elections and appointments
Personal
Contact
Lorraine Wheeler ran for election to the Boston City Council to represent District 7 in Massachusetts. She lost in the primary on September 14, 2021.
Wheeler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Lorraine Wheeler was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor's degree from Boston University in 1980 and a J.D. from Suffolk University in 2003. Wheeler's career experience includes working as an attorney.[1]
Elections
2021
See also: City elections in Boston, Massachusetts (2021)
General election
Nonpartisan primary election
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lorraine Wheeler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wheeler's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Lorraine is a lawyer, community advocate and leader. She attended Boston University & Suffolk Law School. She has a graduate degree in Urban Affairs and Planning. For the last 10 years she has worked tirelessly in Roxbury to assist her neighbors with issues confronting a majority Black community facing displacement. She serves on the boards of youth organizations as well as community development organizations. An award for community engagement was named in her honor by the Boys and Girls Club of Roxbury. Mayor Walsh appointed Lorraine to the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Commission. Lorraine worked for over twenty years in the nonprofit sector in public health. Lorraine is married and the mother of a son and step-daughter.
- Lack of affordable housing creates a cost burden in District 7 and across Boston.
- Public Health solutions are lacking for a host of problems impacting residents.
- Economic disparity, unemployment and too few opportunities are issues.
I am interested in alleviating the high burden of housing cost. There are many ways to help families that are struggling; these include rent control, other subsidies, land trusts, etc. Identifying long term solutions is important to me.
I am interested in the transition from high school to the workforce. We have to do more to reach students eligible to enroll in college classes in high school. The program builds confidence in kids from low income families who do not believe a college degree is an achievable goal.
Providing opportunities that give voice to District 7 residents. That is the experience I bring to the race for District 7 from being one of the founders of a neighborhood association. People are strongly impacted by municipal government. When it works well, it can improve their lives, When it doesn’t , people lose hope and give up on civic involvement.
Most recently I have been watching Stacy Abrams and admire her. She is qualified and really understands the issues with Georgia politics from working in the state house. After running for Governor, she had national notoriety and might have been part of the Biden cabinet. Instead she worked tirelessly to do the job of registering new voters in George. George was a key state in electing President Biden. I admire her for remaining in Georgia when she could of sought a national position.
honesty
Integrity
Focus
Legal training
Transparency
To review and vote on the budget for the City of Boston. To hold hearings to obtain information about city services and planned initiatives. To listen to residents and facilitate bringing the right people together to ameliorate issues of the greatest concern to residents. Also to work on new initiatives and form action committees whether they are related to open space, public art, city owned property, the function of city departments, or quality of life.
To have improved the lives of constituents in District 7 .
When Martin Luther King was assassinated, I was too young to understand the importance of the event. While little happened on the street where we lived, we could hear the police and fire trucks close by. The next day the stores in our neighborhood were burned out. Most of those businesses never reopened. As an adult I understand that to many Americans of all races, after Dr. King was killed the era of civil rights activism effectively transitioned.
I worked in a dry cleaners near Berklee college while I was in high school. I spent a lot of time talking to customers and learning about their neighborhood. I met performers like Earth, Wind and Fire and Jeffrey Osborn. I met Reggie Jackson. Everybody needs clean clothes. I closed the business in the evening and balanced the cash tally. I learned that I was scrupulously honest. Once when the store was robbed. I had already taken the cash out of the register and hid it in the shop. The next day I brought the money back to the store and turned it into the owner even though no one would have known.
There are so many good books. I read a lot about community development . Right now I am reading “Race for Profit”, by Keranga-Yamahtta Taylor about how banks undermined Black homeownership. My favorite book is probably, “To Kill A Mockingbird” because it’s a court room drama and the lawyer does right by his client even in the face of public ridicule. I first read the book as a preteen but still think it’s a well written and enjoyable story today,
I’d like to be Cookie from Empire , Season 1 when the story line was fresh, she has a great wardrobe, the attitude of a CEO and a beautiful family, what more does anyone need.
Bruno Mars Uptown Funk got stuck in my head. I kept trying to figure out what songs from the 80’s it sounded like.
My father and my grandfather were both killed in a robbery at my grandfather’s home. To lose two people in your family in a single act of violence is shocking and hard to move on from. As a result, I have developed a resilience and focus . These qualities are good preparation for a political position.
Although people calm city councilors for their problems with basic issues like fireworks, pot holes or rodents. The City Council is legislative.
No. I believe it’s more beneficial for people to have the training and experience that would allow them to make a difference in the lives of constituents.
A law degree, urban planning, understanding of the planning function in the City of Boston and the zoning code.
Why did the teddy bear say no to dessert?
He was stuffed
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See also
External links
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 6, 2021
