As the Phoenix went to press, Yoon announced that he would seek City Council approval for his measure, which, if adopted (a bit of a long shot), would require legislative approval on Beacon Hill before it could become reality. Critics of many political stripes, including Flaherty and several other councilors, have long held that master planning and building should be kept separate in order to avoid political, conceptual, and financial conflicts of interest. Yoon will undoubtedly clarify whether he would distinguish the two.
Incumbent Mayor Thomas Menino is a master of the financial/political shell game as played by his BRA. And make no mistake, the BRA is his. Menino does little to maintain even the pretense of quasi BRA independence. Yoon hits a political sore spot when he cites the disastrous management of Downtown Crossing redevelopment and the benign neglect so far applied to the Big Dig's Rose Kennedy green space. Unmentioned were the Roxbury Crossing mosque and the still garage-challenged Convention Center.
Depoliticizing development is a pipe dream. But Yoon deserves a pat on the back for suggesting it be open, rational, and effective.
Related:
Yoon or Flaherty, Menino's 50-Percent Solution, Can Flaherty woo Yoon?, More 
- Yoon or Flaherty
Boston voters will go to the polls in less than seven weeks to choose two candidates, out of the four now running, to face off against each other in November's mayoral election.
- Menino's 50-Percent Solution
For years, many in Boston (including here at the Phoenix ) have lamented the absence of a vigorous campaign that would force the long-time incumbent to defend his record and discuss the issues.
- Can Flaherty woo Yoon?
Michael Flaherty, having earned a spot Tuesday on the November ballot, starts his six-week push to the Boston mayoral final with a big problem. He needs Sam Yoon's voters, and to get them he needs Sam Yoon.
- Free speechifying
How can Dan Kennedy pick a list of people who trample freedom of expression without listing the mayor of Boston?
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
Nine months ago, on the heels of the Obama-assisted deluge at the polls, political observers anticipated mayoral fever triggering huge voter turnout in the Hub this fall. Now, as the race has so far been a bust, they are downgrading their expectations.
- Fixing Boston Schools
The race to elect a new mayor of Boston has been in progress for several weeks, and at last there are indications that the candidates are capable of intelligent thought — at least about improving the city's public schools.
- Can Sam Yoon win?
Recent elections, as you may have heard, have been about change.
- State of the State House coverage
Adam Reilly made an erroneous assumption when he bemoaned the loss of State House news coverage with the downsizing of the Boston Globe . Fortunately, Boston is still a two-newspaper town.
- Black power
Brooding about whether Barack Obama would have become president if he had been a more “traditionally black candidate,” i.e., a descendant of slaves, is a self-indulgence that trivializes the enormity of what has occurred.
- Vote Yoon
Barring supernatural intervention next Tuesday, incumbent Thomas Menino is expected to top the ticket in Boston's four-candidate mayoral preliminary. The final vote will take place November 3.
- He's number three
The conditions seem perfect for Kevin McCrea's latest YouTube video : warm for February, reasonably sunny, no sonic competition from nearby construction.
- Less
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