Sunday, January 25, 2009

Two announce for Mayor of Boston ...

Either Menino has decided not to run again or it's going to be a bloody battle for the top job in Boston later this year.

First out of the gate was Kevin McCrea, courtesy of David Bernstein over at the Boston Phoenix: ["McCrea Alone"]. You gotta love this quote from his announcement:
"We need to end the cycle of career politicians. I am a businessman, and I am running as a common citizen. I’m independent, I’m informed, I have fresh ideas -- and I believe in honest government that includes the citizens. I’m not locked into a political system that dictates I must ‘go along to get along."
Wouldn't it be great if someone with more experience than being a city councilor could lead the city?

Second, at-large city councilor Michael Flaherty posted this video announcement on YouTube yesterday:



Bernstein was at least one political reporter who noted that he didn't even get a press release from Flaherty. One wondered if this was a test launch. The Globe has this story about what seems to be a bungled launch: ["Ever so briefly, Flaherty appears announcing run"], which Bernstein also writes about on his blog. The Herald has this piece here from Saturday: ["Likely Thomas Menino foe revs engines"].

For those of us who watch Boston news, this should be interesting. The key now will be what Menino does. If he doesn't run, it will be a free-for-all. If he does run again, it's a wonder if any of these guys will be able to take him out. There will be a preliminary election of three or more candidates run. After that, it will be one-on-one. Flaherty's apparent announcement also opens up an at-large council seat, which means that race will be an aggressive one too. All the better for voter participation and representation.

Update: It looks like Flaherty sent out an email around 7 a.m. this morning announcing a run for Mayor.

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