Matt O'Malley

Ed. note: City Councilor Matt O'Malley, himself a Marathon runner, posted the following on his Facebook page tonight. Reprinted here with permission.

In 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2012 I took a right on Hereford and then a left on Boylston. After running 26 miles, seeing the finish line of the Boston Marathon ranks among the greatest feelings in the world. Last year, in fact, I videotaped the final 2/10th's of a mile and uploaded it to Youtube. I wanted to record the feeling of pure bliss.

I am equally sad and angry that someone has sought to destroy that.

It is beyond difficult to comprehend how some coward could commit the acts of today. To understand how someone could attempt to destroy this uniquely Boston tradition strains all credulity. This is the only sporting event where EVERY spectator is rooting for EVERY runner. Joy, camaraderie, and fellowship is shared among all participants: athlete and fan alike.

A trio of West Roxbury officials are scheduled to endorse John Connolly for mayor today outside the West Roxbury BPL branch.

If you want to see City Councilor Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain), state Rep. Ed Coppinger (West Roxbury) and School Committee member Mary Tamer (who is from West Roxbury), they'll be at the library at 12:30 p.m. to announce their support.

Connolly, who lives in West Roxbury, is currently an at-large councilor.

Matt O'Malley on a recent trip to Israel.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley (Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury) thinks the city should dramatically expand its bubbler network as a way of encouraging people to exercise - and just being nice to visitors in this most walkable of cities - by ensuring they have ready access to high-quality Boston tap water.

The council tomorrow considers his request for a hearing on the idea, which he says would also encourage people to stop filling up landfills with disposable plastic bottles, short of just banning them, like some suburban towns we could name. He assures us:

Massachusetts water sources have some of the most advanced disinfection techniques available and the City of Boston has long been at the forefront of water and wastewater engineering. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the City of Boston are proud of their heritage of "generations of great water."

Ed. note: Maybe O'Malley could team up with Felix Arroyo and Ayanna Pressley on their free WiFi idea and turn abandoned pay phones into convenience centers where people on the go could fill up their Nalgene bottles and check their e-mail at the same time.

Groups representing blacks, Hispanics and Asian-Americans are calling on Mayor Menino to veto - again - a City Council redistricting plan they say unfairly packs too many minority residents into a single council district - the one currently represented by Charles Yancy (Dorchester, Mattapan):

The City Council was supposed to vote on a proposal by Council President Steve Murphy today to allocate money to study how to redraw district council lines after Mayor Menino vetoed their earlier effort as shoehorning too many minority voters into too few districts.

Instead, the council voted 7-6 to pass a proposal by councilors Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) and Tito Jackson (Roxbury) that critics said was pretty much the same thing.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley (Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury) wants more signs and enforcement against double plarkers and people who park in bike lanes. And channeling his inner Larry David, he wants to crack down on pig parkers - people who don't care they've parked outside the lines of a parking space.

Cracking down on these behaviors could also help drivers by improving traffic flow, he says.

The Globe reports that City Councilor Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) is going to hold jogging treks that double as office hours - lace up and put your questions to him as you jog around one of the neighborhoods. He says he's willing to consider "brisk walks" as well.

Updated following City Council vote.

The City Council will ask the legislature to relax its limits on liquor licenses in Boston so that the Irish Social Club in Boston can regularly serve alcohol to guests again.

The move, which comes even as the council readies for a hearing on ways to convince the legislature to give Boston a lot more liquor licenses, is needed to help preserve "the legacy of Irish and Irish-American culture in Boston" that the club promotes, city councilors Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) and Steve Murphy (at large) say.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley (Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury) says a top BPS official is telling the new headmaster and parents at the Margarita Muniz Academy it will only spend a year at the old Agassiz School and then be moved somewhere else.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley (Jamaica Plain/West Roxbury) ran the Marathon today - and turned on the video on his phone for the last 200 yards.

Compare to then Mayor Ray Flynn in the 1984 Marathon.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley thinks so. O'Malley, who reps JP, West Roxbury and a bit of Roslindale, is calling for a hearing to consider ways to force Boston drivers to stop being such Massholes, including speed humps, speed slots (which are like speed humps, but with grooves that let emergency vehicles avoid jostling when driving somewhere at ramming speed), new medians and signs warning motorists speeds are monitored by radar, like the ones New Yorkers learned decades ago to ignore. A little more enforcement by BPD wouldn't hurt, either, O'Malley says.

"I want the term 'Boston Driver' to become synonymous with safety and civility," O'Malley says in a statement. O'Malley's predecessor, John Tobin, waged a similar campaign - complete with lawn signs - to little effect.

O'Malley said the techniques have worked in other cities to "calm" traffic in residential areas. Bostonians who want to see for themselves need only take a quick jaunt across the Charles into Dedham at Spring Street, then turn right at Needham Street to drive over a "speed table" (like a speed hump, only longer) and through a "roundabout" (like a rotary, only smaller).

(This post originally appeared at www.BostonBastard.com)

Just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Boston City Council readily presented their version of Boston race relations by making an example out of Charles Yancey, a black City Councilor who committed the egregious offense of actually trying to do his job and look out for his constituents.

The annual release of City Council Committee chairs is always a good way to get a sense of where the councilors stand in the eyes of the City Council power structure and this year was no different.

When Council President Stephen Murphy released his assignments last week, we learned that Matt O’Malley has proven himself as a willing stooge of the status quo, so of course he was handed the chair of the Government Operations Committee, which had been left available when Maureen Feeney finally decided to drop any pretense of giving a shit about her Dorchester constituents and went after a major pay raise.

Another major change was that Charles Yancey was removed from his chairmanship of the Post Audit and Oversight Committee.

Among councilors, Yancey is often criticized for not doing anything, but only because trying to improve the community in Mattapan doesn’t count among City Hall’s paler politicians.

Councilor Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) wants a snow powwow before the first flakes hit to figure out which city or state agencies will plow - or take the blame for not plowing - sidewalks in areas such as bus stops and bridges.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley says Boston could save up to $795,000 a year by eliminating the paper pay stubs some 16,000 city workers still get. O'Malley, who represents Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and a small piece of Roslindale, would replace them with an electronic system:

By eliminating the paper stubs, Boston would minimize the amount of time expended by payroll and other administrative personnel, reduce its expenditure on paper and envelopes and eliminate the costs associated with printing pay stubs. According to the National Automated Clearing House Association, the average cost of printing a pay stub for one employee is $1.90 per pay period.

His fellow councilors voted unanimously today for a resolution asking city managers to switch from paper to online.

This daytime Beacon Hill scene could soon become a thing of the past.

The City Council voted today to accept a $1 million energy-saving grant from the federal government that includes about $470,000 for installing 600 "auto igniter" devices to turn gaslights off during the day. Currently, all of the city's 2,800 gaslights remain lit 24 hours a way, because there's no way to turn them off and turn them on again.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley (Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury) said the devices will save the city $235,000 a year in natural-gas costs and "dramatically reduce our carbon emissions."

In addition, the grant will pay for a centralized system for turning lights at city ballfields on and off remotely, through a simple cellphone call to a specific number. The grant will also fund energy improvements at the Copley Square main library and four branch libraries.

"This speaks volumes to how wasteful we have been in the past," Councilor Maureen Feeney (Dorchester) said.

O'Malley's victory speech.

Matt O'Malley, 31, today became Boston's youngest city councilor with a 60-40 win over Jim Hennigan for the 6th District seat that covers West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and bits of Roslindale and Mission Hill.

O'Malley's win in the special election to replace John Tobin, who quit earlier this year, comes on his third try for a seat on the council - he lost two earlier bids for a citywide at-large seat.

In addition to being the youngest councilor, O'Malley will be the city's only red-headed councilor. He'll take office just in time for a Dec. 1 hearing on whether convicted Councilor Chuck Turner gets to stay in office or should be expelled.

And bits of Roslindale and Mission Hill: It's the special election to replace John Tobin as District 6 city councilor. O'Malley vs. Hennigan.

Boston.com talks to Jim Hennigan and Matt O'Malley, one of whom will be elected on Nov. 16 to represent West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain on the city council. Both say they would vote to expel turner because of his corruption conviction last week. City Council President Mike Ross set the date so that whoever wins the election to replace John Tobin can join the expulsion discussion and vote.

Hennigan vs. O'MalleyBut looks like Jim Hennigan will have a lot of work to do to win in the Nov. 16 final election: In a five-person field in the preliminary today, O'Malley got 53% of the vote.

O'Malley is making his third bid for a seat on the council (his first two were for an at-large seat). Hennigan is scion of a family that's been active in politics in both ends of the district forever (most recently, his sister Maura held the council seat before giving it up in an unsuccessful bid to unseat Mayor Menino).

The final election is Nov. 16.

Would they be slim or none?

Taylor, of course, appears at a Hynes rally today with Patrick and Obama. Red Mass. Group hopefully asks: Is Barack about to do the same for Deval as he did for Martha?

The Herald proclaims Baker the big winner in yesterday's debate, in giant end-of-world type. This outrages the Outraged Liberal.

The Globe endorses Matt O'Malley in the 6th District council race (reminder: Preliminary, for this election only, is this Tuesday).

Wicked Local takes a look at the race for Norfolk County DA.

Wicked Local West Roxbury reports that while councilors Ross, Consalvo and Connolly are backing Matt O'Malley in the race to succeed John Tobin, councilors Murphy and Arroyo are backing Jim Hennigan - whose sister, Maura, once represented the district. John Tobin, who quit the seat this year, is backing O'Malley.

David Bernstein tweets that Roche Bros. habitue and two-time at-large candidate Matt O'Malley will run for the District 6 seat being vacated by John Tobin.

David Bernstein reports Matt O'Malley is quitting his job as political director of Mass Equality to become a field coordinator for Steve Pagliuca.

Matt O'Malley, who twice ran for Boston City Council, reports he's leaving the sheriff's department to become political director for MassEquality.