Interesting to read about that public figure, Kevin Hagen White, the old, now Alzheimic, former “Mayah” of the City Of Boston spends his winters in Florida. Does his still have his Beacon Hill mansion as well?
This brings up an old topic but nonetheless an unanswered question. When Mayor of Boston in the late 60’s and early 70’s he had a salary that was well under $50,000/year. Yet, Kevin Hagan White had always been able to sustain what some might call a lavish lifestyle compared to his stated income. If not mistaken, his daughter even had a stable of horses when he was Mayor as he maintained his Beacon Hill town house. Now, it is reported that he has a winter home in Florida.
Wow! Maybe he has a great pension from the City of Boston. Did Kevin ever practice law after he left the Mayor’s office? Seem to remember that John “when you’re ripe, you’re ripe” Silber may have set him up in return for the Commonwealth land grab associated with the university over which he presided.
Still, Kevin Hagen White maybe just maintained that eponymous ‘ Little Tin Box ‘ that now allows him such comfort and security in his declined years. Wonder if his ailment has caused him to forget all the grudges . . . or not.
Just curious.
For those of us who weren’t around during the White administration, perhaps you could elaborate on some of these obscure allusions, and even, if it’s not asking too much, explain your obvious anger towards him.
…I cleaned out his desk. There were some old tax returns. I found that in 1963, he was able to support his wife, three children and aging mother-in-law on a salary of….$5,683. He bought a second home on a lake in Charlton during that era, too, to get us away from the heat of the city in the summer.
<
p>I would suggest that $50,000 went a hell of a lot further in the sixties and seventies than it does now – and heck, even my GRANDMOTHER owned land in Florida, purchased with her widow’s railroad pension.
<
p>What a nasty, vitriolic little diary. As they Mayah would have said, ‘Mother o’ God! Who IS this guy?’
Look up the old musical “Fiorello” about Fiorello LaGuadia for the reference to “The Little Tin Box”.
<
p>It is always amazing how these pols acquire so much on so little- Town Houses – Horses – Vacation Homes on the Cape and in Florida – Off Shore Bank Accounts …oops. Well, you get the picture. Amazing how much you can save by putting your change in that ‘Little Tin Box’.
…I thought he was an excellent Mayor with a lot of vision and a lot of class.
Word was that if your were sitting in a meeting room at The Parkman House [ Kevin’s little rendevous resort] and “Mayah DeLuxe” walked in he demanded that you stand in his presence. If not he swore at you. Yup, real class !
evidence? for anything in this diary?
…you sound very bitter.
You can be sure that the likes of Howie Carr when Kevin Hagen White “won’t be down for breakfast” will write about Mayor DeLuxe and his lavish lifestyle and raise the very question of how did White do it with so little declared income. Naturally, a well known local PR flack, and former White hack will be there to defend him. It appears that while Kevin was doing good, he was doing well.
…I kind of figured you were a Howie Carr listener from the get go. ‘Nuff said.
PJ’s small-minded diary really missed the man…
<
p>Kevin H. White was the “loner in love with his city” and he had big dreams for the city and he had the ability to make others feel good about the future of the city…Boston: World-class City”…he was a great politician because he could walk with the mucky-muck and converse with the laborer and make both feel important.
<
p>If you go back and look at the young, talented lions he had staffing his city hall at that time and look at what became of them…it’s quite an impressive list…
<
p>You could often see him just walking around the city, no entourage and if you said hi to him, he would acknowledge you as if you were the most important person he was to meet that day. (I was once walking down Beacon St with a friend, I saw Mayor White alone heading in our direction…very young and brash I told my friend that I was going to say hello to him even though I had never met him before…when he got within eye contact, I said, “Hello, Mr. Mayor! How’s it going?” He stopped said it was going pretty good and thanked us for asking!….boy, did we feel important.
<
p>Years later, after he was retired from being Mayor, I had the chance to work with him…he was just an incredible man with a wealth of political acumen, sharp ideas and very willing to share with those still trying to learn.
<
p>I had the chance to visit his home on one occasion…it was not a mansion, PJ…but it was a welcoming place to be with a very nice family in residence.
<
p>I am sorry to hear that his health is deteriorating. It’s a sad finale for a spectacular son of Boston.
<
p>
The question remains, just like Providence’s Buddy Cianci, who turned around downtown Providence, did Kevin Hagen White do well while doing good?
do you have anything more than bitter innuendo fueling your question?
Just because Kevin White has Alzheimers it doesn’t mean that unanswered questions about his doing well while doing good cannot be asked. Looks like the multi-hair colored pr flack has his troups out today.
not me. but i am inclined to start asking my own questions about you if you don’t provide evidence that your questions are more than a smear campaign. because right now, that’s how it looks. if you don’t care how it looks, by all means, keep undermining your own credibility. why should i care?
Think this is a job for an investigative team or one hardnosed reporter. As mentioned, above Howie Carr went after Whitey Bulger. Then again, he was a lot safer than going after . . . Well, you know who.
<
p>Still, would not be surprised if Carr is already reopening his files on Kevin Hagen White. Then again is the multi-colored hair pr flack flacking for both Carr’s newspaper and radio station. Hmmmmmmm? Maybe, The Globe Spotlight Team would be better and tougher.
Jayzuz, PJ – did Kevin White support Hillary Clinton, too? I thought your vicious screed was strictly limited to the the non-supporters of Barack Obama? And where’s the linky love, friend? You’re supposed to support your Buffalo Snot with empirical evidence.
Hmmm. Noticed that Howie Carr has been writing about Kevin Hagen White and the sweetheart deal one of his…uhm…supporters, Joanne Provost Anzolone, got to buy a North End Town house for pennies…
Yup, the good old stories never died, do they.
More to come from Howard Lawrence Carr?
Although I never did get to meet him, especially since I grew up in a suburb 20 miles due northwest of Boston, I do know that, particularly during his early days as a mayor, he did some good things, and surrounded himself with some good, brilliant and intelligent people who knew about how to get necessary government programs in. The Little City Halls in each neighborhood, the Model Cities program and other programs that he had created for the black neighborhoods, and the fact that he managed to keep the city under wraps when there was much tension in the late 1960’s over the Viet Nam War. Mayor Kevin Hagan also started out as a sort of a grass-roots mayor, who, in addition to doing the above things, also created programs such as “Summerthing”, where there were various concerts and whatnot on summer evenings in the Common.
(I still remember seeing Joan Baez perform at one such concert back in the early 1970’s), and he managed to keep the city calm in the wake of the MLK assassination and during the Rolling Stones concert at the old Boston Garden.
<
p>Mayor White was in office for four terms–longer than any mayor had been. However, things began to take a turn for the worse…his own arrogance, enamourment of and corruption by power, combined with Boston’s school bsing crisis, helped kill him politically. Kevin White was both unable and unwilling to lead and control the city during the busing crisis.