Op-Ed; Council presidency can't be figurehead

THOMAS M. KEANE JR.
842 words
4 January 2002
Boston Herald
All Editions
023
English
(Copyright 2002)

Does Monday's vote for president of the Boston City Council matter?

The position is derided as merely titular, a petty popularity contest among the 13 councilors for a grand title, a bigger office and a shot at becoming acting mayor should Thomas Menino leave during his term in office.

All of that's true. Yet, for a council coming off an embarrassing and weak year, this election matters, especially when it comes to figuring out the council's relationship to the mayor.

Many councilors now look back with longing on the mid-1990s, when South Boston Councilor James Kelly was president. Kelly at the time enjoyed a close relationship with the mayor; they spoke every day. Personal recriminations were few and the council involved itself deeply in issues of real significance, such as the merger of Boston City Hospital with Boston University Medical Center.

The two men are now estranged, principally because Menino reneged on a lucrative community benefits deal with South Boston. The last year of Kelly's presidency, 2000, was poisonous. Things got even worse in 2001 when Dorchester's Charles Yancey was elected. The mayor, who once served with Yancey on the council, has little regard for him. The two barely spoke during the year. The council, left out of the loop and reduced to suing the mayor when it didn't get its way, suffered.

The mayor - and the city - suffered too. With the politics of personality dominant, less of substance could be accomplished.

Fixing this is the difficult task facing the next president.

Right now three councilors are running: Yancey, the incumbent; Maureen Feeney, a district councilor from Dorchester; and Paul Scapicchio, a district councilor from the North End. Seven votes are needed. Including their own votes, Feeney has six, Scapicchio four and Yancey three.

These tallies probably mean nothing in the ever-shifting alliances of council politics. For the moment, Feeney seems to have the best chance. Just one vote away, she is working to find a seventh. Scapicchio's support is weak; the betting is that he is a stalking horse for at-large Councilor Michael Flaherty. Yancey is weakest of all, able to attract just two others to his side despite a year in office. However, this could easily change. Should none of the three win in the first round, then all bets are off and a host of others will emerge as candidates.

Feeney and her supporters offer themselves up as representing a more independent council. Feeney would likely get along better with the mayor than Yancey - almost anyone would. She has also made a number of interesting proposals, including changing the way the annual budget is reviewed, that could put the council in a better position to think strategically about city priorities.

But the worry is that independence could veer into antagonism. Feeney is not close to the mayor; she privately supported Peggy Davis- Mullen in her run against him last year. Some councilors fret that Feeney's supporters, who include Kelly, would allow the new year to be dominated yet again by personal grudges.

On the side of cooperation is a group that likes to think of itself as the "Young Turks." Scapicchio and Beacon Hill's Michael Ross are the "GQ Councilors," well-coiffed men who look like they just stepped in from a fashion shoot. Along with Brighton's Brian Honan and the (considerably grayer but still in the club) Flaherty, they have positioned themselves as representing a new kind of Boston.

Interestingly, though, the newest of the councilors, just-elected John Tobin from West Roxbury, has committed to Feeney, suggesting that the generation gap may not amount to much.

Each of the Young Turks - especially Flaherty - is on good terms with the mayor. Each would have ready access within the administration. The fear here is that they are too friendly, kowtowing too readily to the mayor.

Complicating matters for whomever gets the nod as president is another factor: As many as eight councilors are looking for a new job. Four - Dan Conley of Hyde Park, Honan, Flaherty and Scapicchio - have said they intend to run for district attorney this year. Councilor at large Stephen Murphy is running for state treasurer. Feeney is widely expected to run for state Senate in September and Ross is rumored to be looking to replace state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson. Mickey Roache, another councilor at large, will either be appointed to or run for registrar of deeds.

Campaigns are distracting affairs. More worrisome, anyone running for another post will be loath to cross Menino, meaning councilors may be more timid than they should be in dealing with the administration.

Thus the challenge: striking a balance between cooperation and independence without devolving into confrontation or toadyism. There's doubtless some glory in being council president. This year, it will also be a lot of work.

Tom Keane's column appears Fridays in the Herald. Email him at tomkeane@tomkeane.com.

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