City Councilors-At-Large Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon added fuel to the mayoral race’s fire Tuesday when they announced their plan to run on a joint ticket, with Flaherty as mayor and Yoon aiming to become his deputy mayor. This shocking development ignited both a new hope for former Yoon supporters who may have been disheartened by his primary loss, as well as backlash from Mayor Thomas Menino’s camp. Nick Martin, Menino’s spokesman, according to a Boston Globe article, writes the development off as nothing more than a display of desperation.
It is unfair of Menino to attack Flaherty and Yoon for making a strategic campaign decision. The two combined garnered just under the 50 percent of votes that Menino accumulated during the primaries, and they have a little more than a month to rally supporters with their new ticket. During that time, Mayor Menino’s email-deletion scandal has a little more than a month to fester. Truly ‘- and contrary to Martin’s nay saying ‘- this development couldn’t have come at a more strategic time in the race. And it doesn’t take a political genius to know that any Yoon supporter forced to pick a new candidate after the primaries wouldn’t pick Menino, leaving Flaherty as the only option.
The main contention lies not in a matter of desperation, but rather, in one of political agreement. Anyone who followed the race before the primaries know that Flaherty and Yoon disagreed on some issues, such as those regarding the power of the mayor and the School Committee, and that they come from two very different political sects. But this dichotomy doesn’t have to be a death sentence. Rather, it can be seen as an interesting way for two men with strong political credos to come together and represent a viable potpourri Boston’s varied needs, while Menino only represents himself.
As long as the Flaherty/Yoon ticket doesn’t become too reliant on its superficial appeal so that it becomes more of a brand than a legitimate political pairing, it may continue to gain velocity before the Nov. 3 election. Neither Flaherty nor Yoon were strong enough to beat out Menino during the primaries, but if they can find a way to merge their platforms intelligently, as well as keep Yoon a part of the dialogue even though legally he cannot appear on the ballot, they may end up giving the mayor a run for his fifth term.
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