Hennigan scores
GLOBE EDITORIAL
September 29, 2005
BOSTON MAYORAL challenger Maura Hennigan succeeded
in making the Menino administration look timeworn last night during
a lively televised town meeting. Hennigan showed a strong command
of the facts and presented well during questioning from a cross-section
of Boston voters. Mayor Menino, who is seeking his fourth term,
was lackluster on both style and substance.
Hennigan's strong performance should inject new
energy into the race. She linked the mayor to soaring real estate
taxes, declining city services, and troubling school dropout rates.
Never an orator, Menino usually comes across at least as neighborly.
But it was Hennigan yesterday who showed a winning style. She
connected with the audience by describing her own tumble into
a pothole on a poorly maintained street while Menino was reduced
to talking about gas company ''utility cuts" in sidewalks.
Hennigan, who has served on the City Council since
1981 while shopping unsuccessfully for other offices, is vulnerable
to the charge that her record is insufficient for the office of
mayor. Her call to return to an elected School Committee, which
she repeated last night, is an exceedingly bad idea, raising the
specter of the chaotic and counterproductive school boards of
the past. But Menino mounted a tepid defense of his appointed
school board, one of his best accomplishments and the likely reason
that he has been able to retain one of the nation's best school
superintendents for a decade.
Menino is the rare mayor who sets specific housing
goals. But Hennigan even turned that issue against him during
the town hall meeting by repeatedly reminding listeners that Boston
has become the most expensive city in the United States. She boldly
promised to create a line item in the city budget for affordable
housing based on revenue growth. Menino has avoided that solution,
preferring the more conservative measure of relying on state and
federal funds while making occasional use of city dollars for
housing initiatives.
Sometimes Hennigan overreached. She repeatedly portrayed the mayor
as cozy with pet developers who, she alleged, receive favorable
assessments and pay less than their fair share of taxes. But values
on office towers statewide are based on the income they produce,
not sales prices. Still, Menino failed to counter effectively.
That won't help him with homeowners who have seen property tax
hikes of 41 percent since 2000.
''Greater Boston" host Emily Rooney of Channel
2 did a good job of ensuring adequate time for rebuttals. But
this was just a warm-up. Hennigan certainly deserves the right
to go up against Menino again, preferably in a debate format that
allows the candidates to question each other face-to-face.