The Boston Globe Magazine has named Governor-elect Deval Patrick as its 2006 Bostonian of the Year. The special issue appears this Sunday, December 31, and includes profiles of Patrick as well as four other notable Bostonians who left indelible impressions on the year.
Globe magazine staff writer Charles P. Pierce conducted a revealing interview with Patrick for the exclusive cover story, which features portraits by photographer Christopher Churchill.
"I wasn't campaigning as the black candidate," Patrick tells Pierce. "I understand people saw me that way, but talking across someone's kitchen table, I made it clear that wasn't what was on offer. What was on offer was a range of life experience and a vision of civic life that transcended a lot of differences -- race, party, class, philosophical differences."
This is the third year that the Boston Globe Magazine has selected a Bostonian of the Year. In 2004 its inaugural choice was Theo Epstein, general manager of the Red Sox, for building the team's championship roster. In 2005, the magazine selected Edward Ginsburg, a retired judge from Newton who blew the whistle on many of the flaws in construction of the Big Dig.
“This year after weeks of debating we kept returning to the same name that seemed rather obvious to everyone,” said Doug Most, editor of The Boston Globe Magazine. "The judges were impressed with the way Patrick carried himself during his ‘Together we can’ campaign, which appealed to people across the state. The fact that he managed to downplay, and even ignore, the historical importance of his quest to become the state's first African-American governor, also impressed the judges."
The Bostonian of the Year is selected by the editors of The Boston Globe Magazine, with input from Globe readers who are encouraged to email their suggestions each year to bostonian@globe.com.
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