Fact Check: Who is Sonia Chang-Díaz?

FACT CHECK: Who is Sonia Chang-Díaz?

Senator Wilkerson and/or her supporters have claimed on several occasions that Sonia Chang-Díaz has “not been vetted” and that we “don’t know who she is.”
These claims, made against a candidate who has been a public figure since she announced her campaign in May, 2006, mimic those made by the McCain campaign about Barack Obama on a national level.

Claims include:

- “The more people hear about the real contrast between the candidates it’s getting a little scary to them and people are saying is that really her position on…” (Senator Wilkerson, WBUR, October 24, 2008)
- “Who is Sonia Chang-Díaz? Have you ever seen her? Has she ever done anything for the community?” Bay State Banner Editorial (October 16, 2008)
- “When inexperienced outsider Sonia Chang-Diaz took on civil rights advocate and champion of communities at risk for injustice Dianne Wilkerson during the Second Suffolk Senate Primary, there wasn't enough time to fully vet the newcomer” (anonymous blogger, Blue Mass Group, October 24, 2008)

Fact Check:

Since Sonia Chang-Díaz announced her first candidacy in May, 2006, her background, her record, and her positions on the issues have been examined in detail in numerous media interviews, editorial board interviews, debates and of course one-on-one interactions with tens of thousands voters since 2006.
Since 2006, Senator Wilkerson and Chang-Díaz have participated in eight separate debates (six in 2008). In each case, the sponsors asked substantive questions of each candidate on major issues of concern to their community.
Chang-Díaz received the endorsements of the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, South End News, and Bay Windows in 2008, along with the Boston Phoenix, Boston Bulletin, Back Bay Sun, Beacon Hill Times, InNews Weekly, and Boston People’s Voice in 2006, based on a thorough vetting of her experience and readiness to lead conducted by each newspaper.
Chang-Diaz has been an active candidate for over 11 cumulative months, and these latest specific “concerns” about Chang-Díaz’s record or stances on the issues never came up until Senator Wilkerson’s primary defeat.
After examining her record, experience and positions on the issues, a majority of the voters chose Sonia Chang-Díaz to be the Democratic Nominee for State Senate on September 16th.