David Scondras (January 5, 1946 – October 21, 2020) was a member of the

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

, having held the District 8 seat from 1984 through 1993. He was the city's first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

city council member.

Early life

Scondras was born in 1946 in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, and graduated from Lowell High School. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in mathematics from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1968 and later earned and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in economics from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

, where he taught mathematics and economics.

Community activism

In 1968, Scondras moved to

Fenway–Kenmore Fenway–Kenmore is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. While it is considered one neighborhood for administrative purposes, it is composed of numerous distinct sections (East Fenway, West Fenway, Audubon Circle, Kenmo ...

, where he worked at a neighborhood service center for the elderly. In 1971 he and Northeastern University graduate nursing student Linda Beane co-founded the Fenway Community Health Center. Scondras also co-founded the Symphony Tenants Organizing Project, a neighborhood

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

. After a deadly fire in 1976, the group began an investigation into arsons in the Symphony Road area that led to the conviction of 33 persons as part of an arson-for-profit ring. He later organized the Committee to Save Boston following the 1982 Boston arson spree. In 1972, he was part of a lawsuit that blocked urban redevelopment in the Fenway and created a precedent requiring environmental impact statements for large urban renewal projects. He also lobbied for the creation of the

Boston Housing Court Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

and in 1974 chaired a citizen's advisory committee to screen candidates for a judgeship on the court.

Political career

Scondras ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1981, the last election when all seats were

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

. He ran successfully in November 1983, winning the seat for District 8 (

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

, Beacon Hill, Mission Hill, and Fenway–Kenmore) and becoming the first openly

Boston City Council member. He was one of a few members of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

to be elected to public office. In 1984, Scondras was the chief sponsor of the ordinance that created Boston's human rights commission. In 1985, he spoke out in support of David Jean and Donald Babets, whose foster children were taken from them because they were gay. In 1993 he sponsored the Family Protection Act, which allowed same-sex couples that shared basic living expenses to register as domestic partners and receive health insurance benefits and hospital visitation and bereavement rights given to heterosexual spouses. He was re-elected to four two-year terms, before being defeated in the November 1993 election by Thomas M. Keane Jr. by just 27 votes (3,649–3,622). Leading up to that election, a tape of rambling, slurred calls Scondras made to

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

was leaked to WHDH radio host

Howie Carr Howard Louis Carr Jr. (born January 17, 1952) is an American conservative radio talk-show host, political author, news reporter and award-winning writer. He hosts ''The Howie Carr Show'' originating from his studios in Wellesley, MA and broadca ...

. Scondras stated had been taking

codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...

for a broken leg when he made the calls. He failed to receive the endorsement of Boston's

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

-oriented newspaper, ''

Bay Windows A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...

'', who wrote that he was "out of step with the changing gay community."

Legal issues

In 1988, Scondras,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

alderman

Helen Shiller Helen Shiller (born 1947) is a former Alderman of the 46th ward in Chicago, Illinois. Shiller is also a published author, having written a 500-page book on her politics and activism in Chicago from 1971 to 2011. Shiller served in the Chicago Ci ...

, and three others were arrested in Chicago during a protest against the city's policies on the homeless. In 1996, Scondras was charged with indecent sexual assault after he allegedly groped a 16-year-old boy in a

movie theater. Scondras was beaten by the youth and suffered a broken nose, jaw, and lost three teeth. The charges were dropped later that year because the alleged victim refused to testify. In 2007, Scondras pleaded guilty to child enticement, stemming from a 2006 event in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

. He was sentenced to 18 months’ probation, ordered to surrender his computer and register as a sex offender, and stay off the Internet and away from children younger than 16. Scondras later sued the city of Lawrence, charging them with cruel and unusual punishment and assault and battery. In his autobiography, Scondras characterized the event as "being beaten and arrested for not having sex with a boy who did not exist." His lawsuit was dismissed in 2011 because it lacked sufficient evidence.

Later life

After leaving the city council, Scondras moved to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, where he ran an

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

nonprofit and was active with a neighborhood advocacy group. He was the author of a four-book autobiography titled ''Angels, Liars, and Thieves'', released from 2015 through 2017. Scondras died in October 2020.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scondras, David 1946 births 2020 deaths Place of death missing 20th century in Boston 20th-century American politicians Boston City Council members Gay politicians Harvard College alumni Northeastern University alumni Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Massachusetts Massachusetts socialists Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts Writers from Lowell, Massachusetts Politicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts Massachusetts politicians convicted of crimes American politicians convicted of sex offences 21st-century American LGBT people