The Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives is under scrutiny for a joke he made during a colleague's campaign event.State House Speaker Ron Mariano endorsed fellow State Rep. Jon Santiago for mayor of Boston in the city's South End Tuesday morning, but it's a comment Mariano made after he endorsed Santiago that is drawing much more attention.Santiago sarcastically thanked Mariano for making the trip all the way to the South End and a microphone picked up Mariano's response: "...afraid my car's going to get stolen."After the campaign event, Mariano issued a statement of apology in which he claimed he was making a joke about when he had his car stolen in the South End years ago.“I’m sorry and I regret my comments. It was a poorly delivered attempt to humor referencing my personal experience as a college student in the 60s when my car was stolen, which I had shared with folks at the event prior to the program," Mariano said in the statement. "My intention was not to portray the neighborhood or the city in a negative light, but to endorse the candidate who I believe should be the next mayor of Boston.” Santiago, who is a resident of the South End, tells NewsCenter 5 that he expressed his concerns about the remark to Mariano after the campaign event."Speaker Mariano's comments this morning were disappointing," Santiago said. "Shortly before the event, I was proudly showing him how much the neighborhood had changed since he was a student there 50 years ago, and he agreed."I accept his apology, but let me be very clear: I regret the comment because that is the type of thinking we need to move beyond," Santiago added.In a tweet, the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee called Mariano's comment a racist joke and said it cherished the diversity of the city's South End.John Barros, who is also running for mayor of Boston, is calling on Santiago to reject Mariano's endorsement, but Santiago says that is not going to happen."In order to progress and expand opportunities for people, we need to bring everyone to the table and have these tough conversations, and I'm committed to doing that with the Speaker and anyone else," Santiago said.Mariano, a Democrat from Quincy, was elected to replace longtime State House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Dec. 30, 2020.Santiago is one of six major candidates who have entered the 2021 Boston mayoral race.
The Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives is under scrutiny for a joke he made during a colleague's campaign event.
State House Speaker Ron Mariano endorsed fellow State Rep. Jon Santiago for mayor of Boston in the city's South End Tuesday morning, but it's a comment Mariano made after he endorsed Santiago that is drawing much more attention.
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Santiago sarcastically thanked Mariano for making the trip all the way to the South End and a microphone picked up Mariano's response: "...afraid my car's going to get stolen."
After the campaign event, Mariano issued a statement of apology in which he claimed he was making a joke about when he had his car stolen in the South End years ago.
“I’m sorry and I regret my comments. It was a poorly delivered attempt to humor referencing my personal experience as a college student in the 60s when my car was stolen, which I had shared with folks at the event prior to the program," Mariano said in the statement. "My intention was not to portray the neighborhood or the city in a negative light, but to endorse the candidate who I believe should be the next mayor of Boston.”
Santiago, who is a resident of the South End, tells NewsCenter 5 that he expressed his concerns about the remark to Mariano after the campaign event.
"Speaker Mariano's comments this morning were disappointing," Santiago said. "Shortly before the event, I was proudly showing him how much the neighborhood had changed since he was a student there 50 years ago, and he agreed.
"I accept his apology, but let me be very clear: I regret the comment because that is the type of thinking we need to move beyond," Santiago added.
In a tweet, the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee called Mariano's comment a racist joke and said it cherished the diversity of the city's South End.
John Barros, who is also running for mayor of Boston, is calling on Santiago to reject Mariano's endorsement, but Santiago says that is not going to happen.
"In order to progress and expand opportunities for people, we need to bring everyone to the table and have these tough conversations, and I'm committed to doing that with the Speaker and anyone else," Santiago said.
Mariano, a Democrat from Quincy, was elected to replace longtime State House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Dec. 30, 2020.
Santiago is one of six major candidates who have entered the 2021 Boston mayoral race.
May 26, 2021 at 06:37AM
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Mass. House Speaker in hot water for making stolen car joke during colleague's campaign event - WCVB Boston
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