David Bernstein writes Yoon could get elected mayor in November - but only if several specific things happen, from Yoon raising enough money to Menino and Flaherty making each other the main focus of their campaigns.
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By adamg - 2/9/09 - 7:44 pm
Take 3% pay cut as mayor tries to convince unions he can't otherwise strongarm to accept a pay freeze.
By adamg - 2/9/09 - 9:30 am
Kevin McCrea stays out of the kitchen (suggestion: next time, get a little closer to the camera and the mic):
Kevin McCrea asks Angela to the prom. Oh, wait, wrong Kevin McCrea (I think).
By adamg - 2/8/09 - 6:43 pm
The Globe breaks the news that Sam Yoon is running for mayor this year, although a formal announcement won't come for awhile. Yoon is in his second two-year term on the council.
He joins fellow at-large Councilor Michael Flaherty and Kevin McCrea. Tom Menino has yet to say if he'll spend his $1-million+ war chest and try for an unprecedented fifth term.
Jimbo wonders:
... Yoon would appear to be the most liberal of the three Democrats, while Flaherty should have strong backing from unions and Menino has a vast political machine at his disposal. Does Yoon's candidacy weaken Flaherty's chance to unseat Boston's longest-serving mayor?
Yoon's campaign Web site (perhaps now that he's running for mayor, he'll update his blog for the first time since 2005).
By adamg - 2/6/09 - 1:41 pm
At least, if they are trying to get on the BPD and are named Flaherty and are married to him.
By adamg - 2/6/09 - 1:31 pm
That's what Kevin McCrea says. Can anybody more familiar with municipal finance than me comment on that?
By adamg - 2/5/09 - 11:18 am
Paul Flannery notes the fun little irony that, during last night's School Committee hearing on the budget, mayoral candidate Kevin McCrea parked his construction-company pickup truck in a commercial spot, when he was obviously there for campaign reasons:
... Now this isn't illegal, and one might even say it was smart, but McCrea has run his campaign on railing against the special perks and privileges that are afforded to our elected politicians. ...
Complete with pics of the offending pickup.
By adamg - 1/28/09 - 9:59 am
The Globe reports mayoral hopeful Michael Flaherty will publicly admit it was wrong of him as city council president to ban the public from meetings involving the Boston Redevelopment Authority between 2004 and 2006:
... At the time, I thought I was acting appropriately," Flaherty said yesterday in a telephone interview. "The courts decided things should have been handled differently. Lesson learned. My administration will be about transparency, accountability, and taking responsibility. ...
By adamg - 1/26/09 - 5:26 pm
David Bernstein reports that City Councilor Sam Yoon has called a family meeting for the weekend of Feb. 7-8 to decide whether to run for mayor. So if you see Yoon down at Target buying some new kitchen appliances that weekend ...
By adamg - 1/26/09 - 12:12 pm
The Flaherty campaign Web site is still pretty much content free, but that doesn't stop Michael Pahre from compiling a list of Michael Flaherty's key positions - based on what he was saying when he ran for re-election as a city councilor at large in 2007.
By adamg - 1/25/09 - 11:59 am
We have our first fight of the young mayoral campaign - over openness in city goverrnment.
In his announcement video, City Councilor Michael Flaherty makes a point of the need for transparency in city government and how he's against closed-door government. Kevin McCrea, who announced his campaign last week, wonders if that means Flaherty will disclose all the clients of his private law firm who do business with the city or if Flaherty will make a personal appearance in Suffolk Superior Court on Feb. 24 when a judge tries to do something about McCrea et al v. Michael Flaherty and the Boston City Council, the case in which the city has already admitted repeatedly violating the state's Open Meeting Law.
By adamg - 1/24/09 - 11:12 pm
Ed note: See the comments for all the drama (in my own mind?) about the video going up Saturday evening, then coming down, then going back up again.
By adamg - 1/24/09 - 10:40 am
All of a sudden, Raybo's all over Tom Menino, from fire-truck maintenance to the living quarters of the new head of the BPL.
By adamg - 1/23/09 - 5:30 pm
As mentioned earlier, Michael Flaherty is paying big bucks to some fancy-shmancy online consulting firm out in California as he gathers up steam to run for mayor. And in a move that could cement his support among people who like to preserve their eyesight, they've apparently convinced him to abandon his retina-destroying MySpace page in favor of his actually legible Facebook page. Unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten to instruct the campaign on the proper etiquette for asking people to move from one to the other: A concerned citizen reports receiving a string of increasingly frantic messages from Flaherty today:
Jan 23, 2009 9:07 AM
Subject: Please add me to FACEBOOK
thank youJan 23, 2009 9:51 AM
Subject: GoodBye myspace - Please add me on facebook
Please add Michael Flaherty on facebook.Thank you for your support!!!!!
Jan 23, 2009 1:08 PM
Subject: GOODBYE MYSPACE ACCOUNT
PLEASE ADD MICHAEL ON FACEBOOK!!!!!!Jan 23, 2009 2:36 PM
Subject: GOODBYE MYSPACE and HELLO FACEBOOK
PLEASE ADD MICHAEL ON FACEBOOK!!!!!!
Concerned Citizen adds:
I don't know if Baby Flats has been drinking all day or what, but could you please make him stop? He's posting like a hopped up 14-year-old Juggalo.
What's not to love?
By adamg - 1/23/09 - 10:39 am
The Dorchester Reporter reports Councilor Michael Flaherty held a series of meetings with supporters at the Cornerstone Pub in South Boston, that he has a campaign logo ready and that he's hiring some heavy national political consultants.
By adamg - 1/22/09 - 1:38 pm
Kevin McCrea, South End resident, former city-council candidate and successful plaintiff against the city council, today threw his hat in the ring:
We need to end the cycle of career politicians. I am a businessman, and I am running as a common citizen. I'm independent, I'm informed, I have fresh ideas -- and I believe in honest government that includes the citizens. I'm not locked into a political system that dictates I must "go along to get along." ...
Other potential candidates include incumbent Tom Menino and city councilors Michael Flaherty, Sam Yoon and John Tobin. None have yet formally announced they are (or aren't) running this November (or September if we have three or more candidates).
McCrea, 41, is a developer and has been active in the Big Brother/Big Sister program and coached South End youth baseball. He served as an advisor for the carpentry program at Madison Park Trade School in Roxbury.
By adamg - 1/21/09 - 7:42 pm
City Hall nemesis Kevin McCrea will announce tomorrow if he's running for mayor, David Bernstein reports.
McCrea's blog will give you a pretty good idea why City Hall types, from the council to the mayor, consider him a PITA. He keeps suing the city council over open-meeting issues - and keeps winning - and he claims Menino recently called up the editors at the South End News, for which he writes a column, to complain about him.
By adamg - 1/13/09 - 7:41 pm
Mayor Tom Menino tonight called on city unions to accept a wage freeze or face "painful, painful" layoffs as the city grapples with declining revenue.
In his state of the city address, Menino said the city is facing a $140 million shortfall in its annual budget, due to declining tax revenues and anticipated cuts in state aid. The city has already saved $30 million by refinancing debt, but "we cannot tighten our belts out of the situation," he said. Rather than cutting deep into core city services, he said he will try to convince municipal unions to accept a one-year freeze on wages. With that, "I can protect core services for residents."
"$140 million means cuts in core services, it means cuts in core services, we're talking about real pain for working families. I don't want that. ... We have to work together to move our city forward. The state of the city is in our hands and for that reason, I know the state of our city is strong."
Also, Menino gave a strong hint he'll be running for re-election this year, concluding his speech by saying he would work tirelessly to improve Boston "this year and in the years ahead."
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