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Menino sings a tired old tune
Scot Lehigh, Globe Columnist
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
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YOU NEVER quite know what you're going to find when you head to
City Hall.
Yesterday it was a not-so-wily mayor who got tangled in his own
political ruse.
I'd come to talk to Menino about a challenge from Maura Hennigan,
the veteran city councilor running against him this year: How about
six campaign debates?
Hennigan wants one on education, a second on housing, another on
public safety, a fourth on jobs and economic development, a fifth on
basic city services, and a final encounter to recap all issues.
''I think after 12 years in office, if he wants to serve more, he
owes that to his constituents," Hennigan told me.
Yes, he does. And certainly it would be refreshing to see a mayor
confident enough to subject himself to some competitive
cross-examination. But that wouldn't be the Thomas Michael Menino
we've all come to know.
Indeed, there's something both insipid and insulting about the
way Menino & Co. reacts to a political challenge. Mayoral aides
take refuge in robotic statements that evade the issue in favor of
silly assertions about how incredibly busy the mayor is.
Which is why I went to City Hall to put the question to Menino
himself.
To his credit, the mayor was willing to talk for a few minutes
after a morning dog-and-pony show.
To his detriment, all he had to offer was the same tired
trumpery.
When the field is finalized, he will deign to discuss the
possibility of debates, His Mayoral Highness allowed.
But right now, ''I'm dealing with substantive issues," Menino
claimed.
So why was it that, just moments before, people had been wishing
Menino a nice trip?
Turns out the mayor was headed out of town yesterday. To
Istanbul. To address the International Council of Shopping
Centers.
His tireless cultivation of that body helped bring Target to
Boston, claims spokesman Seth Gitell.
Ah, the sweet sound of substance. Or is it substance abuse?
Rhetorically speaking, that is.
Did I mention that that trade group will be paying for Menino's
airfare and three nights' hotel? And that the mayor will slip in a
few days of vacation before returning on Sunday?
Menino hardly ever takes any time off, Gitell insisted when
pressed about the trip.
Which is odd, because it sticks in my mind that when I went to
Venice and Padua in the fall of 2003, the mayor had either just been
to, or was just returning from, both places. And Rome, too,
according to the clips. That trip, like this one, was mostly on
someone else's dime.
Now, the mayor deserves some R&R, just like everybody else.
(Of course, it would also behoove him to pay for his own travel,
just like everybody else.)
The point is, it's silly to pretend he's too consumed with city
business to discuss the campaign. Granted, Hennigan is a long shot
starting a steep uphill slog as she tries to upset an entrenched
incumbent. Still, she's a dedicated public servant, one who deserves
the opportunity to debate Menino head to head.
Instead, it looks like the mayor plans to subject us to another
dreary episode of political hide-and-seek, a la 2001, when he did
everything he could, save join the witness protection program, to
avoid debating Peggy Davis-Mullen before finally conceding to one
scant half-hour encounter.
Isn't that disrespectful to voters?
Caution: This mayor is nothing if not a black belt at rhetorical
jujitsu. Saying he regularly discusses city issues with taxpayers at
neighborhood meetings, Menino retorted: ''You don't respect the
taxpayers of Boston. You don't consider that discussion of the
issues a debate."
No, as a Boston resident, I must confess, I don't.
After all, Tom Menino is a man who once told us he wanted only
two terms. Now he's seeking his fourth four-year stint in City Hall
while trying to avoid the sort of scrutiny any incumbent of almost
12 years' duration should undergo.
So let's see if we can change that tinny no-time tune. If you
want a lively mayoral campaign rather than a repeat of 2001, call
the mayor's office (617-635-4500) and deliver this message: If Tom
Menino wants to be considered for your vote this fall, he'll have to
show voters the respect they're due by participating in a series of
debates about the city's future.
Back to Top
Competition for Menino
GLOBE EDITORIAL
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
TOM MENINO is Boston's wall-to-wall mayor, whose taste for
campaigning takes him to bake-offs and church bazaars in nearly
every corner of the city. But the fact that Menino shows up in so
many social venues is no guarantee that residents know what he's
planning in terms of policy. That level of information is best
gleaned in formal debate settings where the questioning is tough and
there is no opportunity for a quick getaway.
Four candidates have already declared their intentions to
challenge Menino, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term. If at
least two challengers gain the requisite 3,000 signatures, a
preliminary election on Sept. 27 would be assured. Such a result
would be good for a city where innovations are driven by lively
political contests. Menino, as a rule, is a reluctant debater. The
mayor's campaign director, Beth Leonard, says Menino will appear in
''community meetings and appropriate forums." But he owes it to the
electorate to appear in actual debates to make his case. And the
public is served best if such debates take place before the
September run-off as well as in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 8
final election, when the top two finishers face off.
There's plenty to discuss. City Councilor Maura Hennigan, the
challenger with the most political credentials, is
calling for a return to an elected school committee. Can Menino make
the case that his appointed board -- a signature of his
administration -- is essential to raising and meeting academic
standards? Former city councilor Gareth Saunders, who represented a
largely minority district before retiring in 1999, has also declared
his intention to challenge the mayor. Can Menino make an effective
case that Boston's economic revitalization includes significant
improvements in the city's mostly minority neighborhoods, such as
Roxbury and Mattapan?
Thematic debates would provide the kind of depth that Bostonians
need to evaluate Menino's 12 years in office. Few observers would
argue with the mayor's longstanding commitment to increase the
city's housing stock, for example. But rigorous debate might focus
on the selection of developers and whether the administration has
done everything in its power to reduce high construction costs.
Menino gave the Boston Police Department the kind of running room it
needed to reduce crime in the late 1990s. But a recent upsurge in
violence has rekindled old fears. A public safety debate could
reveal whether Boston is resting on its laurels and, if so, how to
regain the edge in crime prevention.
If Menino doesn't come out and make his case directly, then the
rationale for his return to office would be, well,
debatable.
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