Tuesday evening’s mayoral forum is the last time candidates Thomas Menino and Michael Flaherty will formally meet before the Nov. 3 election. Though this could have been a chance for the opponents to go out with a bang and really assert themselves as unique and dynamic candidates, it ended up being a whole lot of the same old thing: personal insults, surface-scratching surveys of the issues and of course, rhetorical questions. The Boston Globe quoted City Councilor-At-Large Flaherty as having said, ‘Boston is stuck in neutral.’ Perhaps the same can be said about the mayoral race itself. And if that is the case ‘- if the race has truly hit a standstill topically ‘- will the public be able to rally enough to participate in it?
The mayoral debates should not be so unorganized. If each one was devoted wholly to one of the several foremost issues at hand for this race, such as the Biosafety Level-4 lab set to open in South Boston, the ‘No More Than Four’ legislation, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program and the fate of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the candidates would have no choice but to delve deeply into their opinions and ambitions for each issue. As it is now, the candidates are able to hedge about issues, say broad, overarching statements about things that really deserve specific attention, and spend the rest of the time during the debates focusing on things that have no influence on the way voters see them politically. And more importantly, more in-depth, more transparent debates will make for more interesting debates, which will positively affect voter turnout.
Even if just the final debate had been carried out better, it would have made all the difference. With the election just around the corner, and with this being one of the tightest races in recent history, crunch time isn’t the time to start taking it easy. On the contrary, the candidates should be more diligent and more specific about their goals than ever. There’s still time to change a voter’s mind, or to change the public’s opinion about an issue, or to sway an endorser. The race will be officially over when it’s been declared officially over ‘- when the votes have been counted and the speculators have been silenced. In the mean time, the candidates should not indulge their own perceptions of what the public will do and dishonor voters by taking it easy. They are, and will be till the evening of Nov. 3, Boston’s mayoral candidates. They must restore the vigor with which they started the race and should debate accordingly, compete accordingly and if nothing else, campaign to their constituents accordingly.
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