History was made yesterday ‘- but not the sort of history that would unseat a mayor with a four-term empire or introduce the first Asian-American deputy mayor into Boston ‘s City Hall. Rather, mayor Thomas Menino secured a historic and unprecedented fifth term in office, confirming that he has every intention of living up to his moniker of ‘Mayor for Life.’ In doing so, he proved he has a following strong enough to keep his 16-year-old machine moving smoothly, cruising through arguably his most challenging election yet, and Boston simply wasn’t ready for change.
For the 42 percent of voters who sided with Menino’s tenacious opponent, City Councilor-At-Large Michael Flaherty, it wasn’t perfection they were seeking, but rather, it was change. Freshness, new political priorities and a new web of advisors were all factors Flaherty brought to the table that Menino, despite his clout and experience, could not offer. And now, for yet another term, those deviant voters will once again be left disappointed, and City Hall will remain the festering hub of old-fashioned politics and business-as-usual stagnancy that it has been for the past 16 years.
When a Daily Free Press reporter approached Menino to talk with him at his post-election celebration, he waved her off, saying he had no intention to talk to a newspaper that endorsed his opponent. This leaves The Daily Free Press wondering if Menino intends to isolate all of the 42 percent of voters who didn’t mark him off on their ballots Tuesday, along with the countless other individuals and institutions whose names have been scrawled onto his ‘naughty list.’ And if a mayor of one of the nation’s largest metropolitan cities can afford to designate so many enemies and still manage to be elected five times in a row, it says a thing or two about his pull. It says that he has what he considers to be the ‘right’ people wrapped around his finger, and that he and his administration want nothing to do with, and will do nothing for, anyone who dares challenge them. And it is this favored group of citizens ‘- Menino’s constituency ‘- that will keep getting their voices heard in Boston politics, while the others sink further into the background, perpetuating a cycle of democratic injustices, all because of a lack of term limits and voter esteem.
This vicious cycle simply won’t do for a modern, dynamic city like Boston, whose demographic is constantly changing while its politics stay the same. There is no such thing as a stationary constituency ‘- every year, Boston gets new students and imports new employees, its younger residents turn voting age and its older figureheads lose footing. With all of this change, it’s a wonder how City Hall ‘- the center of governmental activity ‘- can remain so unfazed. It’s a wonder how Menino and his supporters can turn up their noses, rally their faithful henchmen and pretend that they really fit the city they run ‘- a city, for example, with a third of its population comprised of college students, and more than 40 percent of voters desiring Flaherty, all of whom Menino likely has every intention of shooing away.
What does the mayor’s victory really say about Boston? It certainly doesn’t confirm that Menino is the city’s darling ‘- this was his closest race yet, and he was nearly matched 50-50 with his opponents’ votes combined in the preliminary election and only won by a 15 percent margin in the final elections yesterday. And some of the city’s most progressive potential voters likely didn’t turn up to the polls, because most college students are uneducated about the issues at hand and not registered in Boston. ‘ ‘ ‘
But even if he isn’t the favorite, Menino still got elected, and that’s because he has his finger on all the right people. What that says about Boston is that it, as a city of able voters, has conceded to the empire. It has allowed Menino’s runaway machine to ramble on. It has allowed one man to become so powerful that he by design controls innumerable jobs and institutions, which rely on him to function and vote for him automatically. In turn, Menino gets another tour as mayor, and his power ‘- along with his naughty list ‘- only grows, his camp getting stronger and his opposition getting more and more isolated. But it’s all par for the course, and has been for 16 years, and at this point, with no term limits to hold Menino back, he has become as ‘normal’ to Boston as the scathing wind gusts that cut across Scollay Square. Truly, Boston has settled.
The Daily Free Press looked to Boston’s voters to consider adopting a change. And though Flaherty and Yoon put up a fight of unprecedented vitality against Menino, they couldn’t sway the esteem toward that change. And now, as the Menino machine is oiling itself up for a fifth term, Boston’s progressive look to the man behind it, hoping that if the city won’t change, he who runs it might. ‘ ‘ ‘
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