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Campaign notes: The last mayoral debate and the clergyman who says he didn't really endorse Menino
New commenting turned off as we begin the Great UHub Migration. Back later today.
By adamg on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 8:04am
Globe: Menino, Flaherty present opposing views of Boston in heated debate.
Herald: Michael Flaherty, Tom Menino take last licks.
The Globe spends a day on the trail with Flaherty.
Menino was endorsed by SEIU 888, which represents lots of city workers, and by the heads of several community health centers in Boston: "As mayor he redesigned the health care system for the city’s poor and underserved residents. ... Tom Menino has made our city a national model for delivering care to the most vulnerable populations in our society."
Also endorsing Hizzona: The Ward 3 (North End, Beacon Hill and Downtown) Democratic Town Committee, NorthEndWaterfront.com reports.
The Dorchester Reporter's Lit Drop notes that one of the clergy members listed as saying he endorsed Menino says he didn't, even though he showed up at the press conference where clergy members endorsed Menino. Huh?
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Comments
Nice coverage of the Boston
Nice coverage of the Boston mayor's race. Too bad Universal Hub rarely covers any political races outside the boundaries of Boston proper.
well duh
that's because this is a Boston-focused website.
So post some coverage of a different city's election
Universal Hub is whatever people make it. I haven't posted Somerville election updates because this is going to be the most boring election in anyone's memory -- nobody running against the Mayor, 5 people running for 4 alderman-at-large seats, only 1 out of 7 ward alderman races contested, only 2 out of 7 ward school committee seats contested.
U Hub leading the way on Mayor's race
Universal Hub's coverage of the Boston elections has been fantastic. The newspapers in this town could learn a lot from UH. Keep up the good work Adam G & all.
Can Community Health Center Leaders Legally Endorse?
I am sure that someone knows more about this than me, but don't non-profit community health centers risk losing their non-profit status when their leaders endorse political candidates for office?! I'm not saying that a non-profit head can't endorse in his/her personal capacity, but if he/she is endorsing a candidate as the leader of a particular health care facility, I think that is problematic. Just a thought...hopefully the IRS isn't paying too close attention to a local/city race!
The Menino Factor
The question is can these heads of non-profits and others afford not to endorse the Mayor? We all know how he operates. If you want funding, you have to beg before the Mayor and do his bidding at election time. That's why we need to get rid of Menino and his machine.
this is why I'm pissed at Neighbors For Neighbors
They just basically endorsed Menino with their last event. The question is, why?
Answer: they can't afford not to, because Menino is a vindictive bastard. Look at the emails to his aides...everyone's worried about pissing off the Menino Monster, and even the aides' emails said when so-and-so didn't give him "favorable" coverage.
Half the reason everyone in Boston loves him so goddamn much is because he refuses to get involved in anything unless he's buttered up on the stage, gets his name all over everything (like all the city property, which is probably illegal.) Nobody has a choice, nobody takes a stand...so everyone in the audience thinks Menino's this awesome dude who is SO involved in everything in their communities...when reality is that the community organizers and groups have to kiss his ass all day just to get any kind of cooperation or action out of the city.
That's what's so sad about this race. He's spent a decade grooming this image through blackmail, and nobody except the people who have to actually work with the city know what a scam it is.
Frank, wouldnt these health
Frank, wouldnt these health center leaders simply not endorse anyone if they felt like the Mayor was not doing a good job? The constant refrain that EVERYONE who endorses or suppports the Mayor is somehow in his pocket or fearfull of retribution is getting boring. Look around your own little strip of Dorchester. You see people who both endorse/support the Mayor who have nothing to gain from him financially. Just as I see some people who support Flaherty who are neither fire fighters or relative's of fire fighters or Flaherty.
While I understand the questioning of a non-profit head endorsing a candidate....I do think it might be because they see the work done by that candidate to help there cause/mission. Again, I do see the dangerous gray area that leads to with such an endorsement. Just think that people need to lay off the "Mayor is the Devil" seranade that has become the last couple months.
Your Dorchester analysis is a bit off
at least in my "little strip"--in years past my street was solidly Menino ground. But the only houses with Menino signs (and certainly signs are not the basis with which to judge much) are a family that has benefited from inordinate amounts of tax-payer dollars in an eight-year-old zoning case, and a member of the black ministerial alliance who was not so long ago a shill for Bush's faith-based initiative funding. There are many more signs for the Floon ticket--lost ground for the Mayor I say.
As a former employee of a community health center, and other non-profits, the gray area is (oops) surprisingly about law. At least my recollection is that a non-profit can't endorse a candidate unless it files for a separate status as some sort of political organizing group. The press release on the Mayor's campaign website lists names and neighborhoods of these CHC supporters, without their agency--perhaps an attempt to muddy the waters without actually naming the organization they represent. Most of these health centers rely on federal funding--few are still licensed through what was Boston City Hospital--thus any suggestion that Menino is solely responsible for their success or failure is bogus.
My take is the Menino camp is worried, and is attempting to create an atmosphere that suggests the infrastructure of the city is at peril without his re-election. Sadly, the CHCs decided to cave to this fear-mongering. Alternatively, Jim Hunt, cabinet member for the environment--who is the son of Jim Hunt, president of the Mass League of Community Health Centers--opted to extended his (familial) network to gain ground for the Mayor.
The question of legality around non-profit endorsement is solid--and personally I can only wonder why these folks would enter a city-wide race at a moment when, for the first time in a decade, we have both a democratic governor and president, leaving their programs and mission essentially intact. But Menino's administration behaves as if it is above the law, and it is unfortunate that too many civic leaders follow it into the abyss.
It's Universal Hub, not Universal Hub and nearby Suburbs
Okay so Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline and perhaps the smattering of towns that share the remains of Suffolk County with Boston (Chelsea, Somerville, Winthrop, and Revere) might look, feel and for practicality seem like they are Boston, but they're not.
Unfortunately they don't seem to have all that different of politics. Hyper-parochial interests, dominated by NIMBY's and professional politicians; albeit at a much smaller scale. If that's the sort of coverage certain folks want, then go ahead start a blog dedicated to greater Boston's less than stellar political process. Who knows, maybe a good blog would change that. I won't be a hater.
Somerville is not in Suffolk County
It's in MIddlesex County.
And if we had a local election that was remotely interesting to anyone not living within the city limits, I'd report on it for Universal Hub. Maybe for Blue Mass. Group, too.