Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

So, Flaherty’s officially in for Mayor

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I know the campaign officially started when Kevin McCrea announced a couple of days ago, but I’m thinking this means the race will really heat up:

Flaherty’s Video

And his new website

I don’t know what to think yet. Maybe he knows something about Menino’s viability that nobody else seems to. I wonder if Yoon will get in. So many questions still unanswered!

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  1. It’s official. I just got an email from them announcing while drinking my coffee, video up on his website and at his channel on YouTube. Ability to make comments is a nice touch – I don’t think even Obama’s enabled comments on his youtube. Looking forward to reading some commentary on BMG.

  2. From the letter on his website:

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    p>

    Regretfully, I think this simple commitment to democracy has become overshadowed by a city government that is run behind closed doors and has shut out the public.

    <

    p>That might be believable if the city council hadn’t been slapped for violating open meeting rules. How is he not a big part of the problem?

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    p>To win, he is going to need to need something much better than insincere calls for “openness” and vague calls for “fresh leadership”.

    • I wanted to introduce myself to the BMG community. I live in Boston and have read BMG faithfully for the past few years. I haven’t posted before, but this mayor’s race is too important for me to continue to sit on the sidelines. This election is going to shape the political landscape in Boston for years to come. I’m one of what I’m sure are thousands of voters going into this election undecided. I’ve voted for both Mayor Menino and Michael Flaherty over the past few years, as well as Felix Arroyo. I consider myself to be on the left of the left and am proud to say it.

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      p>I am trying to figure out why Sam Yoon would jump into a race for mayor when he doesn’t even bother to show up for City Council meetings. From what I’ve seen, Yoon has what appears to be the worst attendance of any of his colleagues. I’ve met Councilor Yoon and while he seemed like a nice man, he didn’t at all strike me as Chief Executive of Boston material. He doesn’t seem to be a strong leader, nor does he seem very dedicated to the people of Boston.

      <

      p>Politics in Boston are changing. I think this mayor’s race is going to define this city for the next 10 to 20 years. This election is going to be just as significant for Boston as President Obama’s election was for the country.  

      • I don’t think he missed many regular meetings, but at least for a while missed a lot of budget meetings. Supposedly other councilors missed a lot of those meetings as well. So without more hard facts on the attendance issue, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

      • I think this mayor’s race is going to define this city for the next 10 to 20 years. This election is going to be just as significant for Boston as President Obama’s election was for the country.

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        p>That is quite a claim! What makes you think that?

        • that the mayor has such a direct effect on so many aspects of my life.  Of course President Obama has the opportunity to drastically change the condition of the country. He’s inherited a grim state of affairs from a president with a terrible legacy. But the mayor’s decisions have a more tangible affect on our everyday lives. The future mayor will impact the quality of my children’s education, determine the direction of our limited budget, and ultimately shape the city’s development and quality of life. That’s why it’s important to me that we choose someone who at least shows enough interest and commitment to show up to budget hearings. Decisions are made by those who show up. I want my mayor to be someone who cares enough to do so.

          • Where do you get the bit about defining the course of the city for the next 10-20 years? Are you assuming the next mayor will be in office as long as Menino? And what is wrong with Menino anyway? Do you really think that the next mayor is going to represent a drastic change in governing? I doubt it.

            <

            p>So who is your pick for mayor?

      • Anonymous person claiming to be a liberal says negative stuff about Yoon.

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        p>We don’t know you are yet by your comments. You could be who you say you are. You could be a plant. How then to evaluate  “he didn’t at all strike me as Chief Executive of Boston material”?

        • I might not immediately endorse every liberal candidate, but that certainly doesn’t make me a “fake-liberal” or a plant. I have serious concerns about the commitment of a candidate who can’t even be bothered to show up to 24 of 29 budget meetings. I’ve followed this blog for some time now, and genuinely appreciate the opportunity for intelligent public debate about the people who want to run our city. I’m happy to hear your opinions about Yoon (I don’t pretend to know everything there is to know about him), I hope it’s okay for me to continue to express mine.

      • That posting in the Herald should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt, as there are no attendance records kept at council meetings.  Councilor Yoon has pressed to bring more transparency to this and other aspects of City Hall.
        Because there are no records, City Hall insiders have taken advantage of this oversight to create a negative rumor about Councilor Yoon.  Allegations like this represent an outdated brand of Boston politics – in essence, a whisper campaign.  Councilor Yoon has not only tried to get attendance recorded at the meetings (and been blocked by other city councilors), but he is also a consistent and active presence in the City Council chambers.

  5. Since Kevin McCrea was one of the plaintiffs in the open meeting law lawsuit, Kevin has much better credibility on the subject of Open Government over Menino, Flaherty or even Yoon. If we are going to break from “behind closed door” government, it cannot be only incrementally better. It must be a clean break with business as usual.

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