Council's new boss same as old boss?

1 December 2000

December finds city councilors preoccupied with two things: Christmas tree lightings - there are 37 of them this month - and the council presidency.

Each year the council meets on the first Monday in January to choose a new president. A simple majority of seven votes is all that's needed to win.

The always-intricate machinations over the council presidency have an added significance this year, driven in large part by the widely held perception that the reign of seven-term Council President James Kelly is finished.

Once a close friend and political ally of Mayor Thomas Menino, Kelly and the mayor have acrimoniously parted company. Kelly's efforts to extort money from developers of property along the city's waterfront for the sole benefit of his South Boston neighborhood have angered other councilors.

He embarrassed many on the council by defending mobsters - in writing, yet - such as Kevin O'Neil.

And Kelly, who once used to throw rocks at school buses, makes councilors cringe with his almost perverse delight in fanning racial animosity, baiting the council's two black members whenever he gets the chance.

Kelly's once-strong coalition - he won with nine votes last year - has crumbled and is now down to five: himself, Peggy Davis-Mullen, Maureen Feeney, Michael Flaherty and Francis "Mickey" Roache.

Eight councilors oppose him. The time looks ripe for a new president.

Not so fast.

Kelly may be down, but he's not out. He's a sharp politician who frequently confounds his critics. Indeed, a betting man would be smart to place money on Kelly to win yet again.

Like Washington's victory over the Hessians in the Battle of Trenton, Kelly's salvation may lie in the weakness and confusion of his opposition.

There is a host of strong challengers to Kelly. Hyde Park's Dan Conley, a former assistant district attorney, has been Kelly's lead rival over the last several years.

Jamaica Plain's Maura Hennigan, long-time chair of the council's Ways and Means Committee, has recently taken highly public positions on big citywide issues such as the construction of a new Fenway Park and the development of Fan Pier.

Brighton's affable Brian Honan, also a former assistant district attorney, is well liked by councilors and would be a favorite of the mayor as well.

At-large City Councilor Stephen Murphy, who came in second in last year's city elections, has made no secret of the fact that he would like the job. So too would the North End's Paul Scapicchio.

And Dorchester's Charles Yancey.

And Beacon Hill's Michael Ross.

And Roxbury's Chuck Turner.

In fact, each of Kelly's eight opponents thinks he or she would make a terrific president.

Therein lies the problem.

There's an old game of logic, called "the prisoner's dilemma," where two prisoners, distrustful of each other and acting independently, will choose a result that is less desirable for each than if they had cooperated. In this case, call it the "councilor's dilemma."

It has been an open secret for much of the year that Kelly's presidency was imperiled. Yet during that time, his opposition has been in disarray, unable to coalesce around a single candidate. The individual ambitions of each work in Kelly's favor, making it easier for him to pick off the two votes he needs to win.

Kelly has a lot to offer councilors. The defection of some of his former supporters means he can dangle attractive committee chairmanships, such as public safety, ways and means and housing, to possible swing voters. Kelly also is extremely popular with the city's trade unions - a group with enormous influence on the council and one that has no hesitation in lobbying hard for Kelly. In addition, Kelly's South Boston political base is a potent force, one that at-large councilors (or those with mayoral ambitions, which means just about everyone) are loath to anger, particularly with city elections just 10 months away.

Finally, for all his faults, Kelly knows how to run a tight meeting. He quickly disciplines councilors who get out of line. And, unless the issue concerns South Boston, Kelly gives other councilors wide latitude. Unlike the state Legislature, where House members, for example, dare not cross the speaker, Kelly lets councilors vote as they wish. The fact that Kelly has no interest in unifying the council into a significant second voice to the mayor is arguably one of his greatest flaws as president. But it's a flaw that plays well with individual councilors, who are left free to their own devices.

After seven years of his presidency, most Bostonians and a clear majority of councilors are tired of Kelly. "It's time for new ideas and fresh perspectives," says one councilor. But unless they get their act together, Kelly's opponents are likely to find on Jan. 1 that, while the rest of Boston rings in the new, they'll be ringing in the old.