And not just by the firefighters or other city unions. Boston Public School students plan a rally outside Faneuil Hall before Menino's state-of-the-city speech tomorrow to support their schools, which are facing large cuts in programs, according to organizer Maya Jonas-Silver - a member of the Boston Latin School class of 2010.
On their Facebook page, the Student Coalition Acting for Public Education argues:
Kevin McCrea has one you can borrow (if, that is, he doesn't use it himself).
David Bernstein reports that Yoon surpassed his must-raise-100k-by-New-Year's goal and so will now run for mayor. Maybe. Pete Stidman at the Dorchester Reporter wonders if Yoon didn't already have the cash in hand when he sent out his pre-Christmas plea - he notes Yoon's wife knows a bit about fundraising techniques.
Down amidst the news about Tom Menino spending roughly $400,000 a year campaigning for the past three years against, oh, nobody in particular is Hizzonah's assertion that he's not yet sure if he'll be running next year.
Meanwhile, Yoon recently sent out a fundraising e-mail that went something like: I need to raise $100,000 by the end of the year to run for mayor in 2009 or I'll be called home.
Councilor Flaherty's lastest campaign financial statement shows a $10,000 consulting bill from EchoDitto, a Washington consulting firm (with Boston employees) that is:
[D]edicated to building vibrant communities online and empowering people through the creative use of emerging technologies.
Founded by a group of people who met on the Dean presidential campaign, it boasts:
If you look at Tom Menino's recent campaign financial statements, there are some expenditures that indicate Hizzona is strongly considering another re-election bid in 2009.
In September, the campaign paid Network Solutions $144 to renew domain names (like themeninocommittee.net - which doesn't have a corresponding Web site yet) - would they do that if their guy weren't running again?
Even more telling is the $30,000 the Menino campaign paid to Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates, a California polling company. Would somebody getting ready to retire on Dec. 31, 2009 do that?
Then again, it's not like the money is denting his campaign war chest. PolitickerMA reported the Menino campaign has more than a million just sitting in the bank right now, in addition to $400,000 or so in his active campaign fund.
Councilor Yoon begins mayoral bid 3,000 miles from city he wants to lead (although a Yoon spokesman says the effort there is "unauthorized").
Silicon Valley blogger thinks that would just be marvy.
What? You didn't get an invitation to the kickoff event?
Yoon's 2008 contributions to date - more from out of state than from Massachusetts residents (Excel spreadsheet from data compiled by the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance).
Jimbo makes the case. Potential mayoral candidate Michael Flaherty is involved. I'd link to the paper's initial story and the column that has Jimbo upset, but the East Boston Times has kind of a pitiful Web site that is perpetually out of date.
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?).
Michael Pahre reports on e-mail from the councilor criticizing "the administration" for its failure to get a constituent-complaint tracking system running:
... I believe we have just heard the opening salvo of the 2009 Mayoral campaign. ...
Former DA Ralph Martin declines to run for mayor, citing ambivalence over how he wants to spend the next 10 years.
David Bernstein at the Phoenix: Will nobody step in with a serious campaign to enliven the tedium of the suffering political journalists?
Michael Pahre takes note of newbie at-large city councilor John Connolly (best known in West Roxbury and Roslindale) and his quick learning of the BC expansion issue and wonders if it might already be time to add him to the list of possible candidates for mayor next year:
We'll watch those fund-raising numbers carefully over the next six months to see how well he replenishes his warchest.
Boston Maggie surveys the mayoral career of Hugh O'Brien, who took office on this day in 1885:
... Popular among both native- and Irish-born Bostonians, Hugh O'Brien paved the way for the better known Irish mayors who would follow him— "HoneyFitz" Fitzgerald and James Michael Curley. ...
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).
David Bernstein lists and rates their odds against another presumed Menino re-election bid in 2009. Interesting article, but the Phoenix really needs to find a photo of Michael Flaherty taken sometime more recently than 1983. Also: Joe Kennedy for mayor? Does the guy even live in Boston anymore? And even if he does, ugh, enough's enough with him and his presumed right to whatever office somebody thinks he's running for.
Flaherty in the Phoenix: |
Flaherty last month: |
Kevin wonders: If Mike Bloomberg can buy himself the mayor's office in New York and some rich guy in Philadelphia can announce he'll be spending $5 million of his own money to become mayor, what if some local rich guy ran for mayor of Boston?
... [A] wealthy and charismatic outsider could attract the attention and buzz that Hub mayoral challenger Maura Hennigan was never able to get. Who would be Boston's Bloomberg or Katz, or Schwarzenneger? ...
The Globe wraps up the results and quotes former City Councilor Larry DiCara that this mandate will let Menino restructure city government (as opposed to his previous mandates?).
The focus of the Globe story was that almost every city employee who has made a donation has made it to Menino. That would be 438 of 440 employees who "have been identified" on campaign records. But there are 16,000 city employees.
The South End News endorsed Susan Passoni in the District 2 race; Menino for Mayor; and Felix Arroyo, Patricia White, Matt O'Malley and Michael Flaherty in the At-Large race. The newspaper does not have a Web site. Here's the editorial:
editorial
Boston City Council endorsements
This year’s crop of candidates for Boston City Council is the strongest we’ve seen in years. Voters are better off for it. When we go to the polls next Tuesday, Nov. 8, we’ll have an opportunity to send new energy, ideas and passion to Boston’s much-maligned City Council.
One of the themes emerging from the At-Large race is that the Council is only as strong as its members make it. Although the Council’s powers technically reside just in its authority to approve the Mayor’s budget, the Council is a powerful bully pulpit from which to push policy ideas and endorse social movements.
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