Upbeat mayor hits on worthy new idea
16 January 2004
Lost in the picket lines around Mayor Thomas Menino's 2004 State of the City speech were two things: a change of tone - decidedly upbeat - and a genuinely first-rate idea.
Labor had promised a good show and it delivered. Demonstrators packed the frigid streets around John Hancock Hall. Those attending Tuesday's speech had to travel a block-long perp-walk made of steel barriers, enduring catcalls and denunciations. That didn't deter many, however; 45 minutes before air time, the hall was standing room only.
Moreover, unlike the antics of three years ago, when picketing firefighters caused an ugly scene, this time around it all seemed in good fun. Labor and management both appeared to understand their respective roles. Many of those on the lines had kids in tow, perhaps giving them a little lesson in civics. And the cynic could be forgiven for thinking that, biting placards aside ("MeniNO Friend of Labor" was one particularly lame pun), someday soon there will be a deal and they'll all be hugging each other once again.
Menino and labor were both winners: the unions made their point and Menino ("I will not mortgage the city's future") made his. The only losers were the 13 members of the City Council. Fearful of having to choose between "our friend the mayor and our friends in labor" (in the words of Council President Michael Flaherty), none of the councilors showed up.
By making this into a false choice between labor and Menino, the councilors - unlike the state politicians who did attend - forgot that they actually work for neither. If they are this easily cowed, one has to wonder what kind of mayor any one of them would make.
The tenor of Menino's speech marked a sharp shift from the last three years. During the 1990s, the annual speech was ebullient, so much so that in 2000 Menino's worry was about "the challenges of new prosperity." Those words were like the curse that kills a pitcher's no-hitter. A year later, a chastened Menino was coming to grips with a new reality imposed by an impending recession. By last year, in the midst of severe cutbacks in state aid, he was grim and frightened, warning, "The wolf is at every municipal door."
And now? The wolf has turned out to be a shaggy dog. It might bite, but then again, it might be friendly. A newly heartened mayor sees brighter days ahead. He's enthusiastic about the Patriots, the Red Sox and the Democratic National Convention. He's excited about innovative life-sciences businesses and the new workers and residents those companies attract. He's happy the expressway is finally coming down. He even allows that, while the recession still hurts, "The fog may be lifting."
On all of those (except the Red Sox, of course), he's right to be optimistic. From the time he arrived in office in 1993, Menino experienced the political joy of ruling when the economy is strong. Given that he plans to be mayor for at least another six years (two more left in his third term and an expected run for a fourth in 2005), he must be relishing the return of the good old days.
Yet Menino's distinctive mark in those good old days was the delivery of basic city services, a one-time strength that lately has flagged. In his speech, he proffered a new proposal, the creation of what he called Neighborhood Response Teams. The community-based teams would be composed of representatives from the city's various departments (parks, code enforcement, public works and so on). The idea would be to coordinate city services and make them directly responsive to the desires of city residents.
Some old-timers
recoil at this idea, remembering the Little City Halls of the Kevin White
years, each of which ended up becoming its own fiefdom. That's unlikely to
happen with Menino, who jealously guards his power. Moreover, the Neighborhood
Response Team concept is patterned both on the city's
own community policing model and on a highly successful program in
Talk back to Tom Keane at TomKeane@TomKeane.com.