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11/11/2005 10:45:00 PM by Adam | Comments [3] |  

Following his landslide win this week, I didn't think there was any chance of Boston Mayor Tom Menino shaking things up in his fourth term. But maybe I was wrong. In his victory speech on election night, Menino sounded ambitious and energetic, not like someone destined to succumb to fourth-term-itis. And now, in today's Globe, we learn that Menino plans to ask for the resignations of every city department head, with an eye toward reappointing only those who've shown "productivity, management skills, and creativity. ''I have to look at how we do things differently... how to bring people into the administration," Menino told the Globe's Andrea Estes. ''I'm full of ideas."

Sounds great. But once the afterglow of victory's worn off, will Menino follow through? After all, this is a guy known both for his strong sense of loyalty and for his unwillingness to take criticism. It would be great for Boston if Menino replaced incompetent administrators with high achievers willing to push him out of his comfort zone. We'll see if it happens.

In the interim, let's speculate a bit. Who should Menino reappoint? And who will he reappoint?
It already sounds like Kathleen O'Toole's job is safe...

11/10/2005 4:03:00 PM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

Yeah, Sam Yoon's victory is big news. But ever since Boston's election results came in last night, I've been unable to shake a feeling of disappointment. As I'll say in this week's Phoenix, this election had a ton of dramatic potential: Maura Hennigan could have pressed Tom Menino; Felix Arroyo could have topped the at-large ticket; two newcomers could have nabbed at-large slots; Jimmy Kelly and/or John Tobin could have been upset. Instead, every incumbent kept their job. It'll be interesting to watch Yoon's political maturation over the next two years. Still, I can't help wishing the city's political status quo had been shaken up a bit more yesterday.

11/9/2005 9:36:00 AM by Adam | Comments [1] |  

That is one big-ass John Connolly sign.

11/8/2005 3:33:00 PM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

...I was reading the Boston City Paper, which I'd pulled off a parked car and which seems--at least this week--to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Maura Hennigan campaign.

When I ran into two middle-aged African-American women who were doing the same thing, I had to ask: who did they want to see elected mayor? Hennigan or incumbent Tom Menino?

"We're going for Menino," one said emphatically. "We don't know nothing about that chick! And you know, she's very controversial. She should have been advocating what she's about, instead of picking on Menino."

Ouch.

11/8/2005 10:27:00 AM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

If you missed the Daily Show's take on gay marriage, you've really got to take a look. What in God's name was the Article 8 Alliance's Brian Camenker thinking? (Thanks to Blue Mass. Group for the link.)

11/8/2005 6:09:00 AM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

I'm giddy with excitement about tomorrow's Boston elections. Seriously. It's kind of embarrassing, but I feel like a kid anticipating Christmas.

With that confession out of the way, here are a few pre-election questions I've been pondering. Ten, to be precise:

1. Will Patrick Keaney, Felix Arroyo's campaign manager, rue his cocky statement that anything less than a first-place finish is a failure?

2. Will Arroyo regret endorsing Sam Yoon--especially if he doesn't top the ticket?

3. Why does Mayor Tom Menino have so much contempt for the electorate? And why don't voters care? (Scroll down to the part where Globe correspondent Michael Levenson asks Menino to discuss his ideas for keeping the middle class in Boston.)

4. What if someone with Maura Hennigan's heart and Paul Grogan's resume had challenged Menino this year?

5. When's John Tobin going to learn Spanish? (Note to John: this is not a joke.)

6. If Yoon wins an at-large job, how quickly will he stop invoking "Team Unity"? (Note to Sam: the sooner, the better.)

7. If Patricia White loses, does she run again? What about Matt O'Malley?

8. Win or lose, can Steve Murphy top his post-election screed from 2003?

9. How many votes will Bill Clinton's robo-call actually get Menino? How about SEIU's get-out-the-vote push?

10. What unfortunate reporter will Jim Hennigan corner on Election Night?

Feel free to weigh in, all you anonymous readers out there.

11/7/2005 4:04:00 PM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

Pollsters aren't infallible--remember those woefully inaccurate exit polls back in 2004?--but there's some fascinating stuff in this new Suffolk University poll on Boston's Nov. 8 city election.

Suffolk's David Paleologos talked to 400 Bostonians who identified themselves as likely voters. Among that group, 58 percent said they favored Mayor Tom Menino, with 28 percent going for challenger Maura Hennigan and 14 percent undecided. Remember: four years ago, Menino crushed his challenger, Peggy Davis-Mullen, 73 percent to 23 percent. Compared to the numbers the Globe put out a few days back, these figures have to be somewhat heartining to the Hennigan camp.

The really good stuff comes later, however. Sixty percent of respondents say they'd support replacing Boston's appointed school committee (which was the subject of a scathing article in the October 9 Globe) with an elected body. Hennigan, who backs returning to an elected body, doesn't seem to have gotten much out of this issue during the campaign. But it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

What's most striking, though, are the projections for the at-large race. When respondents were asked to choose up to four candidates--just like they will be on Election Day--34 percent picked council president Michael Flaherty, 31 percent picked challenger Sam Yoon, and 29 percent went for Felix Arroyo. Arroyo's been a popular pick to top the ticket this year, but now it looks like Yoon--who nabbed Arroyo's endorsement last month--could end up undermining that goal. It'll be interesting to see just how much help Arroyo lends to Yoon on Nov. 8.

Meanwhile, if Paleologos is right, the race for the fourth slot is too close to call. Twenty-two percent of respondents went for challenger John Connolly, 21 percent for incumbent Steve Murphy, and 20 and 18 percent, respectively, for challengers Patricia White and Matt O'Malley.

Should be an interesting night.

11/4/2005 3:37:00 PM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

Maybe he's sincere. Maybe he's worried about his challenger, Susan Passoni. But either way, Boston City Councilor Jimmy Kelly's decision to publicly support civil unions for gays and lesbians says loads about Boston's changing political culture.

To gauge how far Kelly has come, consider his 1992 sponsorship of a proposed council resolution commending Reverend E.W. Jackson, a Mattapan minister and anti-gay crusader. According to a Globe article published at the time, when gay city councilor David Scondras opposed the resolution and condemned Jackson's anti-gay rhetoric, Kelly responded by calling Scondras a "paranoiac" who "sees a homophobe behind every tree."

New Boston, indeed.

11/4/2005 7:23:00 AM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

With Boston's mayoral election five days away, it's fair to say that plenty of Bostonians are less than enthused by Mayor Tom Menino. It's also fair to say that there's deep skepticism about whether challenger Maura Hennigan would be an upgrade.

Today's Globe offers a Q-and-A on Boston's public schools that captures this dynamic perfectly. An early exchange between Menino and the Globe's Michael Levenson highlights the mayor's defensiveness and poverty of vision:

"Q. If there were a magic wand that you could wave and get some new initiative into the schools, do you have any idea of what that might be?

A. Well, I'd make sure every child has a family life.

Q. Sure. But I mean an actual policy issue.

A. A policy issue? Maybe more guidance counselors in the high schools. Helping kids.

I mean, you want me to say something that takes money. You want me to say, 'Oh, the mayor's going to promise this, promise that.' I'm not like that. I'm a realistic person...."

Ugh.

But then comes Hennigan. Weirdly, her support for returning to an elected school committee goes unmentioned. (If Hennigan didn't mention this, shame on her; if she did, and if the Globe excised it, shame on Morrissey Boulevard.) She attributes declining enrollment in the Boston Public Schools to a lack of affordable housing, without mentioning parental concern about educational quality--something she's discussed frequently on the campaign trail--or frustration with the convoluted student-assignment plan. (Repeat last parenthetical.) And she suggests creating a state requirement mandating that all students attending Boston colleges and universities mentor a Boston Public School student before they're allowed to graduate. It's a bad idea which, thankfully, will never go anywhere.

Reading this week's mayoral endorsements in the Globe, the Herald, and the Phoenix, you get the feeling that the various papers really wish they didn't have to back either candidate. This is why.

11/3/2005 12:10:00 AM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

This just in: progressive icon and former mayoral candidate Mel King has endorsed Maura Hennigan for mayor.

Hard to say how much this will help Hennigan on November 8. As compelling a figure as he is, King is probably unfamiliar to many new Bostonians. And the vast majority of Boston's black political establishment is squarely in Tom Menino's corner. Still, King's imprimatur should give Hennigan more of a boost than the nod she got from city councilor Charles Yancey yesterday afternoon.

One especially interesting detail: King is apparently featured in a Hennigan radio spot that debuted today on several radio stations with heavy African-American listenership, as well as an automated Hennigan campaign call.

Here's the full press release from the Hennigan campaign. (I can't wait to hear Hennigan's "clean and deep" spoken-word rhyme...)

"History in the making: Former mayoral candidate Mel King endorses Hennigan

JAMAICA PLAIN--Former Mayoral Candidate and State Representative Mel King gave his endorsement to Maura Hennigan's campaign to become the first female Mayor of Boston this week. King, a former State Representative who ran for Mayor in 1983 in a historic campaign under the Rainbow Coalition, has endorsed Hennigan because he believes she will provide the leadership and the courage needed to make a better Boston.

"I believe Maura Hennigan cares about all of us," said King. "As Mayor, she will continue to work with Councilors Turner, Yancey and Arroyo on important issues--like improving our schools, safeguarding our streets, and stopping the dangerous Bio Terror lab. Maura Hennigan has the courage to speak truth to power, and for that I am giving her my support in this race."

Since retiring from political office, King has been a highly involved and accomplished community activist. King founded the South End Neighborhood Action program, a social service organization dedicated to helping families and providing job training and counseling, as well as the South End Technology Center, which has become a model for non-profit tech centers throughout the city.

This year's mayoral contest has many similarities with King's 1983 run. In the history of the city, Boston has never been led by anyone but a white male; King as a black man and Hennigan as a female are both precedent-setting candidates.

"I am thrilled to have the support of such a well-respected political leader and community activist as Mel King," said Hennigan. "Mel started a movement which stood for unity, diversity, and working together--and I hope to return the city to those values as the next Mayor of Boston."

King's endorsement gives Hennigan the opportunity to be victorious by tapping into an electorate, composed primarily of communities of color and poorer neighborhoods, that has become larger, more powerful, and more mobilized since 1983. With King's support, along with that of the Black Political Task Force and Councilor Charles Yancey, as well as numerous other ministers and community leaders, years of effort spent registering and educating young voters and voters in communities of color will come to fruition, establishing a historical precedent of leadership in Boston.

King has taped a radio commercial and an auto call for Hennigan's campaign, and he will be running ads in the Bay State Banner and other papers in support of her candidacy. The full airing of the radio commercial airs began Wednesday on WILD, WBOT and WEZE.

King and Hennigan are also sponsoring a political open mic, "Revolution," to raise awareness of the November 8th election among youth. The event will take place on Monday, November 7th, from 5 to 8pm at the George Hernandez Cultural Arts Center on 85 West Newton Street.

The event challenges spoken word artists of all ages to explain why it is important to vote and advocate for political change in Boston through "clean and deep" spoken word rhymes. A $250 prize is offered to the winner.

"We gain power through voting," said King. "I want to get our youth excited about this Mayoral race and the political process in general; I want them to realize the power of the vote that they hold."

For more information about the Revolution open mic, please contact Joshua Estrada (617-553-8078) or the Hennigan Campaign (617-522-2005)."

11/2/2005 4:01:00 PM by Adam | Comments [0] |  

As usual, the problem is less what Kerry Healey said than how she said it.

The lieutenant governor's take on a proposal to grant in-state tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants--"Let them go to private schools if they want to. Let them go to private schools"--contains the germ of a legitimate idea. And if Healey had put it differently (e.g., "Massachusetts is filled with fine colleges and universities that could help these kids get their degrees"), no one would be casting her as the second coming of Marie Antoinette.

But Healey, the current frontrunner for the 2006 Republican gubernatorial nomination, seems to have a terrible tin ear. And the problem's getting worse, not better. (First there was the overhoused seniors remark, then her botched handling of her husband's company's dubious tax break, and now this.) Some politicians are blessed with an ability to make bad ideas sound good. Healey seems doomed to do the exact opposite.

Here's the audio of Healey's disastrous appearance on WRKO yesterday. (You'll have to scroll down a bit.)

Also: terrific move by Tom Reilly, who called in to challenge Healey on air. God knows the attorney general's gubernatorial campaign has had its rough moments. But Reilly may finally have discovered an effective campaign persona--that of a combative, old-school liberal of humble origins.

A parting question for any readers who'd care to comment: How long before a Draft Charlie Baker movement starts in earnest? I say Healey gets two more serious gaffes, tops.

11/2/2005 12:28:00 PM by Adam | Comments [0] |