Interesting at-large candidates' forum at UMass-Boston last night. Granted, plenty of time was devoted to the repitition of well-worn themes (
Patricia White is a woman, Ed Flynn is a veteran,
Sam Yoon is an Asian-American,
John Connolly used to teach poor Latino kids, etc.). But the segment where the candidates were allowed to question each other directly was fascinating. Some highlights:
--Yoon and
Felix Arroyo lavishing affection on each other one hour after Arroyo, district 7 councilor Chuck Turner, and district 4 councilor Charles Yancey issued their group endorsement of Yoon;
--Connolly telling Yoon, his fellow challenger, that he hoped they could serve on the council together, then giving Yoon a softball question about his (Yoon's) housing policy;
--White accusing Connolly of stating, at a forum in Roxbury last week, that the number-one problem facing that neighborhood is potholes, and Connolly accusing White of completely misrepresenting his remarks;
--
Matt O'Malley trying to cozy up to
council president Michael Flaherty by asking how they could work together to implement his (O'Malley's) education agenda, and Flaherty giving O'Malley the Heisman by saying, in effect: Well, Matt, here's how you and I and a WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PEOPLE could work improve the city schools;
--Flynn complaining, in his closing statement, that he'd been ignored all night long;
--O'Malley taking credit, in his closing statement, for deep structural shifts in Boston's political fabric ("Is there a New Boston? Damn right there is! And I helped create it!").
Good stuff, that.