The case for all-party primaries

Plus: The latest on a possible challenger to South Boston Sen. Nick Collins

by Gintautas Dumcius

EARLY ED ADVOCATE WEIGHS RUN AGAINST COLLINS

Latoya Gayle, an early education and childcare advocate who lives in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, is considering a run against Sen. Nick Collins.

“I am exploring it very seriously,” she told MASSterList. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.”

Gayle, a 46-year-old mother of four, brought up Collins’ role in the death of Mayor Michelle Wu’s property tax shift proposal in 2024. Collins questioned the numbers behind the proposal, which would have temporarily shifted more of the property tax burden onto commercial properties to avoid a jump in residential tax bills. Wu pointed to the Senate shifting the goalposts on what it would take for a vote in the chamber.

“Over the last year, people have been asking me when I’m going to run. Some of that has been in response to the way he responded to Mayor Wu’s proposal to raise commercial taxes in the city,” Gayle said. “People weren’t happy with that.”

MASSterList reported last month that Wu had privately expressed interest in helping candidates who would run against Collins and William Brownsberger, another state senator who opposed her property tax proposal. “I will say this, I’m not running because the mayor asked me to run,” Gayle said.

She cited the high cost of housing in the city. Her oldest just graduated from college, she said, and young people are wondering whether they can afford to keep living in Boston.

Gayle, who previously considered a run for District 3 City Council in 2023, opened up a Senate campaign committee on Monday. She said she expects to make a decision on her run in the coming weeks. 

Dorchester resident Malik Shaw has also filed paperwork for a Senate campaign committee.