Hey, there! Log in / Register

2009 elections

By adamg - 10/30/09 - 8:11 am

Tom Menino and Michael Flaherty will both be on Radio Boston today, at 1 p.m. - 90.9 FM or streaming on the Web.

The Herald wonders where the FiOS guy is, with Flaherty charging politics is blocking Verizon from bringing the service here and Menino charging Verizon just doesn't wat to pay the city any taxes.

Jack Hynes, son of the last guy to unseat an incumbent Boston mayor, did a robocall for Floon.

By adamg - 10/29/09 - 10:27 am

The South End News gets the scoop.

By adamg - 10/29/09 - 7:58 am

Floon journeys to Downtown Crossing today to use The Hole as a backdrop for their call to force developers to put up performance bonds before they start digging.

Seems the majority owner of the Hole is sitting on $2.8 billion in cash and is looking for good investments, which apparently Boston isn't.

By adamg - 10/27/09 - 9:28 am

Doug Bennett reports he's knocked on his 100,000th Boston door. The next Bennett challenge: Removing the 100,000 stickers he and his supporters have put on light poles and utility boxes.

District 7 Councilor Chuck Turner and challenger Carlos Henriquez debate Wednesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Vine Street Community Center in Roxbury. The main topic: "Does Roxbury matter?" Details.

By adamg - 10/26/09 - 5:12 pm

Hurry on over to Hiberanian Hall, 184 Dudley St. in Roxbury tonight (6:30 - 9:30 p.m.), for some hot at-large candidate speed dating:

Join the EIGHT Boston City Council AT- LARGE Candidates for a special evening of SPEED "CANDIDATING". Spend TEN MINUTES with each of your at- large candidates. And decide your top four candidates.

Sorry for the short notice; I just found out about this.

By adamg - 10/26/09 - 9:08 am

The four Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate seat debate tonight starting at 7 p.m. on a local channel near you.

The last mayoral debate is Tuesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Faneuil Hall. You need to register for tickets; this one won't be on TV.

There's a forum for district 9 council candidates in Brighton on Tuesday at the Jackson-Mann School, starting at 6 p.m. More.

There's a forum for at-large and district 1 candidates on Wednesday at the Nazarro Center in the North End, starting at 7 p.m. More.

By adamg - 10/24/09 - 1:15 pm

The Jamaica Plain Gazette highlights this week's debate among at-large council candidates on park and open-space issues in the city. Somebody asked Felix Arroyo what "Asian Longhorned Beetles" meant to him; he replied he had no idea, but figured anything with horns was probably bad. The tree-felling beetles have yet to hit Boston, although people are starting to look for them, just in case.

By adamg - 10/23/09 - 12:05 pm

The Man Who Would Be Deputy Mayor today endorsed Felix Arroyo, John Connolly, Tito Jackson and Ayanna Pressley. His reasoning, in e-mail to supporters:

By adamg - 10/22/09 - 4:31 pm

Geeky Mama reports from an education session Flaherty had in Roslindale last night - which started off with some BPS parents worrying that Flaherty's doom and gloom approach might wind up frightening away parents from the good schools the city does have. She reports Flaherty wants to ditch the current school assignment zones and said he would use the city's current good bond rating to get money for capital improvements at schools - and to build new ones.

By adamg - 10/22/09 - 11:29 am

The Herald endorses Menino for one more term, saying his pluses outweigh his prickly minuses.

The Phoenix explains why it wants to see Arroyo, Pressley, Connolly and Murphy as at-large councilors. Murphy? Yes, Murphy. Guy's grown in the job, the Phoenix says.

Mike Ball counters with his list: Kenneally, Connolly, Arroyo and Murphy.

By adamg - 10/22/09 - 10:53 am

The Globe reports Secretary of State Bill Galvin has ruled Michael Kineavy "inappropriately" deleted e-mail messages that should have been preserved as public records. He's referred the case to Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is no doubt relieved she won't have to decide what to do until after Nov. 3.

By adamg - 10/21/09 - 12:41 pm

Boston Park Advocates hosts a debate on Thurs., Oct. 22 to let at-large city council candidates discuss parks and open-space issue in Boston.

The session starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse on Franklin Park Road, off Blue Hill Avenue.

By adamg - 10/21/09 - 10:25 am

Challenger Michael Flaherty took the Ward 11 Democratic Committee vote last night 11-10, while incumbent Tom Menino got a 14-12 vote in Ward 19, which also includes part of Roslindale. Neither, however, won a formal endorsement because rules require a two-thirds vote for that.

Ed. note: I took down an earlier blog post on the votes because it had a couple of serious inaccuracies.

By adamg - 10/20/09 - 8:05 am

John Carrol found the whole thing muddled:

... So a debate that should have provided some answers for Boston voters mostly left them with questions.

For example, which of these makes for a better bumper sticker – ”Tom Menino: We haven't been charged with anything" or "Under a Flaherty administration, we'll have FiOS"? ...

Mike Ball says he's seen enough; declares a Menino win in November:

By adamg - 10/19/09 - 6:57 pm

Notes from tonight's debate:

By adamg - 10/19/09 - 2:06 pm

The Jamaica Plain Gazette reports on the brick lobbed through a window of at-large candidate Tito Jackson's Grove Hall home last week. Jackson acknowledges he has no proof the brick was related to his campaign, but told the paper he's going to treat it that way - and as proof he's on the right track.

By adamg - 10/19/09 - 1:20 pm

Menino and Flaherty have at it again in a debate that starts tonight at 7 p.m. on Channel 2, NECN and WBUR.

Over in Brighton, Ciommo and Selvig have at it again in a debate tomorrow in a debate that starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Brighton Elks, 326 Washington St.

By adamg - 10/19/09 - 7:41 am

Press conference at 10:30 a.m. today with Floon and 40 or so "community leaders and pastors," in front of the Boston Public School headquarters on School Street to "underscore Mayor Menino's poor performance on improving public schools and his failure to provide a quality education to Boston's children," the campaign says.

Among those scheduled to appear: Overseer Thomas Cross of the Church of God of Christ, Bishop Edward Hoffman of Calvary Church International, Pastor Sybil Dunwoody of the Greater Zion Church of God in Christ, Rev. Nicolas Homicil of the Voice of the Gospel Tabernacle, Linda Barros of Self Help, Inc. and Reynelda "Chickie" Rivera of Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion.

By adamg - 10/18/09 - 12:32 pm

Just getting over as I type: the first get-together of Progressives for Menino, featuring Sheriff Andrea Cabral and Boston Architectural College President Ted Landsmark.

Lindsay Crudele, who was there, reports that among those also in attendance were: Valerie Bassett of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, Mark Erlich of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, Lora Pellegrini of NOW, Boston Harbor friend Vivian Li, Mossik Hacobian of Urban Edge, Ellen Parker of Project Bread and Lyndia Downey of the Pine Street Inn.

Meanwhile, the Dorchester Reporter's Lit Drop reports the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers had a unanimous vote of no confidence in the mayor yesterday. William Celester, a founder of the group (yes, that William Celester), said the group plans stand-outs and leaflets against the mayor.

Subscribe to 2009 elections