The Globe (well, technically, a University of New Hampshire survey group hired by the Globe) is surveying Boston residents to try to discern who might put up a good fight against Tom Menino next year.

The list of potential challengers, as seen by Globe survey takers: City Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, West Roxbury/JP City Councilor John Tobin, Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley, successful businessman and unsuccessful candidate Chris Gabrieli and, of course, 1-800 Joe 4 Oil Kennedy, who, by law, has to be included in every single poll taken in Suffolk County.

Among the basic questions are how satisfied residents are with everything from education and crime fighting to street cleanliness and the state of public transportation and taxi service in their neighborhoods (taxi service as a big issue next year?).

City Councilor John Tobin thinks it would increase voter turnout; doesn't seem too concerned about observant Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses Seventh-Day Adventists.

ParkwayBoston.com has the scoop: She'll be running for re-election this fall.

So John Tobin might want to start thinking about running for mayor in 2009.

Takes out nomination papers. Does he know something we don't about incumbent Marian Walsh becoming a judge, or is he running regardless?

On myDedham, Brian dishes that consiglieri for Boston city Councilor John Tobin and West Roxbury state Rep. Mike Rush had a little breakfast chat in Dedham Square on Saturday. Purpose: To discuss their guys' possible senate runs should incumbent Marian Walsh get named a judge (the district includes both West Roxbury and Dedham, along with some other neighborhoods and towns). The two have run against each other before - for the city-council seat Tobin now holds. No word if they came to any meeting of the minds or how they took their eggs.

Brian also handicaps other possible candidates for a seat the incumbent herself has yet to actually say she's vacating.

Decisions, decisions. Does the West Roxbury city councilor (who also reps JP) roll the dice for 2009 and get ready to run for mayor next year (assuming Tom Menino decides he's had enough) or does he roll the dice for this fall and get ready to run for state senate (assuming Marian Walsh gets named a judge)?

In either case, he could face opposition from fellow councilors - in the mayor's race, from Michael Flaherty, who's been salivating after the mayor's office for awhile now (and who ended 2007 with $428,414.52 in the bank, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance); in the senate race, from Rob Consalvo, whom I doubt anybody outside of Hyde Park and Roslindale has ever heard of, unless you remember his campaign to ban the sale of mini-bikes.

WBUR reported this morning that City Councilor John Tobin will ask Gov. Patrick to require the guy with the 500,000 lights to hire a police detail.

The station quoted Tobin as saying it would be just terrible if somebody were hit by a fast-moving car on the Jamaicaway/Arborway while stopped to gawk at the brighter-by-the-year Castle. Tobin said he asked Dominic Luberto to hire a detail, but that Luberto refused, saying he's already given the city its largest Christmas display. Because the road is a state parkway, it would be up to Patrick or State Police to force the issue.

John Tobin discusses his proposal tomorrow (12/4) at 2:30 p.m. at Blog Talk Radio (if you miss it live, it'll be available on demand at the same place).

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.

Riding a wave of public disgust over the lack of drug testing for firefighters? David Bernstein thinks it's possible.