STAFF EDIT: The McCrea way

Businessman and mayoral candidate Kevin McCrea sat with The Daily Free Press Monday with his sports coat off and his sleeves rolled up. The owner of Wabash Construction Company, a Boston-area contracting firm, McCrea is the dark horse candidate of the race and makes it his credo to never identify himself as a politician. Making his so-called ‘Total Transparency Project’ the center of his campaign, McCrea wants to restore public trust and remove the stigma of backroom deal making from city programs like the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the budget.

McCrea also emphasized the important responsibility the mayor should take in the maintenance of quality in Boston public schools. Daring his opponents to make the same promise, McCrea vowed that if he is elected, he will spend one day a week in area schools, taking suggestions from staff and faculty and fixing problems from first-hand observation. This promise, along with his commitment to transparency, are evidence of McCrea’s gall in challenging the traditional roles of a politician. McCrea knows where the system faults ‘- in the hands of an overly political leader, in the Biosafety Level-4 lab, in the ‘No More Than Four’ ordinance ‘- and has concrete plans on how to restructure that leader’s agenda.

‘ ‘ ‘ But in declaring himself the anti-politician, McCrea resorts to some rather political strategies. Although he is truly the most unique candidate, and would bring about the most significant change in the mayoral office if elected, the businessman tends to go about setting himself apart from the other candidates in less-than-professional ways. He was quick to attack Mayor Menino for the recent email deletion scandal, and he refers to all three of his opponents as if they are all corrupt simply for behaving like politicians. And when a candidate plans his campaign platform around the idea that fear is one of the biggest problems in society, and then says that his opponents are corrupt and untrustworthy, it becomes an instance of hypocrisy. McCrea should rely on his accessibility, his sharp and concise solutions and his proficiency as a businessman to garner votes. He shouldn’t be using scare tactics.

Voters will take risks if they chose McCrea. He is the only candidate of the four who has never held political office, which makes his behavior in the race that much more important, as it serves as an indicator for what may be to come if he is elected into the mayoral seat. Keeping this caveat in mind, McCrea will do well to maintain focus on his own strengths and back down when it comes to beating upon his opponents’ weaknesses.