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City councilor will try to force Tom Menino out of office
By adamg on Fri, 11/16/2007 - 10:01pm
City Councilor John Tobin, whose name has been bruited about as a one-day mayoral candidate, is proposing 12-year term limits for elected city officials:
... Term limits create a sense of urgency to move your agenda forward. Give elected leaders a deadline. When the time is up, they should step aside for someone new. Longer terms may also attract new candidates who are now disinterested in running for a two-year term. ...
Oh, and speaking of those two-year terms, he would also change city-council terms to four years. All aimed, of course, at increasing the level of political activity in the city, he says.
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Comments
If you can't beat 'em, term
If you can't beat 'em, term limit 'em. If you can't beat Mumbles, retire.
Who is John Tobin?
Lets get real....he is a District Councilor....which means 14 people voted for him. His sole responsibility is to rubber stamp the Mayor's budget.
BRA- Council has not control
School Committee -Council has not control
Police- Council has not control
Fire-Council has not control
Term limits for the Boston City Council is analogous to a tree falling in the wilderness…..No one cares.
Lastly, it will have no impact on Menino only for those who follow….. Tobin has inserted a caveat that grandfathers current office holders.
Tobin has consistently
Tobin has consistently gotten the most votes by far for a district councillor, since he comes from the most active district with West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. He got almost 6,000 this year according to the city's website which is not insignificant, especially given the awful turnout.
And the Council has budget control over all of the above you mentioned, except the BRA, which is another whole issue itself.
City Councilors
Having been involved with a few Boston neighborhoods that err on the side of tough rather than the side of gentile (read: not West Roxbury), I have to say that John Tobin has been extraordinarily helpful and supportive. In more general terms, City Councilors can be and often are truly helpful to people who don't have the tenacity or language skills to negotiate the morass that is City Hall to get the services they have a right to.
Gentile?
Since there are very few Jewish neighborhoods in Boston, I suspect the word you wanted is genteel.
Hey West Roxbury.....
Sorry to break it to you, although John Tobin may be a wonderful human who is kind to his Mother & loves kittens, the CITY COUNCIL HAS NO POWER!! The Mayor submits a budget to them that they approve....WITH MINIMAL OR NO OPPOSITION!!! They signed their only power over the BRA away two election cycles ago, so they have no power over city development.
The Mayor appoints the Police & Fire Commissioners, The council has no say...they do not even vote on it. The same is true for the School Committee...which is appointed by......drum roll.... DA MAYAHHH!!! He also apponts the School Super....without any input from the CITY COUNCIL...which was really mad about that. So give us a break with the council stuff...
By the way, the reason his vote total was so high is because West Roxbury came out in droves for Connolly.
No one cares......BORING....>Call me when Menino retires, then we will see the Tobin machine in action!! Or will he defer to Connolly & or Sen. Marian Walsh.... His Mayoral ambition might be blocked two-fold & don't forget O'Malley who is chompping at his heels.....