With all data indicating an easy victory in tomorrow’s election for incumbent Mayor Thomas Menino, who is seeking a fourth term, Boston residents interviewed by The Daily Free Press admitted to not following the race, and many could not even name Menino’s main challenger.
Out of 30 people questioned, most said they would not vote in the election, and those who said they planned to vote would likely choose Menino over City Councilor-At-Large and mayoral candidate Maura Hennigan. The reason? According to one resident, Antonio Guzman, 21, it is because residents “haven’t really heard of Hennigan.
“I have no clue who’s running and I don’t think it’ll have any difference who wins,” Guzman said. “I guess I would vote for Tom Menino just because he’s the [current] mayor. But I don’t know what [platform] he’s running.”
“I won’t vote. I just don’t follow the election,” said corporate financer Brian MacLaren, 31. “I’ve heard nothing about Hennigan and a little about Menino. Whoever [the elected mayor is] will work on the regular issues.”
Blake Stuart, 35, a financial service worker, said he doesn’t plan on voting because he doesn’t like Menino’s image and he doesn’t know Hennigan’s platform.
“I don’t have too much of an opinion,” Stuart said. “But Menino doesn’t come off as the most polished, but a friend of mine says he’s really more intelligent than he seems.
“I must admit it’s not the most enthralling election. I don’t understand what difference the mayor is making, but I’m sure he is. I know a lot of people who are apathetic about the mayor election.”
Although the majority interviewed said they care about city issues, namely crime, homelessness, Big Dig funding and housing, residents said they didn’t keep up with the election news, and Menino seems to be the obvious election choice because Boston is still a safe and comfortable place to live.
“I still haven’t made up my mind yet,” said Bill Davies, 58, adding it would be helpful if the ballots were publicized in newspapers a day before the election. “But I don’t think Hennigan is going to win. She’s done some things I haven’t agreed with, like her school position and her political agenda. And she’s not so popular.”
Sylvia Garza, a 72-year-old retired schoolteacher, said she would vote for Menino because, since moving to Boston six years ago, she has “liked the way he’s conducted the city.
“I read about the candidates in the newspapers and I think they have about the same amount of publicity,” Garza continued. “But I’m just not familiar with [Hennigan’s] platform.”
Even Hennigan supporters said her odds of winning the election are slim, but they would vote for her because they don’t think Menino has enhanced the city as much as he should have during his 12-year tenure.
Lawrence Schneider, a 66-year-old retired high school social studies teacher, said he would probably vote for Hennigan because he’s been dissatisfied with Menino ever since moving from New York City to Boston.
“I’ve been disappointed in the mayor, but apparently people here like him,” Schneider said. “It’s still up in the air, but my wife is voting for Hennigan and I’m leaning the same way.”
Schneider said education is his primary concern and he doesn’t know if Menino can improve Boston’s system.
“Menino doesn’t seem to be addressing [the education issue] directly, but I don’t know if Hennigan is going to do any better,” he said. “People are starting to talk about Boston like they did in New York. We were told not to raise our kids in New York and now they’re saying, ‘Don’t raise your kids in Boston.'”
Steve Bell, 33, who works for a private security company, said he’s wary of Menino because of Boston’s heightened crime rate over the past year.
“I think he needs to get more cops on the street because the homicide rate went way up,” he said. “[A mayor should] make Roxbury safer and take care of the Big Dig budget — because we spend so much on it — and get the union workers under control. But Menino hasn’t done that.”
Software designer John Luz, 28, best captured the general sentiment on the streets of the city.
“I’m not very political and to be honest I don’t think [the election] will make a difference,” he said. “Who’s running?”
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