2007 elections
Felix Arroyo: Anti-immigrant tide helped do me in
By adamg - 1/16/08 - 11:09 amNew England Ethnic Newz interviews the former Boston City Councilor on Boston politics, ethnic politics, his past and future and the last election - which he says he lost in part because of immigrant haters, not because he was in love and disorganized and ran the world's lowest-key campaign in an election that the local dailies pretty much completely ignored:
The fact that you were not re-elected, could that be part of an overall anti-immigrant sentiment?
Arroyo: The anti-immigrant factor is definitely one reason, in particular because I assumed a leading role in the struggle for immigrant rights. ...
Globe's local editor admits he doesn't give a damn about Boston elections
By adamg - 11/15/07 - 11:51 amAdam Reilly analyzes the near-complete lack of city-council coverage in the local bigfoot dailies (and on WBUR) and gets some fun quotes from Globe local editor Brian McGrory about how bored he is with Boston politics. Reilly allows how McGrory might have a point about lackluster city councilors, but follows that up with a list of stories the media could have covered, but didn't.
Where's a postal inspector when you need one?
By adamg - 11/14/07 - 10:28 amDid John Connolly's not-so-anonymous mailings violate federal postal regulations? Connolly only admits to sending out some of the anti-Murphy mailings, although the Herald reports the others had the same postal permit number as used by the Connolly campaign for other mailings.
Why the Boston Globe doesn't give a damn about Boston elections anymore
By adamg - 11/10/07 - 8:42 amMichael Pahre gets to the heart of the matter: City Editor Brian McGrory finds the City Council boring. He makes the case by digging up McGrory's old columns on Boston politics, one of which, in 2003, summed up what we can expect from a McGrory-led city desk:
Exactly one decade ago, after covering Thomas M. Menino's first election as mayor, I set a lofty journalistic goal. My goal was to never spill a drop of ink writing about the Boston City Council, because no reader with even the hint of a normal life could possibly care about the collection of political miscreants and misfits who make up that perennially underachieving group.
Earlier:
boston.com couldn't even be bothered to post results on election night.
Neighborhood-by-neighborhood city-council number crunching
By adamg - 11/9/07 - 6:01 pmMatt O'Malley, who knows something about citywide elections (having run for at-large city councilor twice and having managed Suffolk Sheriff Andrea Cabral's election bid), analyzes how each of Boston's wards voted in Tuesday's at-large council election.
Among other things: He was shocked at how badly Arroyo did in normally progressive Back Bay/Beacon Hill (although he did win Ward 11 on the JP/Roxbury line, even if barely over Yoon) and was surprised Murphy came in third in Roxbury/South Bay (getting Deval Patrick to return your endorsement with one of his own pays off). Also: Look to Mission Hill to become a swing district.
Lovestruck Arroyo blames defeat on Cupid
By adamg - 11/8/07 - 10:38 amGosh, the Globe has an entire two whole stories today on this week's Boston City Council election, or roughly the same number of stories as it ran in the weeks before the election (good work, McGrory). In any case, one of the stories looks at Felix Arroyo's defeat, and includes this:
Arroyo said yesterday that he had fewer campaign workers, less money, and was much less organized than in previous campaigns. He also admits he has been a little distracted.
"I'm in love," he said. "Love distracts you."
Arroyo's fiancee, Selene Acosta, a gregarious woman from Venezuela, volunteered during his 2003 campaign and accompanied him on many campaign appearances this year.
Love will keep them together - especially now that he won't be distracted by city business:
City Council election: Carrion bird waiting
By adamg - 11/8/07 - 7:54 amMike Ball analyzes Tuesday's vote:
... We have two newbies who may or may not make a difference. Connolly has solid ideas for funding, Council power, education and more. The new guy in Allston-Brighton, Mark Ciommo, has his own very specific to-do lists.
This certainly was no revolution. The old guard is still in those big old chairs.
Murphy does little and is not likely to start now. Flaherty is the carrion bird waiting, just waiting for his chance to become mayor. ...
Chris Lovett takes a look at turnout numbers in various parts of the city. Even high-turnout West Roxbury was down 25% over the past election, although the real collapse was in minority ares - turnout was down 58% around JP's Hyde Square.
Officials, media, rent garments over poor election turnout
By adamg - 11/7/07 - 9:54 amBut seem unable to look in the mirror.
The Outraged Liberal, meanwhile, compares democracy in Boston, where nobody votes and we have a Mayor for Life, and Pakistan, where lawyers are getting beaten by police and getting thrown in cells for daring to want the right to vote:
... Joni Mitchell said "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." The lawyers of Pakistan know. Do we?
It's Murphy AND Connolly; Arroyo learns what happens on rainy days
By adamg - 11/6/07 - 10:20 pm
Loser:
Big winner:
Winner:
Guy whose picture I didn't happen to take at the Roslindale Day Parade:
John Connolly
Steve Murphy proved tonight he's the Model T of elected officials: He can get elected to anything as long as it's an at-large seat on the Boston city council. He came in second tonight, giving him one of the four at-large seats on the city council.
Felix Arroyo, meanwhile, proved that, on a rainy day, when not even 14% of registered voters show up, organization DOES matter, as in: If you don't have much of one, you're going to wonder what the hell happened.
And what the hell happened tonight was that John Connolly, who had an incredibly organized get-out-the-vote effort, especially in his home base of Roslindale and West Roxbury, simply got more votes than Arroyo (who came in second two years ago, which led to a brief Arroyo-for-mayor boomlet). If the flap over Connolly's anonymous anti-Murphy mailings had an impact, in the end, it didn't matter (except to possibly give Steve Murphy some sympathy votes).
Of course, above everybody else sits, again, Michael Flaherty. Not really a surprise there, and you know he already has people thinking what colors to use on the "Flaherty for Mayor" signs. The only question is whether he dares to take on Tom Menino in two years or waits until 2013 - when, who knows, maybe he'll be facing Sam Yoon, who also got re-elected tonight.
Of course, the big question is what this all means for actual policy making in Boston. Granted, we have a "weak" city council, which makes it hard for them to actually get anything done, but they do have the power to hold hearings and get to vote on the mayor's budget, so it'll be interesting to read in the GateHouse and college papers what happens (since we obviously can forget about the Globe and Herald writing much of anything about the council).
In other races:
Mark Ciommo beat Gregory Glennon to win the Allston/Brighton district council race by a roughly 60/40 margin (props to Michael Pahre for calling that margin). He takes over for Jerry McDermott, who moved out of town.
In Dorchester, Maureen Feeney easily maintained her position as the only woman on the council, swamping Michael Cote.
Charles Yancey did even better against J.R. Rucker in his Dorchester/Mattapan district.
It was Chuck Turner over Carlos Henriquez in Roxbury in another trouncing.
All other district races were uncontested.
