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Flaherty gets his own clergy endorsements

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By adamg on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 7:41am

Press conference at 10:30 a.m. today with Floon and 40 or so "community leaders and pastors," in front of the Boston Public School headquarters on School Street to "underscore Mayor Menino's poor performance on improving public schools and his failure to provide a quality education to Boston's children," the campaign says.

Among those scheduled to appear: Overseer Thomas Cross of the Church of God of Christ, Bishop Edward Hoffman of Calvary Church International, Pastor Sybil Dunwoody of the Greater Zion Church of God in Christ, Rev. Nicolas Homicil of the Voice of the Gospel Tabernacle, Linda Barros of Self Help, Inc. and Reynelda "Chickie" Rivera of Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion.

Free tagging: 
mayor
Michael Flaherty
2009 elections


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Comments

By frankiefballs on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 8:15am.

The momentum keeps building for the Flaherty-Yoon team. Getting this much public support against a 16-year incumbent mayor, who is well known to retaliate against people not 100% behind him is extraordinary. It shows that people are ready for new leadership.

By Kaz on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 8:26am.

I wonder what EdRomero has to say on this topic??

By EdRomero on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:45am.

....blahh blahh blahh flaherty sucks blahh blahh blahh yoon is a sellout blahh blahh blahh 4 more years.

Also, Brady is back!

By Gary Geiger on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:47am.

not a power packed lineup, sort of the Tennessee Titans of Boston politics.

the Mayor's progressives list (see previous post) seems more potent.

can anyone name a progressive action taken by Michael Flaherty as councilor? I'm open at this point, but my friends say he tried to defeat Felix Arroyo because "Team Unity" annoyed him in the council.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 12:57pm.

Menino can't point to any of Sam Yoon's supporters who now support him. That's because they are all with Flaherty - they all know how important this election is for the city. Under a Flaherty-Yoon administration, real progressives will have a place at the table. Time for Flaherty & Yoon, the Progressive Choice for Boston.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 3:28pm.

"Menino can't point to any of Sam Yoon's supporters who now support him" because Menino can't point to any Yoon supporters. In case you forgot, Yoon overwhelming got his butt whooped.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 4:41pm.

Really - He got 20,000 votes last I looked.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 1:03pm.

In 2005 Flaherty sent a mailer out endorsing Arroyo and urging people to vote for him. I remember thinking that it was odd for a councilor to be supporting another councilor in that way.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 1:10pm.

1. First Boston politician to support gay marriage.

2. Co-sponsored an anti-discrmination and hate crime ordinance regarding transgender persons.

3. Supports lifting the cap on charter schools.

4. Fought to close a loophole in a gun law that allowed criminals to stash guns in their homes.

Thats just off the top of my head...

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 3:33pm.

the first?!? really? people supported gay marriage in Boston before Flaherty was born. what a joke.

Charter schools are not progressive, you fool. far from it.

Any conservative will support not letting criminals have illegal guns. Guns is a losing issue for flaherty. Menino has one of the best progressive records on guns in the nation.

this list is pathetic.

By Ron Newman on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:30pm.

Shouldn't progressives be in favor of experimentation, which is what charter schools are all about? What's progressive about opposing them when the status quo isn't working so well?

By stevenismyname on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 1:13pm.

He endorsed Felix in 2005 and they campaigned together afterwards. Also, he was one of the first elected officials in Boston to openly support gay marriage, as reported by the Herald in October of 1999, and also the FIRST elected official to endorse Barack Obama, a year before the primary.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 1:24pm.

Under Menino, 100 of 143 Boston Public Schools are underperforming and 24,000 kids have dropped out of the BPS. What's progressive about that type of leadership? And what's progressive about strong-arming and bullying people who happen to disagree with you? And what can possibly be progressive about running a political machine in the 21st Century? Menino is no progressive...don't buy that folks. Vote for the real progressive candidates - Flaherty & Yoon.

By kbjp on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 4:55pm.

However, Flaherty also stood AGAINST health benefits for gay partners -- talk is cheap. I'm glad he openly supports gay marriage, but he's don't nothing to actively protect the rights of those couples

By kbjp on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 4:57pm.

Felix Arroyo Sr. personally and professionally has never endorsed Michael Flaherty because of how disrespectful he was to councilors of color.

And when Michael Flaherty approached Felix Jr., last week, asking for an endorsement, Felix told him, not in a million years because you have a record of disrespecting and refusing to cooperate with people of color and the community leaders they elect to represent them.

By kbjp on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 4:53pm.

Flaherty supported the death penalty, opposed affirmative action, commented that Judge Garrity's decision to end "de facto" school segregation was wrong, opposed health benefits for gay partners, routinely marches in the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade, and as Council President continually invoked Rule 19 (hardly EVER used) 9 times to block conversation from City Councilors of color, Arroyo, Turner, and Yancey.

None of that I would categorize progressive.

Also, on an interesting note, "Chickie" from Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, has a personal gripe with the Mayor because of a pretty childish reason. For about 5 years now, the Boston Puerto Rican Festival has been in debt to the City of Boston because they never fundraise for the event and the City pays the cost of the traditionally 3 day affair (in comparison the Carribbean, Hatian, and Dominican festivals have similar festivals and are never in this much debt).

Chickie, the head of the Puerto Rican Festival exploded at the City this year because they would only issue a permit for a 1 day festival, since that was all the committee reported they would be able to pay for. The committee (made up of more than just Chickie) VOTED that they did not have enough money for the 3 day affair and would hold a one day festival.

I'm Puerto Rican and I love my heritage and the festival, but the simple truth is that the Puerto Rican Festival should be held to the same standards for all other festivals in the city. Her actions were childish then, and I feel her endorsement of Flaherty now misrepresents the Latina, and especially Puerto Rican community of Boston.

Also, IBA (Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion) did not endorse Flaherty, only one woman there did.

By Michael Kerpan on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 4:58pm.

Are just repeating yourselves -- over and over. The same litany -- over and over. What are you trying to accomplish?

By adamg on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 4:58pm.

I should have included that line.

By annieknowhow on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 1:38pm.

The city has had a cry for help in schools and out in our streets that Menino has been unable to fulfill. 17 years is far too long as mayor and don't try to tell us that you are "progressive." The real progressive candidate in the race is Flaherty! You know what is progressive? It is teaming up with a previous opponent because together they will be able to accomplish such much for our City! Flaherty/Yoon know what Boston wants and needs! Watch the debate tonight at 7PM and see for yourself the stronger candidate for Boston.

Vote Flaherty Nov 3rd!

By Bill on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 2:09pm.

When a young Michael Flaherty ran for Councilor in 1995 he opposed all forms of affirmative action. He also opposed extending rights to GLBT partners. Doesn't sound so progressive to me.

Flaherty is the Mitt Romney of Boston politics--he opposed extending rights to GLBT partners; he then embraced gay marriage. He opposed the BU Bio Lab and when liberal minds like Arroyo, Yoon, and McCrea brought it up in 2005 an it gained support he magically opposed the Bio Lab siting the response to Hurricane Katrina as his reason. When Arroyo sent around a patition supporting the separating of the BRA's planning and development functions in 2004 Flaherty neither supported it or signed it; now he can't stand the BRA and wantts it gone immediately.

Michael Flaherty has been consistent on one thing throughout his career, saying whatever he thinks gives him the best chance to win office at a particular moment. He is no more of a progressive than Scott Brown is.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 2:31pm.

Not sure where the proof is that Flaherty has been anything but pro-gay. There certainly is evidence that he was very public about supporting equal marriage rights back in 1999. He has also spoken out many times about how his pro-gay positions are rooted in the murder of his closeted uncle, having other relatives and friends who were gay, and his own sense that it was the right thing to do. You may disagree with his policies or even believe that Tom Menino deserves to get re-elected, but there's no need to make things up about Flaherty. Said another way: You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

By Bill on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 3:17pm.

I only wish I could get access to the full Globe archive (unfortunately it coss money) but here is the opening to the Globe article from 1995 highlighting Flaherty's opposition to affirmative action and extension of rights to GLBT partners as well as Flaherty's support for the death penalty.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8348035.html

To allYoon voters, Yoon was a progressive candidate; Flaherty is the farthest thing from it.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 3:39pm.

Yoon wasn't progressive. He came in last places in votes at the DotOUT endorsement meeting.

Progressives who voted for Yoon got hoodwinked.

By anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 4:33pm.

Context is key - Flaherty was not OPPOSED to LGBT equal rights, as the article noted he was concerned about how to implement benefits without fraud (which may be yet another reason why he was so much in favor of marriage equality -- that certainly answers the question of how to show that these relationships should be treated the same as everyone else's -- just treat them the same!)

Anyway, I do have a Globe subscription and below is the potion of the article that details Flaherty's efforts to woo the LGBT community in 1995...

.......
Still, Don Gorton, former head of the Greater Boston Gay and Lesbian Political Alliance and a supporter of Martin's, thinks Flaherty will get "a substantial portion of the gay vote."

"There's no question that Michael doesn't get 100 percent on questions about gay and lesbian issues," he said. "But he's impressed people who have met him as relatively open-minded, as someone who's young and can be persuaded."

Flaherty speaks passionately about the problem of homophobia and with less certainty about his legislative positions. He says he is unwilling to expand existing city laws to increase health benefits to partners of gay city employees because of what he sees as the potential for fraud.

He believes gay groups should be allowed to march in the St. Patrick's Day parade, but supports organizers' right to exclude the Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, know as GLIB.

Despite disagreements with Flaherty over some issues, former City Councilor David Scondras, an outspoken gay activist, is hosting a party for Flaherty. Scondras said Flaherty's early overtures to the gay community were paying off."

By NotWhitey on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:59pm.

I don't think I'd bring up David Scondras right now. Just sayin.'

By kbjp on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 5:01pm.

The Globe article on Flaherty not supporting gay rights and affirmative action, while supporting the death penalty is:

Oct. 16, 1995, "Unlikely alliance in a city race DA Martin gives help to Michael Flaherty"

Boston Globe

By Bill on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 5:30pm.

Thanks for sharing the Globe text. You seem to provide some credible evidence so while I still have a question mark on it we'll let the readers decide why or why not Flaherty opposed extending GLBT rights.

What no one seems to have an answer for is Flaherty's complete opposition to affirmative action and Flaherty's support for the death penalty (two very anti progressive views). This when you add in his switch on the BU Bio Lab only when the liberal winds blew in in 2005 paint the picture of Flaherty as someone willing to change any of his views if he thinks it can get him elected. Flaherty was and is the least progressive candidate in the race. Yoon supporters have told me that in their big volunteer training in July that Yoon people even said Flaherty was the most conservative candidate in the race so Yoon supporters went after Menino voters because they thought Menino voters were more in line with Yoon than Flaherty is.