Every Goliath must have a David.
City Councilor At-Large Peggy Davis-Mullen officially announced her candidacy for mayor yesterday, setting herself up for a battle with two-term incumbent Thomas Menino, who carries an overwhelming 85 percent approval rating.
She entered the Cecil W. Fogg Post in Hyde Park to the theme of “Rocky” and assumed the position of an underdog fighting for better public schools, affordable housing and public discussion about development.
Davis-Mullen said although the Commonwealth and the mayor have stressed the importance of education, the quality of education and school facilities in the city have not improved since Menino was first elected in 1993.
“Despite the commitment of the state to increase school funding during the last seven years, one out of every four high school students in Boston does not finish,” she said. “We continue to send our children to schools that are crumbling and decaying.”
Davis-Mullen also said because of a lack of funding, the city was forced to cut the K-1 program, which provided early childhood education.
“We haven’t taken the opportunity to invest in the most important infrastructure in the city, which is our children,” she said.
She said many families have missed out on the recent economic prosperity in Boston and are forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money for substandard housing.
“Working families in this city are the people that are being left behind,” Davis-Mullen said. “If this is where you choose to call home, you ought to be able to afford to call it home.”
She said these people should benefit from the economic boom and should be allowed to take part in the development of the city through neighborhood associations.
“We have to make sure that development benefits all of our neighborhoods,” she said. “We need to have true urban planning with true citizen participation. We have to balance the neighborhoods’ concerns with those of the developers and make sure we are left with something we can be proud of.”
Alluding to the creation of the Back Bay at the turn of the 20th century, Davis-Mullen said development in Boston should be planned meticulously so future inhabitants of the city can prosper.
“[Development] has got to be done thoughtfully with a vision,” Davis-Mullen said. “If Boston truly is the Athens of America, then we need to think smarter about our future and make sure we leave a legacy that a century from now, Bostonians will be proud of.”
She said residents are itching to take part in the process of determining their own future as residents of the city.
“I believe the people in this city, after nearly a decade of no debate, are ready for a public dialogue about issues affecting them every day,” she said.
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