The story behind the redistricting story in Chelsea When we Organize We Win

From the Chelsea Collaborative  WHEN WE ORGANIZE WE WIN!- 

You may not have even heard yet about the proposed relocation of Chelsea's Ward 1, Precinct 2 to a new district with East Boston. 

In a true testament to the strength of community organizing, the Chelsea Collaborative's Chelsea Voter Initiative (CVI)  responded by mobilizing the Latino and larger community to this late addition to the redistricting plan which would have been a huge blow to the voice and the voting power of the Latino community in Chelsea. 

After 2 days of the release of the report, a delegation of 15 Latino community leaders were meeting with Representative Michael Moran, the head of the Redistricting Committee, to express their serious concerns about the potential relocation.  We brought this to the city's streets, the churches, the Spanish and English language media and to local and state government.  Within 3 days we collected over 800 signatures on a petition and over 150 individual letters from voters of that neighborhood.  We organized 100s of phone calls and dozens of emails to the Redistricting Committee.  At the CVI City Councillors Candidates' Forum, the candidates were asked their position on the proposed redistricting plan.  Out of this came a unanimous Chelsea City Council resolution against the relocation.  The Collaborative called   on Representative O'Flaherty to meet with concerned voters and political leaders to urge that he advocate to keep the district in Chelsea. Representative Eugene O'Flaherty wrote a letter opposing the late redistricting proposal which complemented the groundswell of community opposition.  We are grateful for the support of former City Councillors Roy Avellaneda and Juan R. Vega and our partners ¿Oiste? and NUBE.