Michael Flaherty wants back in the game in Boston. After an unsuccessful effort to unseat Mayor Thomas Menino two years ago, the former City Council President is going for an at-large seat again.
He joined us on Left Ahead today to talk about:
- How he figures he isn’t running against any of the four at-large incumbents.
- What he would bring back to the Council mix that he thinks it lacks.
- A few things, like PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) reform that the Council is doing right (he points out that he set this up and they are finally doing it).
- Where some much needed cash for Boston may be.
- How the Mayor undermines progress.
We can be pretty sure that Menino will not be helping Flaherty. Though in the name of evenhandedness, Flaherty said the Mayor should not help any candidate for Council. Nor should he be in the situation of Councilors having been on his staff or their friends and relatives being city employees.
This candidate was unusually blunt for our shows. He cited Menino’s “naughty list” and “juvenile behavior that sometimes exists on the fifth floor” of City Hall. Listen in as he claims that being on the Mayor’s bad side can mean that department heads and other employees don’t return Councilors’ calls, limiting their ability to service constituents. Instead, he said Councilors should feel free to act as checks and balances and not cheerleaders.
Not surprisingly, he favors term limits. In addition, he finds that the shift from an all at-large Council to 9 of 13 members in districts weakened the body. He understand that some neighborhoods had constituents who hoped for better representation in a district, but the effect was that district Councilors are “not as much of a threat to the Mayor.”
All in all, Flaherty’s entry into the at-large mix has already cranked up the energy in the contest. It will go to a September preliminary if more than 8 of the 13 who pulled papers quality. The November final will pick the top four. Meanwhile, Flaherty has strong words for Menino, but claims he’s not running against any or all of the four incumbents. The debates should be worth watching or attending.
I think he just wants his council seat back as a platform to run for mayor again next cycle. It seems disingenuous of him to suggest that he is not running against the incumbent at-large councilors, when he knows perfectly well he will have to displace one.
I wish he would stop beating the term limits drum. I really dislike term limits in general, and am not likely to support a candidate who wants to spend so much of his time fighting that battle. If we are going to have term limits in Boston, at least it should apply to the City Council as well and not just the mayor.
In any case, I am likely to just bullet vote for Pressley and Arroyo to keep the council from being overly white.
Assuming that Menino finally hangs up his hat, and perhaps even if not, I might be willing to support Flaherty for mayor next time, but only if he distances himself from the Firefighter’s union.