Friday, December 14, 2007

Today's quiz: What is the common theme between the recent Boston Public Library debacle and the collapse of the Boston Fire Department reform process, reported today by Donovan Slack?

The answer is Mayor Tom Menino's insistence on always placing his own loyalists in every position, everywhere, so as to keep total control of everything. The result at the BPL was the ouster of Margolis. The result at the BFD was the mayor's ability to appoint (personally or through the commissioner) almost every one of the 13 members of the new 'strategic planning committee' formed to implement reforms.

In this case, Menino doesn't hold the cards. He can't implement most of the reforms without union cooperation, and he's not going to be able to bully the union.

Complain about the firefighters' union all you want -- and you'll be right about most of it -- but that doesn't improve the mayor's hand right now. He's had plenty of opportunities to negotiate these reforms over the years, and never did it. Now he's under political pressure, and his heavy-handed approach isn't going to work.

Every day that passes now is one more day the BFD is operating without random drug testing, and without the other reforms so badly needed. Since everything is so solidly under one person's control, at least we know who to blame.

12/14/2007 7:58:01 AM by David S. Bernstein | Comments [0] |  
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