Partial Campaign Abortion...

The last few weeks of the 2009-2010 Massachusetts US Senate campaign have not amounted to an October surprise in November, but they have been fodder for some edutainment.  Yes, edutainment.

People have berated long campaigns, but this one has given the electorate of Massachusetts an opportunity to see into the candidates, notably the Democratic primary's frontrunners.  This is all the more important since, the winner of the Democratic primary will likely be the winner of the general election in January.

Most of this extra curricular nonsense came about as the US House of Representatives, by a thin margin, passed its version of health care reform.  That bill included a provision that would prohibit any insurance policy either paid for or subsidized by the government from covering an abortion, excluding cases of rape, incest, or threat to mother's life.  That provision was added to encourage some centrists and pro-life Democrats (and Republicans) to vote for the bill.  Among those who voted for it was Representative Mike Capuano, candidate for US Senate in Massachusetts.  For the record, the Massachusetts Health Reform of 2006 does cover abortions.  Not all that surprising, frankly.

The prohibitive favorite for the open Senate seat from Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley, was sailing her way to victory until the House passed its version of Health Care Reform.  She announced, following its passage, that she would have voted against the bill (or at least final passage thereof), because it would essentially deny woman their right to abortion.  It appears that Coakley perceives the right to choose as a right the government is not simply prohibited from limiting, but also one it should facilitate.

For the record, the Stupak-Pitts amendment, which prohibits federal efforts to expand health care from paying for abortions and named after Rep. Bart Stupak (MI-D) and Joseph Pitts (PA-R), may duplicate the existing law a.k.a. the Hyde amendment, which more generally prohibits federal funding for abortion.  There is a concern among many, including Stupak, a notable pro-life Democrat, that the existing law may not prevent government funding of abortions under health care reform.

That being said, there appears to be a sincere concern among pro-choice politicians, who otherwise oppose federal funding of abortions (or simply accept it), that the Stupak-Pitts amendment would prohibit any insurance plan from paying for abortions or otherwise require a separate supplemental rider that would cover abortions.  In other words, a clarification of health care reform vis-à-vis the Hyde amendment might be appropriate, but the Stupak-Pitts amendment is too expansive.

Following Coakley's announcement that she would not vote for the bill at all with that provision, Rep. Capuano pounced on her as unfit to work within the "lets make a deal" atmosphere of Washington.  An attitude the late Senator Kennedy certainly expressed.  However, after Capuano sensed (incorrectly one might argue) the wind was blowing Coakley's way and she attacked him for voting for the bill, Capuano asserted his liberal and progressive credentials saying he only voted for the bill to keep it alive.  Coakley, too, wavered, but not as incoherently.

For the record, Stephen Pagliuca and Alan Khazei expressed that voting for health care reform overall was the paramount concern.

Neither Coakley or Capuano effectively articulated their concern, if it was based more on woman losing any access to abortion coverage in their insurance than restricting federal abortion funding entirely.  Explaining and noting the difference between federal funding for abortion and restricting a woman options would have been very helpful.  Still, health care reform is more important than this issue.  Moreover, although we can never know, it may very well be the kind of compromise Ted Kennedy might have taken.  Forty-seven million uninsured Americans compared the handful of woman who want abortion (remember rape, incest, and threat to mother's life are not prohibited) should be an easy choice.  Ted Kennedy's own son and namesake said his father felt "the perfect was the enemy of the good."

Capuano in the long-term may have sustained more damage from this.  Although his stock did rise throughout this ordeal it did seriously challenge Coakley's edge.  If anything, it might have grabbed some support from Pagliuca and Khazei by showing he had experience.  However, as stated before, Capuano has been the least oblique in his attempts to present himself as the new Ted Kennedy.  However, whoever Massachusetts' next Senator will be will not have Kennedy's charisma or his seniority.  After Capuano started flip-flopping, however, he undercut whatever he just gained.  It began to look like pandering.

Coakley, too, took a hit, but one that made more friends than she lost.  First of all, NARAL-Pro Choice and other like groups practically made a wire transfer after this event.  Although she, too, left a bad taste in the mouth of abortion funding opponents, she quickly sought to mend fences albeit on a different front...out West.

Coakley began airing ads that touting her Western Massachusetts connections (Coakley grew up in North Adams).  These ads, which accompanied a swing through the 413, were part of an effort to expand support among the state's western regions--support none of the candidates really have as their careers all tie back to Boston.  Coakley already had an upper hand having run for statewide office before.  However, having exposed herself to ridicule from her opponents she needed to shore up whatever support she could.  However, these wholesome "back-to-my-roots" commercials also counteract whatever images pro-lifers could conjure of a Coakley who would ready perform abortions on the Capitol Steps within the gaze of Lincoln several miles across the Mall.

Both candidates should be censured for either their direct or implicit absolutism on the subject of abortion.  At best this was a communications failure for both candidates, but at worst it could represent a more extreme position on the abortion debate than even Massachusetts can stomach.  More likely it was somewhere in the middle, but one that neglects the progress and the struggles to bring health care reform any kind of health care reform into existence.  Love it or hate it, it is the most comprehensive and feasible plan to come out of Washington in recent memory and inaction is unacceptable.  Additionally, both Coakley and Capuano have been politicians for many years and they should know that it is petty squabbles like this that have derailed exceptionally important legislation in the past.

The Dust Settleth Hither, Thither, and Yon...

Well, for once WMassP&I is happy at least some of its endorsements made it into office.  In fact, where the ward races are concerned, of the 6 races we formally endorsed, all but one won.  Of the ward races that had preliminaries in September those in Wards 2, 7, and 8 actually saw the candidate in second place win in the November general.  It should be noted that in none of those of the preliminary races, excluding ward 7, did the first place contender capture more than 45% of the vote.  As the preliminary's turnout was lower than even the general's embarrassing turnout, its results could not be taken a foregone conclusion for November.    Still an analysis of the upsets is in order.  Complete election results from Springfield's first ward elections can be found here.

Working backwards in Ward 8, winner John Lysak came up from behind Orland Ramos, largely feared to be an establishment-building candidate.  However, notably, again, Ramos captured only the plurality, and Lysak had a lot of room to move up.  While WMassP&I is not aware of any endorsement of by third place candidate Gloria DeFillipo, she may have seen better fortunes for Springfield in a Councilor Lysak.  Both Lysak and DeFillipo ran at-large campaigns two years ago and lost.  Perhaps they developed some camaraderie along the way.

In Ward 7, Tim Allen, who did win the preliminary with more than 50% of the vote and went on to win the general deserves some notice.  His November opponent, School Committee member Mike Rodgers made a terrible mistake by not having a website.  As said before, Ward 7, possibly the city's most solidly affluent ward, has many young families that are more connected and digital than their parents might have been.  Whether this actually got Tim Allen to victory, it certainly must have helped.

In Ward 6, victor Keith Wright and his opponent Amaad Rivera barely scrounged together 50% of the vote September.  Ward 6, the city's political heart, had a crowded field.  Rivera edged out Wright by a percentage point, again leaving a great deal of room for Wright to pick up some speed.  Complicating a victory, however, was the draft Tom Walsh campaign.  In the end, however, it did not have much impact.  Eighty write-in votes were recorded by the City Elections office.  Even if everyone went to Walsh, it clearly shows there was little enthusiasm for Walsh's candidacy.  Write-in campaigns are near-impossible on their best day and Walsh already said he would not campaign as part of this draft Walsh effort.  Most Ward 6 voters were probably either nonplussed or deeply concerned about Rivera's leftward leaning candidacy.  While this city is liberal, if in an old urban way, it is also deeply conservative especially in its political heart from whence both its political sinners and saints have come.  They voted for Wright.  As about 6 percentage points separated Wright from Rivera and only 3 can be accounted for under the write-in category, some 3% of ward 6 ballots cast voted for nobody.  Even if you strip those out, Wright beat Rivera by 4 percentage points.

In Ward 2, Michael Fenton beat Thomas Sullivan in what was arguably an upset.  Again while the preliminary proved nothing conclusive as there, too, was a crowded field, Fenton's win highlights how political fortunes can change.  Perhaps Sullivan read too much into his victory in September; perhaps voters were more impressed with Fenton's broader, more interactive, and indeed energetic campaign.  Again Fenton had a website; Sullivan did not.  One thing may be said with more certainty, Sullivan ran yesterday's campaign in Ward 2.  Twenty, maybe ten years ago, it would have won him the race.  Not so much today.  Fenton went after every vote he could, perhaps conscious of the ground he would need to make up.  It worked.

Finally Domenic Sarno won himself another term as Springfield's mayor.  In perhaps a political novelty, much of the political commentary appartus, from blogs to the Republican's editorial page did an about face from two years ago when they endorsed Sarno's then-opponent former mayor Charles Ryan.  Many such groups and forums decided that Sarno, while wishy-washy at times, was not all that bad and above all Bud Williams was not the right man for the job.  Still the race did not energize voters and really only a competitive mayor's race can drive real turnout in Springfield.  Turnout was a solid 25% in the city, lower than the boosters of Ward representation had hoped.  However, the mayoral race, which while fierce, was not a barn burner.  Sarno outspent Williams by quite a bit and many probably assumed, rightly time would prove, that the incumbent would win.

Of related interest was the mayor term extension.  Approved by voters, beginning with the victor of the 2011 election, the mayor of Springfield will serve for four years.  As it would isolate the mayor from campaigning so quickly after election, especially as campaign season seems to start earlier all the time, the decision was right.  However, supporters of ward representation should not be surprised when turnout drops even lower, during the mid-term mayoral elections, unless the at-large folks can stir up a storm.  We'll wait and see.  Like we said before the true test of Ward Representation is not this election, but the next one.

Moving beyond Springfield we go to New Jersey where conservatives and Republicans are basking in their victory over incumbent Jon Corzine.  While Corzine's defeat stings, anybody who knows about New Jersey and its colorful, graft-ridden politicians would see this as anything, but a surprise.  Corzine was hardly the state's most corrupt governor, but failed mightily to reign it in.  He had his share of patronage and cronyism and a well-publicized relationship with the New Jersey head of the Communication Workers of America, the largest union among State employees.  However, it was New Jersey's epic property taxes and the bad economy that did Corzine in.  His opponent in the race, former NJ US Attorney Chris Christie racked up numerous indictments again crooked New Jersey officials, especially in the state's medical and dentistry University.  Depressed voter turnout in the state's Democratic strongholds and a wave of independents breaking for Christie won the day for the former US Attorney.

Former Governor/Current Senate President Richard Codey might have been able to defeat Christie, but Corzine remained in the race and had the money and clout to see to it the party did not dump him.  In fact Codey, who served as Acting governor for a little over a year after former Governor James McGreevy left office, had thought about running for real in 2005, but Corzine again had the money and the backing.  Corzine, a multi-millionaire, largely funded his own campaigns for governor and his successful 2000 campaign for US Senate.

New Jersey politics have been festering for a long time in a stew of corruption that spans both parties in a way that almost makes us feel good about Massachusetts.  Codey, for his part seemed to shed some light on the corruption and graft that his predecessor left behind.  It is because of that incompetence and greed that McGreevy resigned, the authors of The Soprano State suggest, not because he was gay.  However, Codey, who could keep his Senate presidency while governor ensuring a great deal of power, never won his own term at the state's top spot.  Independent and non-cronyistic voters knew these things and knew Christie had a real reputation for rooting out corruption.  Just as important, Christie downplayed the social agenda.  That was why he won; not because New Jersey among the nation's bluer states, is upset with President Barack Obama, Obamacare, and other Communist agendas the right claim Obama and his administration are pushing.  Obama campaigned for Corzine, but voters did not oust him because of the president.

Even so, the authors of the Soprano State (which I highly recommend), in their update section of their website say Christie did not run a great campaign.  This is stunning as the authors largely painted him as a knight in shining armor.  Although, having covered politics in NJ for many years, the authors' caution is not surprising.  Wikipedia records criticism against the Bush  II appointed-Christie for handing out deferred prosecution agreements with near-indicted New Jersey institutions.  Under those agreements a monitor was paid thousands of dollars (by New Jersey taxpayers) to shake out all the dirt.  Often the monitors were well-connected Republicans.  The monitors often did their jobs admirably leaving only the appearance of impropriety, but still.  Christie will have his work cut out for him and if successful it will benefit all Jersey taxpayers above all, but the political parties as well.

In Virginia we will spend even less time.  Old Dominion governors cannot serve terms consecutively leaving the current governor, Tim Kaine, out.  The Democratic party seemed to have a tough time scrounging up a candidate.  Creigh Deeds, whom Robert McDonnell, Virginia's next governor, defeated for Attorney General in 2005, was the nominee.  Although Deeds lost by a hair in 2005, running for AG is a lot different than governor.  Not to mention, Deeds ran for AG (and lost) at a time when anti-GOP sentiment was higher than it was when Obama was elected.  An attack on Social Security had just been repelled and bureaucracy and cronyism drowned New Orleans more than Lake Pontchatrain had.  This year, an off-election year, diehards who love Obama stayed home.  Not to mention, independents that voted for Obama showed why they were independents.  They don't vote party lines.  These folks could just as easily be disaffected or still trusting of Obama and still voted McDonnell for governor.

Finally, there is the New York 23rd election.  Bill Owens beat the Conservative Party standard bearer Doug Hoffman.  The Republican candidate Dierdre Scozzafava dropped out shortly before the election and endorsed Owens.  Supposedly, the powers that be were unhappy his Scozzafava's conservative credentials and decided to back Hoffman instead.  The election reminded America that the GOP can only regain its credibility (it will remain relevant unless it goes the way of the Whigs somehow) if it becomes more inclusive and less rightward.  The GOP candidate felt alienated because she was insufficiently conservative.  Conservatives both Republicans and not felt they needed a more extreme candidate.  Sometime you have no choice like Scott Brown's campaign for Ted Kennedy's seat.  He's the only one they can get to run.  Other times, the party actively shoots down anybody to the left of the Pat Robertson. 

In any event, Owens won in a district that had been held by a Republican.  Voters there would be more likely than in Virginia and certainly New Jersey to stick to Obama by voting for the conservative candidate.  They did not, however, blowing to hell any notion that this election was a referendum on Obama.  That is what next year is for.  However, this election does show how important it is that Obama and the Democrats succeed--legislatively--in this next year.  It is not a wake-up call so much as a reminder, again, of how quickly political fortunes change.

Springfield City Election Endorsements...

Well, the plot to rope in candidates with some tough questions went over like a lead balloon with only one councilor candidate contacted responding.  Admittedly, WMassP&I is no austere journal of opinion, but we are disappointed.  So we move on to the task of selecting our endorsements for City Council.  We will try to keep this short.  Ha!

Before that, however, I strongly urge you to check out the endorsements on the Springfield Intruder and other blog sources, if any.  The Intruder offers a thoughtful and fair analysis of the candidates and admits not to purport knowledge for some of the city's races.  WMassP&I will be taking a similar position of not taking a stance on races we do not know anything about.  Moreover, we more or less pass on taking a stance on Wards 1 and 3, by agreeing with the sentiments put forth on the Intruder in its endorsement of Gumersindo Gomez for Ward 1 and Melvin Edwards for Ward 3.  Again this is because we do not know the races well enough.  Some of the endorsements mirror the Intruder anyway.  Despite our political and ideological differences, Bill Dusty and I, in my opinion, are on the same page for city issues.

Ward 2

The race between Michael Fenton and Thomas Sullivan has been among the more competitive in Springfield's first in a generation Ward elections.  Both candidates have expressed a strong desire to improve the city's fortunes.

Now I have known Fenton for many years and I am certain that his conviction to improve the city is real.  Moreover, his campaign has focused on trying to move past that paralysis of nostalgia that has retarded any growth the city needs in order to adapt and thrive in this world and economy.  In his campaign, Sullivan has proposed among other things increasing the number of police to fight crime, almost to the exclusion of other issues as times.  The council has no direct control of this and alas it will not reduce crime.  Sadly the victims of October's violence would very likely have not been saved by more  cops on the street.  While I do not fault Sullivan for this proposal on its face, it represents, sadly, the same type of candidacies and campaigns that have defined Springfield for years.  Simplistic, and playing the fear and misunderstanding many voters have about their city and its problems.

Fenton's campaign is one that has the promise to actually utilize the city's strengths to attract green jobs and not just talk about them.  Taking on the high business tax, Fenton is confronting one of the very problems that has been the root of the city's malaise.  For too long, candidates have run campaigns that essentially promise to make things the way they used to be whether directly or implicitly.  Or, campaigns are pitched to one group of people feeding the divisiveness that has compounded problems further.  His age has been pointed to as both a positive and a negative, but there is great merit and sacrifice in what Fenton is doing.  Trading in the time that many of his age often spend on intoxication, libidinous activity, and other mindless diversion, Fenton wants to focus on the mammoth, but thus far elusive effort, to get Springfield on its feet and moving forward.

WMassP&I endorses Michael Fenton for the Ward 2 seat on the City Council.

Ward 4

The Ward 4 race points to some of the problem's in the city's poorest neighborhoods.  As reported by the Intruder, candidate Norman Oliver appears to be running as a Civil Rights activist.  It sounds like Oliver could be down a path that as the Intruder notes essentially surrenders any agency the residents of Ward 4 possess for the sake of his own political future.  Does racism exist? Absolutely.  Is there still work to be done?  Same answer.  However, the time has come to start building on that foundation forty years of progress has made rather than suggesting simply because it is imperfect we cannot move forward from there.

E. Henry Twiggs, Oliver's opponent, has served in various capacities for the local Democratic Party.  The Democratic party in Massachusetts is not my favorite branch of the national institution.  However, it is certainly a venue where in Twiggs has taken in a broad range of information and experience about government in general, but also met a large cross-section of people.  Such a point of view would hopefully encourage Twiggs to execute the office less provincially than Oliver may given what his campaign implies.

WMassP&I endorses E. Henry Twiggs for Ward 4

Ward 5

The Ward 5 race is of note because the Ward itself may be one of the most diverse.  While not consisting of the city's poorest neighborhoods, it does include more affluent areas like Sixteen Acres and less than such like parts of Pine Point and Upper Hill.  Indeed the two who made it to November are well known in the city and in their communities; both would no doubt serve the interests of the city well.  However, between Carol Lewis-Caulton and Clodo Concepcion, the former has a record many city councilors should envy.  A councilor for one term starting in 2000, Lewis-Caulton was known for taking on tough issues and big institutions.  An article by Maureen Turner, noted her advocacy for the city library (at the time under the thumb of the Library and Museum Association) and quality of life issues.  Small things like noise and blight can make a big difference in the long-run.  When people feel like the city cares about their neighborhood, they are far more likely to reciprocate and that kind of advocacy is what Springfield needs.  Certainly Ward 5 residents can relate to that point of view.  Concepcion, as the head of the 16 Acres Civic Association, can show that Lewis-Caulton does not have the market on neighborhood issues, but he lacks the same record to back it.  WMassP&I endorses Carol Lewis-Caulton for Ward 5

Ward 6

This has been particularly problematic as WMassP&I is in essence based out of this ward.  Politically, possibly the city's single most important district, Ward 6 and its neighbor Ward 7 have been the home for most of the city's mayors and councilors for years.  It should be no surprise that both reformers and members of the city's often self-interested political elite would be jumping at this seat even as parts of it have grown poorer.  After the dust settled from the September primary, Ward 6 voters were left with Keith Wright and Amaad Rivera with one kink which I'll get to in a moment.

As has been suggested on the Intruder and the Valley Advocate, namely Turner's On Springfield blog, Wright has been called a front man for the city's political elite.  With their backing, if that is true, it was assume victory would be inevitable, although as elections go, hardly a given.  Ward 6, which is almost entirely Forest Park save for a nub of East Forest Park is quite diverse.  Many of the people who will actually show up to vote Tuesday would probably require a little bit more than just the say so of the same power brokers that brought you Springfield most indicted.  As such Amaad Rivera was able to surge ahead of the other preliminary candidates and edge out Wright for first place by less than 10 votes.

Rivera's campaign while well-run and otherwise honest, however, advocates strategies that almost sound socialist.  Although I consider myself progressive, I also recognize where leftist politics have failed or when the self-titling of such goes too far.  Consider our US Senate race where everybody claims to be the left of everybody else, an absurd debate at best.  Rivera's campaign include support for wide scale unionization.  That is code for two things: getting endorsements of private sector unions and a wink at the public employee unions.  The former is disingenuous, even if unintentionally, and the latter has been a problem for years.  If it is not code, then it is naive.  There is a time and a place for organized labor, but it cannot be required of employers in the city and as the Intruder notes, almost no business in Ward 6 could really be affected by such a proposal.  Moreover, should workers organize it should be done because of their decision to do so, not the government.  However, it is then up to workers to keep tabs on their stewards and local leaders.  Rivera also talks about spending stimulus dollars, which in addition to being politically dicey, are one-time only funds and are unlikely to ever be generous enough to buy Springfield out of its problems.  I would also like to take a moment to point to Springfield's financial issues as the symptoms, rather than the cause of larger issues.

Wright, however strikes a more moderate tone and because he is the only one to respond to WMassP&I survey, I am inclined to endorse him.  His positions are reasonable if a little predictable and his answers on the WMassP&I survey were satisfactory.  If he was put up to this by others, hopefully, he will demonstrate the courage and curiosity to seek out opinions other than that of his original backers.  For this reason WMassP&I backs Wright.

However, there is the problem of Tom Walsh.  By all accounts he is a really good guy, who probably could have rocked the vote had he run.  Walsh, Mayor Domenic Sarno's Communications Director, did not however for any number of reasons.  Indeed, as many as 55 people may have written his name in last September.  Much of the movement seems to stem from Wright's non-opposition to Longhill Gardens, an irony since Walsh's boss, the mayor, approved the project.  Although Walsh has yet to have an "if nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve" moment, his candidacy is the wish of others and without the "candidate" actually campaigning unlikely to succeed.  Voting for him might draw support away from Wright and propel Rivera forward with his hopeful, but flawed promises.  That said, if you really cannot bring yourself to vote for Wright, WMassP&I cannot in good conscience condemn a write-in vote, but we beg that you consider the consequences of your actions.

Ward 7

Sadly, it often seems like we must rely on negative endorsements a bit too often.  Moreover, WMassP&I is not as informed about the details of this race as it should be since Ward 7 is only blocks away from our home base.  Michael Rodgers's status as a candidate will forever be tainted for his dubious attempted End-Run around the Control Board.

Back in the FCB days, members of the School Committee and members-elect (we cannot even say the committee as this was done without the knowledge of members like Antonette Pepe) attempted to renew former superintendent Burke's contract without Control Board approval.  Then, vested with the legal authority the Massachusetts General Court has removed from them, they announced the deal was solid.  The FCB revoked the contract and declared it null and void.  Burke was sent on his way.

The obvious power grab was made all the more precarious when certain sources implied that Burke had somehow ingratiated himself with the School Committee, even as his stock was falling among the city's other leaders and residents.

Tim Allen's campaign at least had the wherewithal to establish an online presence an absolute must in this ward.  Ward 7 might be the most solidly affluent ward in the city.  Its newer residents are likely to be young families who will want to be connected to their elected officials digitally and independently of the city website.  For not being among the insidious school committeepersons would glean him a nod, but getting an "A" for the effort of connecting to constituents-to-be gives Allen the slam dunk to be WMassP&I's choice for Ward 7.

Ward 8

John Lysak has been a persistent and thus far undeterred city council candidate for years.  He ran two years ago and failed to break the wall of incumbents, but with Ward 8 able to elect its own councilor he may have a chance at last.  Ward 8, which includes Pine Point, the eastern Boston road area, and Indian Orchard has long been starved for political attention.  The Eastfield retail area has been neglected by the city, if not by developers, as city leaders looked elsewhere for retail development.  Despite this and a lack of direct highway access, Eastfield remains the city's largest single retail area and a major source of property taxes.  With Wilbraham's sudden interest in developing retail along its stretch of Boston Road, it cannot be taken for granted any longer.  Lysak has taken an interest in Boston Road.  Indian Orchard itself has also been neglected as neither of its reps in Boston live in Springfield.  Often folded into the Ludlow House district to which it belongs, it too has suffered a decline, far less noted than that of parts of Forest Park and elsewhere .  John Lysak is man to represent IO and all of Ward 8 at 36 Court.

Recent reports from cyberspace and the grapevine cobbled together by the Intruder imply Ramos may be too close to the power bases in other areas of the city namely the establishment in Ward 1 and City Councilor Jose Tosado, who, although has great ties to Ward 1, actually lives in Ward 5's 16 Acres.  Ramos has a website, but the positions listed are abstract if common to any politician who does not want to come across a morose.  The Intruder also posits that Ramos may be a plant from Ward 1 to assert political control there.  Even if he is not a plant, engaging in an effort to secure political control is self-serving and will do nothing to improve the area's fortunes.

Vote John Lysak for Ward 8.

At-Large Seats

Sadly there is not a particularly exciting slate of candidates for the City Council's new 5 At-Large seats.  Curiously, as in past years when we only had At-Large councilors, only one slot will certainly go to a "newcomer."  Many of the newcomers are not unknown like former councilor Morris Jones or Tom Ashe, a School Committee Member.  While the switch to eight ward seats and five at-large has cleared some of the fog from the Council chambers, it is probable that the four incumbents running for reelection will get in again.

Of those incumbents, WMassP&I fully backs Tim Rooke.  As I have noted many times before, he is reputedly the only member of the City Council still on it that has apologize for failing to properly scrutinize the past budgets and policies that left Springfield a ward of the State.  That takes class and it stands out as nobody else did.   WMassP&I has questioned a few, but hardly all, of the fights he has picked with Mayor Sarno.  However, that he is willing to demand an airing of issues like School Department relocation in public even as the die is cast is crucial in a deliberative democratic society.  I am certain that he has the best interests of the city and its residents at heart.  Re-Elect Rooke tomorrow.

Beyond Rooke, WMassP&I lacks enough information about the candidates to make any equally in-depth endorsements.  I am voting for Vera O'Conner, who also ran in 2007.  She was honest about a turnaround in opinion about the Control Board.  Converting from anti-FCBism to appreciation is an astonishing transformation for a politician.

That leaves three more to vote for.  Kateri Walsh is the least objectionable of the incumbents to slide in there if you find yourself leaning toward incumbents.  Robert Francesca is her parallel among newcomers.  I would dismiss Thomas Ashe for his role in Burke Contract-gate and Morris Jones has been said to have Albano ties.  Tosado earned himself some respect for backing ethics reform, but the constant rumors about collusion between him and Cheryl Coakley-Rivera aiming at a Ward 1 based takeover is too backroom wheeling and dealing for me.  Ferrera, well, the whole Pot-Smoking $300 fine seemed like grandstanding at its worst.  Springfield as a mecca for pot-smoking?  The decriminalization happened all over the state and marijuana is among the least of the city's problems.  Vote how you will, but vote for these folks at your own risk.

School Committee

The only School Committee race that we are comfortable to comment on is District 3.  Chris Collins, too, was among those who conspired in a Soprano-esque, fashion to insist on more Burke for the students of Springfield.  If I recall, he was not even on the School Committee when he attempted to dodge the law and public hearings to reward a lackluster administrator.  Still he conspired away.  Moreover, he is the brother of the President of the Springfield Education Association, Tim Collins.  We will save a discussion of Tim Collins, Gillette razors, and teachers unions more generally for another time, but there most certainly exists a conflict of interest.  Anti-endorsement it is, but vote Collins's opponent, Orlando Santiago.

WMassP&I is also intrigued by the candidacy of Joe Flebotte for District 4.  I am staying away from making a full-fledged endorsement because I do not know enough about the race, but Tommy Devine calls Flebotte's opponent an Albano stooge.  Can't take risks like that.  It is refreshing to see somebody like Flebotte, 20, running for office.  If you live in the District 4 (wards 2 & 8), I'd say vote him.

Mayor

A city like Springfield, which for better or for worse, makes a contact sport of politics deserves a better mayor's race than this.  Tommy Devine posits that the Democratic machine drove out both talent and idealism.  Well, I would argue that the machine transcends party affiliation at this point, but alas it may be true.  We do have some good candidates in the ward races at least, which is the very least we could hope for.  The problem is that we still have to elect the most powerful person in Springfield, the mayor.

Sarno ran a race to abolish the trash fee, which may (or may not if Rep Coakley-Rivera's legislation incorrectly named the FCB ordinance that passed the trash fee) be eliminated by 2011.  He ended up with egg on his face quite quickly when he realized the FCB did it out of desperation.  He handled Longhill Gardens poorly and hemmed and hawed on numerous other issues.  However, I think his indecisiveness is not necessarily a sign of incompetence and instead an indication that he wants to be sure he makes the right decision.  Sometimes the best decisions are not the most popular one (a shame voting cannot work that way!).  We do live in a republic wherein we elect people to make the decisions, do the governing, for us.

Bud Williams has some distressing ties to Albano and reportedly fell asleep at a public meeting.  I cannot dismiss his tenure on the Council as among the worst.  However, he has been somewhat humdrum at times.  He was City Council President when that infamous final Albano budget sailed through the council.  However, he was also one of the few councilors not from the Forest Park or 16 Acres, and could less disingenuously claim to represent those of his racial persuasion.

Still, his place is not at the helm at 36 Court Street.  His campaign has been anti-Sarno, lacking in originality.  His ten point crime reduction plan runs into numerous legal, financial, and practical impediments; his call for a moratorium on low-income housing projects might face expensive legal challenges with limited change in the problems that has led to a plethora of subsidized housing.

No savior of Springfield is Sarno, but he is perhaps a caught between a political machine trying to reassert itself since Ryan was elected and the hard realities of a city that needs something better than the mediocre making decisions.  Perhaps with better advice and more conviction, Sarno can find better footing for himself and the city this time around.  Not all of his decisions have been bad; his efforts to spruce up downtown and the South End are aimed at improving the infrastructure not handing out liquor licenses like candy to mobsters and criminals.

WMassP&I endorses, shockingly enough, Domenic Sarno for another two years at 36 Court.  While you are at the polling place, vote to lengthen the mayor's term for four years effective 2012.  The consensus is that Springfield needs a mayor, despite the risk of cementing power, who can actually govern for longer than a few months before entering campaign mode.

That, ladies and germs, is that.  Get out there to vote.  Remember!  Vote Early and Vote often.  In Massachusetts, we will have plenty of opportunities between now and mid-January alone!

*All candidate photos from candidate's websites.  Walsh photo from springfieldcityhall.com

Ward Elections, First Responses...

Ward 6 City Council candidate Keith Wright is the first City Council candidate to respond to WMassP&I's inquiries for a survey.  It is all together possible that Wright responded because he knew he was dealing with a potential constituent (your webmaster is a Ward 6 voter).  WMassP&I hope that that is not the only reason Wright responded to us.  Anyway, here are his responses.  It runs kind of long, as I did edits sparingly.  Feel free to check out the Republican's election wrap-up.

1. Considering the limitations of the City Council’s power, what will you do, if elected for the betterment of the city and/or ward?

The role of the city councilor in our Plan A form of government is an important one. I plan to play a role in providing financial oversight by approving responsible budgets. I will work to pass ordinances on a topics that improve our quality of life and I will help to decide zoning issues. I will sponsor hearings to provide oversight to the executive branch and to bring attention to important issues affecting our city. I will use my position as a bully pulpit to raise awareness and provide leadership about issues important to Springfield. I will be a cheerleader and a marketer and an advocate.

With that said, there are some limitations to the role of the Councilor. The Council cannot spend money and it does not have a budget that would allow it to initiate programs that cost money without the prior support of the mayor. For this reason, I have been careful in my campaign to not promise what I cannot deliver. With the new ward representation, I will be able to provide constituent service—I promise to respond to the calls and concerns of constituents from Ward 6.

2. What do you propose is the most pressing issue facing the city and (if a ward candidate) your particular ward.

I believe that quality of life issues are the types of issues that have most come up in the countless conversations I have had while campaigning in Ward 6. I believe that local ordinances and zoning regulations, together with the State Sanitary Code, are tools to help us address quality of life issues in our neighborhood. Together with a neighborhood based police presence and rigorous law enforcement, the City of Springfield can enhance the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

 

3. There exists a debate within certain circles that the city is caught between funding (and needing the funds) to perform social services and attracting viable tax-paying businesses that could expand the city’s tax base. Is one or the other a priority for you and if so why? Is there a way to do both?

Our City receives 2/3 of its annual budget from monies not collected from the local tax base. In the 1970’s we raised 2/3 of what we spent locally. Over the long term, we need to improve our local economy and tax base so that we are not at the fiscal mercy of the state. One of the most important responsibilities of a city councilor is to provide fiscal oversight of the City’s finances by voting for or against the budget that the mayor submits. As a City we know all too well the consequences of failed fiscal discipline. After 5 years under the State appointed Finance Control Board, this year Springfield regained its financial independence. Now it is our collective responsibility to maintain the strong financial footing that we have inherited. Just as families do every day, Springfield must live within its means. This will mean honest conversations about what we want and what we can afford. By showing state and federal governments as well as the private sector that The City of Springfield can manage its finances prudently, we will attract development monies that will lead to a more vibrant economy.

 

4. Crime is a perennial concern in the city. What policies and/or changes can be made on the ground and at the Police Department to address this situation? Can anything be done from the media end to fight against the image problem that confounds the crime problem further?

The City’s financial standing is directly linked to its ability to hire and maintain a larger police force. I would like to be able to vote for a budget that had more money for public safety, which is why I am committed to actions that strengthen the City of Springfield’s financial position. In the short term, as we wait for improvements in our economy, I support the Springfield Police Department’s use of technology to improve their ability to monitor and react to criminal activity. I also applaud their collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and state agencies in tackling the violence that results from gangs that are engaged in the drug trade. I am not in a position to comment on what can be done on the media end.

 

5. What are the economic strengths of the city and your ward (if applicable) and how will you see to it that they are channeled into the improvement of the city’s financial, social, and economic conditions?　

Springfield’s downtown has many great things going for it, including an amazing museum system, Symphony Hall, some good restaurants, and beautiful architecture. No city will prosper if its downtown is left to decay. The city has employed an economic development strategy of using public investment to spur further private investment in the South End and on the State Street corridor. My hope is that the city creates a stronger link with the University of Massachusetts’ multi-million dollar research capacity to spur innovation that leads to small and medium-sized business development, and I believe Court Square is a good location for an established UMASS presence. Clearly, the city needs to continue to address issues of crime in the downtown, and one way to do that is to increase its economic vitality by ensuring a strong downtown workforce. Having tenants in the old Federal Building is a step in the right direction.

 

On a ward level, the one thing that attracted my wife and me to our neighborhood is Forest Park, both the neighborhood and the actual park itself. Forest Park and East Forest Park are desirable neighborhoods in which to live, with good restaurants, a gem of a park, historic architecture, affordable homes, and people who take pride in our city. I believe we need to publicly celebrate these attributes.

 

6. What kind of community outreach is lacking in the city and your ward and how has it affected Springfield’s progress? How will you improve that situation?

Our Ward has been home to the past and current Mayor, and many people I have spoken with feel connected to their city government. I supported Ward Representation in part because I believe that over time this system will lead to an increase in civic engagement. My campaign has shown that with some hard work it is possible for someone with the best interests of the City at heart to get his or her name out among the voting population, and to learn about issues that are important to voters. In the past, according to consultants I spoke with when I was considering my own campaign, a candidate had to have very strong name recognition or tens of thousands of dollars to buy that recognition city-wide in order to be viable; this does not build civic engagement. Talking to voters does. Ward representation has increased the importance of citizen’s votes and I believe that this system will make elected officials more responsive to and responsible for their Ward.

With this as background I pledge to maintain open communication with constituents in Ward 6 through my website, phone calls, and attendance at community events. I also look forward to [speaking with] people and organizations. When is the last time you got a call from a City Councilor who was calling just to get your opinion and input?

7. What will you do as a City Councilor to reach out to the diverse cross section of voices and move past the divisiveness to make the best, informed decisions? If a ward candidate, how will you reach across ward boundaries without necessarily stepping on the toes of your colleagues?

Information is the currency of democracy. As a scientist, I value data and I value the process of sifting and winnowing in order to tease the truth out of complex situations. No person or group has a monopoly on the truth, and I plan to reach out to people in my ward and in the city as a whole in order to gain as broad a perspective as possible on issues affecting the city. I would hope that a City Councilor would not feel imposed upon if I spoke with someone in another Ward. My hope is that the relationship skills that benefit me in the rest of my life would also help me to do things with grace and dignity on the Council as well.

8. The Longhill Gardens debacle has showcased some of the above mentioned divisiveness. However, it also points to a problem encountered in cities like Springfield. Projects that offer grants and development are often jumped at because the city has little discretionary income.  In other words to what extent do state and federal policy influence the city’s behavior in such circumstances and would you and how would you fight for changes on Beacon and Capital Hills as well as be sure such policy is thought through properly at City Hall?

 

The most important issue regarding the development formerly called Longhill Gardens is to ensure that the developer fulfils its commitment to create safe, affordable housing with lower density, more off-street parking, responsible management and better security than what was there before...

 

With that said, I think that weighing the benefits and costs for any grant or project is appropriate. I believe it is extremely important to communicate my knowledge and experience and the needs of my community to elected officials at the state and federal level, and when grant programs’ costs outweigh the benefits we should not apply for them.

 

9. Springfield is a city of neighborhoods and although downtown is a priority, what efforts will you support and/or the Council engage in to grow and build the “little downtowns” throughout the city’s neighborhoods? What other efforts can be made to strengthen neighborhoods?

The city should use a carrot and stick approach that targets code enforcement but that also uses Community Development Block Grant and other monies to help land owners to maintain and improve their neighborhoods. Two places in Ward 6 that residents have spoken to me about are The X and Belmont Avenue. People would like to see more opportunities for shopping at The X, and they feel that Belmont Avenue could use a face lift. I am also anxious for The Bing arts center to be fully on line. Ward 6 has historically been the home of a good combination of the arts, restaurants, and shopping, and I believe this combination is going to return and make our quality of life even better.

 

10. Why should your prospective constituents vote for YOU?

I feel that I can make a difference in our City and can do a good job representing the people living in Ward 6. I feel a personal responsibility to try.

Over the past five years, I have stood on the sidelines as our city finances were taken over by the state. I have watched as our school department lost hundreds of veteran teachers due to the lack of a contract. I have watched as too few gains have been made economically, and I have wondered about the future of our city.

e questions that I will bring to the decision-making process as a City Councilor are: What works? What is good for Springfield? How have other cities done what we are trying to do? I will support best practices—actions by the city government that have a proven track record for achieving the goals they set out to accomplish.

11. Imagine it is two years from now. What kind of threshold of minimum achievement would you set to encourage voters to re-elect you? What kind of bar would you set yourself before feeling worthy of running again at all? Please be as specific as possible.

1. I returned all phone calls from constituents.

2. I approved of budgets that promoted the City’s financial health while supporting appropriate funding for police and fire protection.

3. I set up a special permit database and monitored the conditions for all special permits issued for Ward 6.

4. I developed and strengthened relationships with organizations and residents throughout Ward 6 to maximize the effectiveness of City resources to resolve quality of life issues.

5. I will have guided economic development monies to the ward in a manner that encourages civic engagement and input.

On the Verge of Election Day...

Returning West for a moment, we remember the historic Ward elections underway. Yes there is a Mayoral race underway, too. However, the contest between Mayor Sarno and City Councilor Bud Williams is decidedly soporific. Bill Dusty summed it up best with the title of a recent article "Sarno Vs. Williams: Something Old, Nothing New." The City Council elections, however are interesting for the very reason that at least nine of the Council's new thirteen seats will be filled by new (or often more accurately non-incumbent) faces.

That being case, WMassP&I has dispatched emails loaded with probing questions to all of the candidates for City Council in Springfield who have email addresses available on the Web. We want to applaud the City Council candidates who have published web page in this most crucial election. Some may say, especially in the Ward races, that such an effort is unnecessary. WMassP&I would argue that even in the poorest neighborhoods, having a means to communicate with candidate could be priceless especially for those who may find it impossible to attend scheduled campaign events. Even so, how would they find out where the events are? Community bulletin boards ain't what they used to be.

We will post the responses from those that we receive. The following candidates we could not contact via email.

Ward 1: Gumersindo Gomez and Zaida Luna.

Ward 3: Martin Loughman

Ward 4: Norman Oliver and E. Henry Twiggs

Ward 5: Clodo Concepcion and Carol Lewis-Caulton

Ward 7: Michael Patrick Rodgers

Ward 8: Orlando Ramos

At-Large: Tim Rooke, Jose Tosado, Thomas Ashe, Robert Francesca, Morris Jones, Vera O'Connor.

Twiggs, Ramos, and Ashe all have websites, but they did not list any contact information or a contact forum appropriate for submission of these questions. Some of the candidates we have contacted do not websites and/or use an alternative web presence, but we were able to secure an email address.

This list is not meant to embarrass the candidates, but rather to invite them to contact WMassP&I so that they may answer the questions we have put forward for our city officials-to-be. If any of our readers know the candidates listed personally please encourage them to contact WMassP&I or submit their email yourself to wmasspi@yahoo.com!

This election is too important to sit by the wayside or rest on your laurels! Stay tuned for candidate responses and endorsements in the next week!!!

Boston Beat: He that Would Be Mayor (Again)...

So why would a Springfield, MA area oriented blog focus so much attention on the mayor of Boston? Well, first of all, Boston as the largest city in New England is a center of internal migration for the region. More than a few Western Mass individuals find themselves in Boston at some time in their lives either for school, work, or something else. Therefore, the decisions made by those in power are somewhat relevant, especially when one factors in the transplanted folks who remain registered to vote back where they came from. Second, as Boston is the capital of the state, it in many, though certainly not all way belongs to the entire state. The city and its makeup are inextricably linked to the health, well being, and history of the state as a whole. Just as important it is inexorably linked to the state's overall political infrastructure and for that reason alone it politics are of interest if not of paramount concern to Western Bay Staters. After all, it was Cambridge Democrat and US Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill that said "All Politics is Local."

Third, and perhaps more importantly, this is a commonwealth. Note this fact, as it will come up again in future posts. Although the term is legally synonymous with state as far as the Feds are concerned and functionally the same where Massachusetts itself is concerned, there is a deeper meaning. Although this fact is true of the 46 states that name themselves as such, Massachusetts, along with Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky all call themselves commonwealth because, to put it bluntly, we are all in this together. What happens in a our neighboring towns is just as important to us as that which happens in ours. This need not to escalate into nosing into others' business, but it can take on balanced dimensions. If East Longmeadow is set to be the site of a Lowes that will attract choking traffic and massive trailers through Springfield's neighborhoods, it is not just an East Longmeadow issue. If Springfield is seeking assistance from the state, it helps when all 351 communities, especially the city's suburbs recognize and push for state help. And when our state capital expects us to pony up money to help its mass transit system or funnel more money into this project or that, we have a right to know, understand, and ask questions of those who run said city.

The man at the helm in Boston is Thomas M. Menino. Menino never won a mayoral election without some of the benefit of incumbency. When predecessor Ray Flynn was appointed to be Ambassador to the Vatican by President Clinton, Boston City Council President Menino ascended to Boston's throne. There he has remained.

Now, we will not tear Mumbles Menino down without an at-least somewhat balanced assessment. A comment on our previous Boston Beat article seemed irked that we did not give Menino the same fair treatment that the Globe tepidly offers. However, in that case, WMassP&I decried specific development projects and the intentions of the mayor in approving them.

Tom Menino has, despite some recent claims to the contrary by some residents, whipped city services into shape. Constituent services, such as trash removal, code enforcement, etc, go through a well-oiled machine that give neighborhoods their own mayoral liaisons. Residents can contact this person (how directly, admittedly WMassP&I does not know) and relay their concerns and/or request for help acquiring city services. Moreover, Menino has poured millions into neighborhood improvements from parks to beautification projects. He is present in all neighborhoods from East Boston to Brighton to Roslindale. It has earned him the title of "urban mechanic." Moreover, billions of dollars of private investments has been steered into Boston since his tenure began. That added tax revenue, needed in light of simultaneous untaxed non-profit expansions, has allowed Menino to maintain a respectable modicum of city services and fund improvements.

However, it has not all been rosy. As pointed out by the Globe both in its editorials and its articles, a number of issues remain. We will largely forgive Menino of public safety. Although important, Boston's homicide rate remains far away from its all time high, if often double its most recent all time low. To do otherwise, would smack of hypocrisy when WMassP&I decries--justifiably--how statistics seem to continually violate Springfield while belying the actual, often safe situation. However, Boston's schools have not shown the kind of improvement they need in light of the better access to local funds and less reliance on state aid than Springfield has. Menino's "better" services has not done much to lift the poverty rate in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods except by the mighty hand of gentrification. Any improvements might be better attributed to the late 1990's boom in tech that burned quite powerfully in Metro Boston.

Indeed outside of residential and high end service development, commerical real estate projects in Boston have been somewhat muted this decade. During the late 90's, new office towers rose throughout the city. By the 2000's very few reached skyward unless already funded and underway before the Tech Bubble in 2000-01 (pictured 111 Huntington, completed 2002). Those that have like the 1,000 foot skyscraper and the Columbus center have faltered or relied heavily on the high-end residences that compromised part of a mixed-use development. Indeed, many statistics about the mayor's accomplishments will measure dollars spent since he ascended to office. Very few articles note how much came when the city was flush during the Clinton years before state budget cuts and foreclosures took a meat axe to Boston's revenue.

Also of note, it was only the recent economic downturn that more or less silenced the mayor's ostentatious and inconvenient plan to relocate City Hall to South Boston.

Menino has also been criticized for failing to bring the Boston Fire Department to heel. Despite report after report, calls to action, promises from Menino himself, pension and disability scandals, and 3 dead firefighters in the past two and a half years alone, little has been done to enact far-reaching change. The average firefighter is caught between a union whose leaders seem more interested in their own power than anybody else, and a mayor more than willing to compromise good decisions for political expediency.

All of this aside, Menino has not been a bad mayor by most measures. Without casting aspersions on the city's two other living former mayors (only three men have held the position since 1968) Menino may be the most honest man running the city in century's time.

However, Menino has started to believe his own press. Although this blog does not favor term limits, it does not support career politicians in general especially when the same seat is occupied for eternity. Menino should have planned to exit this December on a relatively high note, proud of his accomplishments, mindful and humble about his failures, and thanking the city's residents for giving him the opportunity to serve them.

That did not happen.

Despite his run for another term, Boston is engaged in quite possibly the most energetic campaign since Ray Flynn and Mel King engaged in a civil, healing contest following Boston's racial strife of the 1970's. Menino's last-standing challenger City Councilor Michael Flaherty (whom both Flynn and King have endorsed) is giving the mayor a run for his money. Even so, Menino has significantly more money and remains the favorite to win. However, Flaherty's charge and a concern that voters might have Mumbles fatigue has rattled the longest-serving mayor in Boston's history.

Putting on a brave face and promising to lead Boston "forward" opposite Flaherty's call for passing the torch, Menino and/or his campaign have not run the most respectable campaign. Reports flood the Beantown media about implicit threats made to minority police supervisors not in league with the mayor. Internal campaign memos suggest knowledge of a small business owner that backs Flaherty and targets city workers who would do likewise. City workers blur the line between public servant and political activist, reminding us why the Hatch Act prohibits Uncle Sam's non-political employees from engaging in partisan activity.

If the most unscrupulous activity is true, Menino may find himself sitting in a position all too familiar to those who know what CREEP stands for. The risk only grows if the email controversy at City Hall, wherein a political advisor deleted thousands of emails in violation of state law, exposes more unethical or illegal activity.

Richard Nixon probably did not order the Watergate break-in. Had he thought things through, Tricky Dick would have realized the absurdity of spying on a party that was ready to nominate a man for Vice-President who had electro-shock treatments. Paranoia and a tragic self-destructive nature made him make a ridiculous, if criminal situation worse. If nothing else, however, it can be argued that Nixon had encouraged an environment, both at the White House and in CREEP (the Committee to Re-Elect the President) that dirty tricks and outright criminality were okay in order to win. To Nixon, it was to fight off the same tricks and vendettas his opponents had against him. His subordinates only saw that they had to do whatever was necessary to win period. Never mind what the other guy thought, planned, or had (or did not have) up his sleeve.

Menino could find himself in a similar situation. Menino is not psychologically troubled, but he mind find that his drive, his seemingly altruistic insistence on another term could put him in Nixon's shoes. His subordinates, as committed as Menino is to winning, may not find the law terribly conducive to their plans. If they push the boundary a little further, and a little further until suddenly something statutory happens, Menino may be facing his own Watergate.

For the most part, Menino's demeanor has not suggested that of a Nixonian egomaniac. The mayor is painfully aware of his own verbal trainwrecks and usually takes it in stride. Unrelenting media observations of his temper sufficiently lowered debate expectations such that as long as the mayor's volume remained civil and he never told his opponents to fornicate with themselves he would come off as downright congenial. However, the debates did show cracks in that humble exterior that lets Bostonians overlook his failures and disquieting personal comfort with extending his tenure even further.

When asked to note what his biggest failure was, Menino's answer was downright pandering. Not as bad as former President George Bush's inability to think of a mistake, but just as self-absorbed, Menino lamented not getting Beacon Hill leaders to give Boston more money. What? True, dollar to dollar per capita, Boston receives less than Springfield under legal funding formulas. However, Boston receives plenty under "additional aid" compared to Springfield's perennially paltry amounts. Let's not forget the Big Dig, an army of State employees that fuel the city's economy, 1% on the dollar of all items subject to the sales tax that goes to fund his city's mass transit system and much, much more. Plus the recent meals tax option allows for more money to go directly into the mayor's budgets, including money spent by Bay Staters who come to their state capital for official business. The answer should have made the blood boil of anybody who does not live in Boston, but the average Boston voter, lost in the moment might raise a fist and cheer the mayor, unaware how they were just made Menino's pawn.

Menino's biggest albatross remains the one for which he has been perhaps most criticized: development. Most detractors will often point to the boys club nature of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, controlled by Menino. In other words, you need to be connected to really have a chance, although Dianne Wilkerson also taught us that a bra full of cash will do the trick (although interviewed by federal investigators, Menino is not suspected of any wrong-doing in Wilkerson's influence peddling, liquor license-flinging behavior). However, the quality, efficacy, and longtime economic contribution of the development is what WMassP&I pointed to in our last post.

Note Menino's push for the Fenway area redevelopment. As previously posted, the Fenway neighborhood is hardly a gem, but it is a neighborhood of people, professionals, and students. It works. Making it upscale is no better than the devastation of the West End half a century ago that razed countless working class homes and accelerated White Flight out of the city (*pictured modern, high-end West End tower). Today the flight is not nearly as race oriented as class oriented and many of these redevelopments may aggravate that further.

Certainly a lot could happen in this last week, but other than Attorney General Martha Coakley's investigation of the case of the mysterious disappearing emails, there have not been any October surprises. That investigation will not be completed until after the election and its ramifications may outlive Coakley's own tenure in the AG's office if she is elected to the United States Senate. If wrongdoing is found, Menino may feel a lot like Tricky Dick except, perhaps to his benefit, he cannot fire the Attorney General. It would be unfortunate for a career as generally successful as Menino's to crater out because ambition and a hunger for power won out over reason and the acceptance that eventually everyone's fifteen minutes will come to pass.

*Menino photo from mayor's Facebook page, 111 Huntinton and Nixon photo from Wikipedia.

Boston Beat: Fashion, Fenway, Foolishness...

In this special double-issue of Boston Beat, WMassP&I examines a spat of recent development/political news that are connected to the city's most contested mayoral race in recent history. Although the explanation of Boston politics has been a recurring theme on WMassP&I, it has largely been informational. However, this issue promises to offer some insight into some of Boston's recent activities and lessons from which Springfield and other cities might be wise to learn.

In the past week, the Boston Globe reported a series of new developments in the pipeline for Boston. As the credit markets froze over, many such developments in the city were put on hold, perhaps most infamously the redevelopment of Downtown Boston's Filene's building. The shell of the old department store was only recently covered with a tarp to prevent further damage while a gaping hole yawns immediately to the north.

However, with credit easing even as high unemployment persists, investors and banks are starting to open their wallets. Where they have not done so the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seems more than willing to do so. In particular are three projects, which have been resuscitated and/or unveiled that point to a resurgence of development in Beantown. Unfortunately, these projects may not be in the long-term interests of the city or, as symbols of similar developments elsewhere, the overall economy.

The projects in question are the relocation of upscale retailer LouisBoston to the South Boston waterfront; the Fenway Center to be built over the Turnpike near Kenmore Square and Fenway Park; and more generally, the redevelopment of the Boylston Street area near Fenway Park.

Not too long ago, the Globe reported that LouisBoston would vacate its Newbury Street building upon the expiration of its lease for a then-unspecified trendier location. The Globe article dates to before the worst of the recession hit, however, there were concerns about a number of retailers vacating the simultaneously posh and offbeat shopping strip. Coming to a head well before the financial crisis, numerous commercial landlords on Newbury had bought their properties for now-overpriced amounts. It forced hefty increases in rents and pushed many retailers away. Only after landlords realized that they couldn't expect such rents and their mortgage holders understood likewise did rents drop. Even so, many vacancies remain.

LouisBoston is, however, in a prime spot, which will probably attract attention from larger retailer interested in getting into the Boston Market. However, the move to South Boston is most troubling. Although touted as a Renaissance, the South Boston waterfront redevelopment, underway ever since the Ted Williams tunnel went online, cannot be described as much more than a natural outgrowth of downtown. Indeed the further away from downtown you go, the more desolate and semi-industrial the landscape becomes. A satellite view reveals the ocean of parking. The proposed spot for Menino's thus-far stillborn City Hall relocation rubs shoulders with piers, construction equipment and seafood wholesalers.

The Globe blurb on the relocation to Fan Pier (the specific site) notes that it is part of a larger project that includes restaurants, residences, and office space. These offices and more importantly residences will be geared primarily to the higher end of tax brackets. This is not at all surprising, given that any waterfront property will have prime prices and undemocratic as it is, that's the way the market goes. What is troubling is the sudden jump of a retailer across the city to unproven territory. If our insights are correct, LouisBoston will not start a trend, but if it does, what becomes of Newbury Street? What becomes of still-suffering Downtown Crossing? Even the rich can only spend their money in so many places.

Another project of note is the Fenway Center. Unveiled some time ago, the project calls for converting a swath of parking and (with the help of a platform over the highway) the nearby stretch of the Turnpike into offices, residences and amenities. The project stalled along with others like it, in part because of the cost of building a platform over the Turnpike. Governor Deval Patrick's administration recently announced state support for the platform's construction. The cost will be paid back in the form of lease payments, but somehow it will end up costing taxpayers something. Aesthetically, the project is designed to integrate into the area well. It will respect much of the low slung space nearby and is a model for transit oriented development. However, it is doubtful that the offices and residences will do much for any, but the wealthy who can afford such space. The public green space and other public areas notwithstanding, its stated goals to weave transportation at Kenmore Square and a redeveloped Yawkey Commuter Rail station will likely not be very affordable for most people who ride commuter rail or get boxed in on Pike traffic.

Additionally, the influx will, assuming the Red Sox and Boston University retain their fans and students respectively, dramatically inflate real estate prices. Affordable, family oriented food service could easily dry up once current leases are up. Students at BU and the other nearby colleges, not all of whom are flush with Mommy and Daddy's money, could find themselves priced out of the establishments that take the place of the old. Perhaps more insidiously, if economic conditions falter again, which of course they will albeit perhaps not as badly, a turnover of higher end establishments will create turmoil in an otherwise stable economic area.

On top of the Fenway Center there exists a push, emanating largely from City Hall to scale up the overall Fenway neighborhood, largely because that is where Fenway Park is. Why this is so necessary is hard to say. The Fenway area is not the city's best or most polished. It is a grab bag of students and professionals who have chosen it for its proximity to schools and medical facilities. That alone has led to an increase in real estate prices, but not changed the character of the neighborhood dramatically. Crime is not overwhelming, but noticeable and the Fens, the park from which the baseball park and neighborhood get their name, is notorious for late-night, ahem, couplings, shall we say? Either way, Fenway Park is in a decent neighborhood compared to Yankee Stadium and is better integrated into the overall urban landscape, than the Sports Complexes in South Philadelphia.

Some recently built structures like Trilogy between Brookline Avenue and Boylston have integrated themselves nicely into the neighborhood. Another building further up Boylston, 1330, has struggled, but is finding ground-level tenants at least.
Menino's push for redevelopment would eradicate the garages and other dowdy businesses like the Howard Johnson's motel. The question again is who will buy and/or rent these expensive new apartments and patronize the high-priced shops and restaurants. The story of 1330, opened in the middle of the worst of the economic turmoil, suggests very few. Developers of a project built over the Green Line's D portal had to lease apartments directly after sales foundered during summer 2008.

All of these developments point to a policy coming out of the Mayor's office that is encouraging Boston's move toward what a recent copy of TimeOut's Boston guide called a "boutique city." In other words, a city that increasingly caters to its wealthiest residents and few if anybody else. Tourists, rich and poor, will fall into this group as well. Let's face it, whether your vacation is on a budget or an expense account, it is coming from some discretionary source. Boston is not alone in this venture. Similar charges are leveled against New York, not just on Manhattan, but recently in Brooklyn and Queens as well. Mayor Bloomberg has implied that the added income from property taxes can be used to help the poor with services. The jobs generated from such developments, however, will never allow them to move beyond any need, however real, for those services.

Whether this is Menino's intention or not is uncertain. Nonetheless, as Boston has generally charted a development path similar to New York's over the past decade and Menino essentially is emperor of development if not the whole city, it is possible. The question also must become can a city sustain such a widening swath of luxurious retailers, hotels, restaurants, and residences? Boston has incredible wealth and it a recent report that upmarket retail sales are up nationally. Upmarket in the report is considered the top 10% of retail prices.

That news should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. The rich have always weathered these storms better than most. Even during the depression, the temporary loss of investment income for the wealthy only slowed, not ended their overall income. Moreover, luxury retailers and wholesalers could weather a storm better than their downmarket cousins for a simple reason. Their markup was higher and they could simply opt to buy less good and their distributors and the manufacturers could make like changes until conditions improved.

There is, however, a stark difference between now and then. A chronic tendency for Americans of all income brackets to overspend. The last year may have instilled some humility in consumers, but not necessarily enough or at all in those who may not make a fortune, but still have $10,000 credit line and the will to use it. In other words, that luxury market may not be exclusively powered by high-powered stock brokers, lawyers, doctors, and Indian chiefs. Living beyond your means points to middle income earners, particularly those without families yet, to spend and charge hundreds of dollars not just because they can, but because it is there.

Imagine the financial crisis of 2008, except at a to be determined date in the future. A credit card crisis could be just as devastating to the economy, if not more so. Cascading off of that would be a commercial real estate crisis, something all but the sunniest of economist fear remains a possibility even now. Above all else, almost the entire labor market remains weak and will remain so for months if not years.

Now. Let's put all of this gloom and doom aside and remember something else. It goes back to the "boutique city." Is that what we really want? A city that caters to the wealthy and increasingly excludes its most vulnerable citizens in an effort to save them while driving out everybody in between? Some legacy for the birthplace of American freedom.

Bill Dusty's Springfield Intruder recently wrote in "Build Now, Build New" about how there is an impulse in Springfield and elsewhere to build something new even if there is not obvious need for it, pointing to the Courthouse or new school buildings. If such government building programs are the crack of Springfield, leaving it poor and with bills to pay, then many of the luxury buildings and developments in Boston are that city's cocaine. Sexy and refined, but just as dangerous in the long run, these developments are pushed and supported out of a need to find new revenue (and jobs)...anywhere it can. Recall what WMassP&I noted a few months ago re Longhill Gardens. Cities simply cannot afford to give up any chance they have for money. In Boston's case, longterm, the new will replace, not compliment the old. The old suffers a decline turning the city into a "Whack-a-Mole" game. Strike one economically stagnant mole another pops up elsewhere on the board...or on the map. As in the case of Chestnut Accelerated School, mentioned on the Intruder, little if any economic preventative maintenance is made to keep Downtown Crossing and maybe Newbury from disintegrating as shopping districts.

The answer is not simple and we do not pretend to have it. There are of course monumental special interests involved some of which Dusty mentioned in the Intruder like contractors and the construction unions. Others are the banks and landlords and any-greedy-body with a stake in the process. Lip service is paid to undoing damage done by highway projects like the Turnpike. The Fenway Center's website calls it suturing, but unlike the Central Artery in Downtown, the MassPike merely widened a cut built eons ago by the Boston and Albany Railroad's ancestor companies. Any wounds go back to well before the errors of highway construction.

A lot of emphasis is put on affordable housing, which is of course presently a hot button issue in Springfield. Boston could certainly do more, but it should also look to steering middle-income housing developments to encourage a growth in the middle class. Springfield, by comparison, has no shortage of middle class housing, unlike the state's capital, but then again the Pioneer Valley largely lacks any demand for luxury developments. Boston should do what it can to make more of the city affordable to families--working and middle class--and not resign itself to exiling them to the suburbs.

There are forces out there guiding this beyond just the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city's primary planning, development, and job creation agency. However, as the gatekeepers, they set the tone. "They," the individuals that run the BRA owe their position and ultimately their allegiance to largely one-man: Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston.

See More Photos on this subject Here.

*Mastercard, Bethesda, MD, and Menino photos from Wikipedia.

Senate Race Assessment...

With the issue of temporary succession dispensed with, eyes have turned to the candidates who would fill out the remainder of Senator Edward Kennedy's term. Senator Kirk, whom Gov. Deval Patrick named pending January's special election, said from the beginning that he would not be a candidate.

As this race is the first exercise of the commonwealth's dubious revision of US Senate succession, it has changed the tone and obviously the length of the race. Additionally, it is taking place on a odd year, which otherwise does not happen for Senate elections. As it is an odd year, and the year after a presidential election, high profile mayoral races in Boston, Springfield, and elsewhere are vying for visibility and coverage.

Normally, a Senate race in Massachusetts would take shape over at least a year's time. Candidates would be announcing between now and February. By March, we would have a rough idea who is running for what party's nomination. Fundraising, signature gathering, etc would be going on until the signatures are certified and ballots could be printed. It would make for a much longer primary campaign ending in September. By comparison, the general election for this year's Senate campaign will be the same stretch of time as a normal Senate election would be: approximately six weeks.

Because of this truncated timeline, it seems that only the strongest and most-well financed candidates could make a stab at the race. High profile names like Attorney General Martha Coakley and Boston/Cambridge US Congressman Mike Capuano possess the renown. Stephen Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics has money, while Alan Khazei has goodwill. Khazei co-founded CityYear, an AmeriCorps organization. On the Republican side are Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and Canton Selectman Bob Burr. A host of other people are still being bounced around as GOP nominees, but with less than a month before the filing date more candidates are unlikely.

According to a Suffolk University's poll posted to Wikipedia, Martha Coakley blasts her other opponents for the Democratic Primary out of the water. Mike Capuano has carped in news articles and elsewhere that he is more liberal and therefore the rightful heir to Kennedy's seat. Although this no doubt plays well in Cambridge and some of Boston's most liberal neighborhoods, it may not score him many points outside of his district. Kennedy was one of the most liberal members of the Senate, but he knew the art of the deal and recognized that ideology alone served neither his Constituents nor those Americans most in need. While it is not a foregone conclusion, Coakley, who has already proven she can win statewide, is the favorite for the Democratic nomination. Much can happen between now and December 8, the primary date. As for Khazei and Pagliuca, they simply lack the name recognition. If Coakley were not a candidate, Capuano would be the favorite, but Pagliuca's money could buy a lot of ad time and publicity to boost his chances.

As for the Republicans, unless Scott Brown has Moby Dick-sized skelatons in his closet, or some other headlining Republican joins the race, he WILL be the GOP nominee. A Canton selectman does not compare to one of the Five Republican left in the Massachusetts Senate. Brown's name often comes up when the GOP voices its opposition over something the Democrats in the Senate are doing.

Assuming it would Coakley and Brown, which WMassP&I is, Coakley is the probable winner. However, it might be closer than one might expect. First of all, the off-year, off-November election date will depress turnout. Inclement weather, even more likely in January than November, could make it worse. How that will affect either candidate is thus far unknown. The Democratic operation might crank out voters even in the midst of a Nor'easter.

However, anger in the Bay State is focused on Democrats. Brown can channel that anger into more votes than usual. Moreover, he does not need to surrender his House seat in order to run for the Senate (nor does Coakley need to surrender the Attorney General's office). He can be more candid, having less to lose, but he should moderate himself. Moderation will boost his appeal among independents while keeping Democrats off his back next November, who no doubt are fuming that he would even commit the offense of challenging their supremacy!

At the same time Coakley is more or less disconnected from the scandals, inertia, and bad policy spewing from Beacon Hill. All but the simplest voters will throw Coakley onto the same heap as the legislature and governor simply for being a Democrat. If anything, her status as Attorney General, which is essentially seen by most as vanguard of the people anyway, will allow her to rise above the muck.

No matter which of the two wins, it will probably not help Democrats on Beacon Hill in 2010. A Brown win would bring in money and energy for the state GOP party, while deflating both State and National Democratic parties. A Coakley win, will not have the same effect for Democrats. They will have achieved more or less the Status Quo Ante in the US Senate and Coakley will have just as big shoes to fill as Kennedy's effective successor. Additionally, Coakley will be near the bottom of the barrel on seniority. The Republicans on the state level, will be galvanized by the race even if Brown loses. An early fight to energize voters and more importantly get donors and names for next year's Beacon Hill races will be a boon. However, their campaigns next year must be more moderate than some of what Brown has proposed in

As far as WMassP&I is concerned, the platforms of the Democratic primary candidates is not fleshed out enough to really find any difference between the bunch. Certainly, as a blog interest in progress, we are nonplussed by Capuano's self-proclaimed liberalism. Liberalism when muttered, especially in Massachusetts, can be its own form of conservatism. Unwilling to look past the old liberal ideas that have failed and remain in bed with special interests whose goals are not necessarily in tune with the needs of the people could be derided as "liberal" today. However, such behavior is not, in an advancing, growing, and changing society our idea of progressive. We are not accusing Capuano of anything. We simply do not believe auto-labeling proves anything or is enough of a test for worthiness.

As for the General Election WMassP&I reserves judgment. We prefer Democrats in the Senate over Republican and hold more leftward beliefs than not. Brown is a little too conservative for us on some issues. As such we find Democrats, despite the lost faith of some since last year's election, are the better choice to move the country forward at this time.

However, we make no secret of our frustration with one-party super-majoritarian rule on Beacon Hill. Many, but not all, Democrats on Beacon Hill have grown fatter and more disconnected from their constituents than even some of their counterparts in Washington. A Coakley win would officially secure the filibuster-proof majority Democrats in Washington might need to pass important legislation. Sixty votes is not the margin that has stifled legitimate and public debate in Boston. However, one-party rule is chilling nonetheless. Requiring the votes of GOP moderates like the Senators from Maine and others is good for Democracy, the process, and for America as a whole.

For now, we must let the race unfold and see who says what, who means what, and whether they can deliver on their word. Perhaps another neglected factor is who is running for late Kennedys' old seat to establish their own legacy and who is running to claim some right to or latch onto the legacy of Ted Kennedy itself. All of the candidates could be motivated by either.

*Coakley, Capuano and Brown photos from candidates' respective Facebook pages.

WMassP&I Forward...

To our readers:

Western Mass Politics and Insight recently celebrated its third year of service to deciphering and explaining the political scene in Springfield and across the globe. In that time, we have tried to give you the best possible insight into how the backroom machination of the political operations and voters work from 36 Court Street right up to the White House.

However, over these years, our ability to post on a regular enough basis to remain fully relevant has been iffy at best. As we have seen over the years in the Valley blogosphere, time, commitments, and personal lives more generally often take away from bloggers' computers. Almost all of the Valley's bloggers have encountered this problem, with the exception of those who have the time or are otherwise well-compensated to continue this labor of love and of civic duty.

To that end, WMassP&I is asking for your support. No, not money. Rather we ask that our loyal readers, few as they are, become more active. If you notice slacking, please send a strongly worded email to WMassP&I and demand that we, no, I get off my butt and post something.

Some of you may know, but for much of the time WMassP&I has existed, I have been in school. That is no longer the case, and therefore more frequent posts should be possible. That has not always happened. Even though I hope to be back in school part-time by spring and full-time by fall, unless I am forced to discontinue WMassP&I insight fully, I want it to remain a relevant force in Valley Blogosphere, if not the community as a whole. Until then, I have no excuse so again, I ask for your help in motivating me.

Again I would like to thank those that read and enjoy this blog.

-Matt S.