Op-Ed; Mayor's third term not such a charm

THOMAS M. KEANE JR.
854 words
24 May 2002
Boston Herald
All Editions
029
English
(Copyright 2002)

In a town where everyone sings the praises of the mayor, it's good to have a discordant voice.

Boston seems in thrall to Mayor Thomas Menino. Proof of that could be found earlier this week at the Kennedy Library, which hosted lunch for a feel-good event called Black and White Boston. Speaker after speaker rose and voiced rapturous compliments to Menino for his vision and leadership.

How bad was it? Sen. John Kerry, in the middle of his paean to His Honor, marveled, "What is it about this mayor? Race after race, he's unopposed."

So much for Peggy Davis-Mullen, who ran against Menino just last year. Davis-Mullen's campaign was once thought to be a footnote to history. Now, apparently, it isn't history at all. She is like the on-the-outs politicians of the old Soviet Union who, one day, would simply be airbrushed out of official photographs.

For others, though, it is less thrall than it is fear.

That's because Menino also has a reputation as a man who is intolerant of criticism and prickly about his status. Many tiptoe around him, wary of causing any slight. Some at the luncheon had testified a week ago at a City Council hearing on arts-related budget cuts. They now regret it. Menino, they have been told, is furious. They fear their institutions will be targeted.

Indeed, whether it's out of admiration or fright, few have the temerity to challenge the mayor anymore.

One organization that does is the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. A just-released report by the bureau is raising sharp questions about how the city has been spending its money.

Headed for 19 years by Executive Director Sam Tyler, the bureau is unique in government. Funded by businesses but with a fiercely independent and nonpartisan culture, its reputation is such that mayors will frequently turn to it for help. That happened in 1995, when the bureau signed off on the merger of Boston City Hospital and Boston University Medical Center. In 1996, it supported Menino's effort to retain an appointed school committee. In both cases, the bureau's backing was critical.

All of which makes the new report particularly devastating.

The bureau calls the upcoming budget a "correction" to years of profligate spending. That's a remarkably different take than the one originally pushed by the administration. In March, Menino had sounded warnings about hurtful budget cuts and had proposed a slew of new tax hikes and fees.

In fact, those are unnecessary. As the report points out, Boston experienced a surge in revenues during the last several years. As money poured in the door, the city (surprise, surprise) found ways to spend it. In a five-year span, spending jumped by 25 percent and the city hired 1,114 new employees. Some of that was worthwhile. Some was not.

As a result, the bureau diplomatically concluded, this year's trimming was "not completely painless, nor was it extremely difficult."

That's not to say all of the administration's cuts were wise. For example, the budget slashes monies for the Finance Commission, an internal city watchdog. Why? Because the FinCom is another one of the few voices that dares to criticize the administration.

But while this year was easy to manage, the bureau also noted that future years may be tight as well. It offered up a series of recommendations - 14 in all - that could help balance the budget without difficult cuts. Some, such as improving grants management, have also been identified by the City Council in its ongoing review of the budget. Others, such as outside reviews of different departments or introducing competition in the delivery of some services, are logical and long overdue.

They are also unlikely to happen. That's because, in his ninth year as mayor, Menino is no longer an agent of change. Now, he's the status quo. Early on, he could have blamed someone else for a city department's failings. Today, he can only blame himself - something he is doubtless loathe to do.

Menino has never been one eager to shake up city government anyway. With the passage of time, it becomes increasingly unlikely the mayor will give much credence to the bureau's recommendations.

All of which, in a roundabout way, is an argument for why Boston needs to revisit the notion of term limits for its mayors.

Kevin White was mayor for 16 years, the last several of which were widely regarded as a disaster. Raymond Flynn was elected to a third term, which also was going badly until fortuitously he was named ambassador to the Vatican.

The lesson is clear. Two terms are good; three are just too many. Yet, as Kerry intimated, Menino may very well run for a fourth or even a fifth term with no credible challengers. That may be good for a politician. It won't be good for the city.

Tom Keane can be reached at tomkeane@tomkeane.com.

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