Mayor, council war not such bad news
6 April 2001
When diplomacy breaks down between nations, they go to war. When it breaks down in city government, they go to court.
That's what happened last week when the Boston City Council voted unanimously to sue Mayor Thomas Menino. As part of his efforts to revive City Hall Plaza, the mayor had transferred that property to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. To the fury of the council, he never asked for its consent.
This new lawsuit follows on the heels of a suit against
Menino by former Council President James Kelly. Menino had originally agreed
with Kelly and other
And the lawsuits are only the tip
of the iceberg. A few weeks ago, Menino held a press conference to mark a major
gift from the
Given that Davis-Mullen will run against the mayor this year, that might be dismissed as just another example of hardball politics. But councilors say that it's now typical.
Councilor Maureen Feeney cites a letter she and Councilor Mickey Roache sent to Menino asking for assistance on a water and sewer matter at UMass-Boston. Despite several follow-ups, Feeney and Roache were ignored. It wasn't until Rep. Jack Hart intervened that there was any action. "The message was clear," Feeney said.
Indeed, the consensus from the council is that relations between the mayor's office and the council are, in the words of various councilors, "bitter," "rotten" and "the lowest they have ever been." Senior administration officials don't disagree.
It didn't use to be like this.
Tom Menino was once a city councilor himself. When he first took over the mayor's office, he reached out his former colleagues, meeting monthly with councilors for breakfast, soliciting their complaints and suggestions.
Moreover, Kelly, then council president, had been Menino's best friend. The two spoke every morning to review how the city was doing. If the mayor needed something done, Kelly had the votes.
Today it's a rare occasion when the mayor and the council break bread together. Kelly is now Menino's mortal enemy. And Charles Yancey, the new council president, is largely ignored by the administration. At best he talks with Menino every few weeks.
The reasons? From the mayor's side, the council looks increasingly cranky and unreasonable. Staff members dread council hearings, figuring that what was once a friendly inquiry is now more likely to be an inquisition. Even the simplest proposals from the mayor are picked over. It's difficult to get anyone to negotiate in good faith.
The administration traces its problems to the falling out of Kelly and Menino. Kelly was a president with whom they could deal, and he commanded a majority bloc in the council. But now Kelly and many of his allies are embittered. And no new power bloc has emerged. Yancey was elected almost by accident, --and the new president has few reliable allies.
Councilors think Menino has forgotten his roots, becoming increasingly autocratic. He listens to no one and tolerates little dissent. "If you support him on nine things, but not the 10th, you're against him," says one councilor.
It's not fun.
But it may be a good thing.
Indeed, what is remarkable about the relationship between the council and the mayor isn't that there's tension, but that for so many years things were copacetic. For most of Menino's tenure, particularly on such critical matters as the budget, the council rolled over and gave the mayor what he wanted.
But the city charter didn't create
two branches of government so they could be best buds. Under
Sometimes that conflict will be personal, intense and unpleasant.
In truth, for all the rancor, the city is still running well. Roads are paved; schools open on time.
Of course, things could be worse. Legend has it that when former Mayor Kevin White was angry at councilors, he would order Public Works to leave the streets outside their homes unplowed. No such dramatics occurred this year. Still, worried councilors are probably relieved that the snow has melted and spring has finally arrived.