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Two city councilors among Times columnist's list of 14 must-watch young Democrats

Times columnist Frank Bruni writes that at-large Boston City Councilors Ayanna Pressley and Michelle Wu (also currently council president) are two young Democratic elected officials to keep an eye on. He also put US Reps Joe Kennedy and Seth Moulton on his list.

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I really hope Ayanna Presley runs for Mayor next year! Michelle Wu has been such a disappointment. First, becoming Council President and not letting Matt O'Malley become President instead. She then voted against the City Council becoming a 4 year term saving the city houndreds of thousands of dollars to use someplace else.

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Why should she have "let" O'Malley become president?

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Why should she have "let" O'Malley be president? Not sure that's how politics works.

There are things to criticize about her but isn't one.

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The reasons for your disappointment (a desire on her part to shape the agenda of the City Council and an appreciation of democracy) are some of the reasons I love her.

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I really hope Ayanna Presley runs for Mayor and Mike Flaherty runs for District Attorney! Wu shouldn't had been the council President until she had put a couple more years in. I wish that Matt O'Malley and Tito Jackson would run for At-Large.

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And that's why he's a district city councillor now.

Presley wants Capuano's seat. She's made for Congress. I'm still trying to figure out Wu's game. Perhaps she's too young to have figured it out.

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Mayor Walsh has been the biggest disappointment. I hope John Connolly, Ayanna or Flaherty run for Mayor next year! So many people are not happy with Marty Walsh. Wu should have had a few more years in the council before becoming president. Matt O'Malley definitely has done a lot of good and deserve to have his turn to become Council President.

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If only they would modernize the stenographic services at Boston City Council for hard of hearing folks, for The Deaf Community, for ESL English as Second Language folks. Better more up to date stenographic technology/software and scopists are available than grandfathering in the out of date data practices that hold back civic engagement. Vendor contributions to Council Campaigns for Election can be noted. There's a Boston City Council Compliance Director.

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You're just spamming.

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I know it shouldn't bug me compared to whatever Trumpista garbage Adam no doubt deletes from anons, but it really does.

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If you think poor stenographic practices are what holds back civic engagement in Boston, you're out of your G__ d__ed mind. What holds back civic engagement is the insider/hack nature of so much of our governance coupled with the strong mayor system where so much political time and energy is spend on things like the city council which is basically useless other than for grandstanding purposes (see Jackson, Tito)

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Maybe theszak is deaf and only knows British Sign Language?

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How would a greater balance of power be enacted with more accountability between Mayor and Boston City Council?

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I spoke with Daisy de la Rosa, City Council Coordinator.

She said:

1. There is no legal requirement to provide translation of the stenographic record to the public.

2. There is no demonstrated need of Bostonians wanting a stenographic record. If you could round up a few dozen others that want a steno translation, then meet with a Councilor and make your case.

I am deafer than a rock, and the captions WGBH provide are adequate.

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Please compare the Boston City Council Job Description for that Staff Office with the remarks about not making available public information. The Job Descriptions for each Council Staff are avaialble by request at
http://www.cityofboston.gov/contact/?id=12

Many hard of hearing folks shy away from calling attention to themselves by going along to get along and will not ask for the public information needed for civic engagement, will try not to let others know of hearing loss.

A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf

Massachusetts Attorney General's Open Meeting Law Guide
http://www.mass.gov/ago/government-resources/open-meeting-law/attorney-g...

Ordinance Establishing Language and Communications Access For City Services
http://sampan.org/2016/03/boston-city-councilors-file-language-and-commu...

Article 2.3 of the City Contract for Stenographic Services
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1263415-stenographer-contract-fy...

"2.3 City is entitled to ownership and possession of all deliverables purchased or developed with Contract funds.

"All work papers, reports, questionnaires and other written materials prepared or collected by the Contractor in the course of completing the work to be performed under this Contract shall at all times be the exclusive property of the City."

Order. Release the Stenographic Record of Public Meetings of Boston City Council. Order by Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records of the Public Records Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Common sense the release available should be coherent.

Council Central Staff Office practices have routinely kept out of reach public information by deflection, delay, denial.

90, 100 or so Council Staff.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/14%20Non%20Mayoral%20Depart...

Compared to the Full Text Stenographic Record trying to read through frame by frame cumbersome, inconvenient, tedious, time consuming Captions on the Videos keep the public information out of reach.

The Stenographic Record of Public Meetings of Boston City Council give Councilors greater opportunity for their Remarks to be understood with public feedback, comment, suggestions, questions. A greater opportunity for interacting, an opportunity for greater civic engagement, Election Campaigns with the Stenographic Record.

Advocate Boston City Council take make for greater civic engagement for folks with
different challenges,
• hard of hearing folks,
. the Deaf Community,
. ESL English as a Second Language folks,
. tinnitus ringing in the ears,
. concussion recovery,
. stroke recovery folks,
. folks with cognitive difficulty,
. dyslexic folks,
. ADD attention deficit folks,
. elderly,
. autism spectrum,
. sensory disabilities,
. intellectual disabilities,
. communications barriers,
. folks in city neighborhoods far afield of City Hall, Lower Mills folks,
. Ashmont folks,
. Cedar Gove folks,
. Adams Village folks,
. Peabody Square folks,
. Neponset folks,
. Port Norfolk folks,
. Popes Hill folks,
. Hyde Park folks,
. Mattapan folks,
. Orient Heights folks,
. folks with difficulty to tolerate hard aggravating public seats of the
Council Chamber sidelined for lack of access to the Full Plain Text
Stenograph Record of Public Meetings of Boston City Council,

. folks reluctant about indicating such concerns.

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If Massachusetts is the mother lode of political talent, God help the rest of the country. Why isn't Tito Jackson on the list ? He is boxing Marty's brains in and has knocked out the sacred cows at Boston Latin school. He should change his name to Dapper Jackson in honor of another race-baiting city councilor whose achievements were few but whose sound bites made the media drool.

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I like both Ayanna and Michelle and have voted for both. HOWEVER, if you are dipping into the Boston City Council - where they make laws about how loud the bells should be on an ice cream truck (and making $100 large along the way and thinking they are worth more) - you are really dipping deep into the barrel for the future of your party. If there few/no governors and senators on that list - you are in trouble. Granted - if the Dems are in trouble - the Republicans are in the equivalent of political hell with their minor leagues.

Gina Raimondo is the only legitimate rock star on that list - and I hope to see her on a presidential ticket in 4-8 years. Hopefully she can keep her nose clean in that cesspool to the south of us.

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I adore Ayanna. First word that comes to mind is integrity. I think she would be a terrific mayor!

Wu is great too, she actually engages with constituents.

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By lying to their faces and excusing self serving votes as strategic victories for them?

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Any specifics?

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Of his 14, I count 6 that could make an impact nationally. 6!

Nothing against Wu or Pressley (despite the ill words I have spoken about her,) but if we are counting at-large City Councilors from Boston as part of the 14 young Democratic politicians to watch, the bench is kind of weak.

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.........................Trump's kids.

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That is until he turned down being Deval Patrick 's Lieutenant Governor. Then he made the 2nd biggest mistake of his career by running against Mayor Menino. Michael Flaherty would probably be mayor right now if he just waiting until 2013 or ran against Menino in 2009 as the Lt. Governor and with Governor Patrick's support. Too bad Flaherty ruined his political career!

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pension.

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hiring Jon Romano, he was clueless! I couldn't believe that he never made Andrew Kenneally Chief of Staff back in the day when he hired him to work in his office.

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is head and shoulders over her peers and gets no mention. Frank Bruni? If you want to know where to grab dinner in Manhattan maybe. His political forecasting? Not so much.

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