Reporter's Notebook: Mulling a mayoral scrum in 2013; GOP Govs disparaging Cahill run

Time for some absurdly premature and reckless speculation about the mayor’s race in 2013.

Mayor Thomas Menino’s hiring of state Rep. Marie St. Fleur as his chief of advocacy and strategic investment set tongues wagging inside and outside the walls of City Hall last week, with some believing he in essence picked his successor. (Assuming, of course, that Menino does not run for a sixth term, which remains unclear.)

Throw her onto the following list, they said: Former City Councillor Michael Flaherty, who has expressed interest in making a second run after coming up short last fall; City Councillor John Tobin, who represents West Roxbury; Councillor Michael Ross of Mission Hill, whose City Council presidency expires this year; City Councillor At-Large John Connolly, who garnered the most votes in last year’s race for the four at-large seats; state Rep. Marty Walsh of Savin Hill, and Councillor Robert Consalvo of Hyde Park. Other names that have been in circulation since the day they were elected to the State House: state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz of Jamaica Plain and state Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry of Lower Mills. And why not U.S. Congressman Stephen Lynch as well?

Rumors of St. Fleur joining Menino’s administration have been in heavy circulation since January. “I heard she’s going to be deputy mayor,” remarked one local party activist hours after St. Fleur had announced she was not running for reelection, with said activist perhaps forgetting that Menino had derided the idea as a gimmick when Flaherty promised the title to his colleague Sam Yoon if they had beat him together.

Cahill, targeted by Republican governors group, returns fire

Gov. Deval Patrick again sat on the sidelines earlier this week as his two top opponents, Treasurer Timothy Cahill and former health care executive Charlie Baker, fired away at each other. Recent polls show Cahill, who is running as an independent, splitting the anti-Patrick vote with Baker, the Republican nominee.

The Republican Governors Association kicked things off with the launch of a seven-figure ad campaign hitting radio, television, and the web that seeks to paint Cahill as fiscally irresponsible.“The bottom line is that Tim Cahill is reckless with the taxpayers’ money,” RGA spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement. “Even worse, it’s pretty obvious that Cahill’s door is open … as long as your checkbook is.”

Cahill responded, but stuck to the web, posting a YouTube video decrying the “negative” ads. His campaign manager, Adam Meldrum, said, “These attacks are going to backfire. The voters are too smart to fall for this. Treasurer Cahill will continue to focus on issues that really matter, like jobs and the economy. Charlie Baker is welcome to join us in that debate.”

Cahill, who has been courting conservative voters, is scheduled to hold a support rally-cum-fundraiser at Florian Hall on May 13. The event starts at 7 p.m., with tickets costing $20.10.

When asked by MassBeacon.com if he was going to hold his own convention in between attending the Democratic and Republican State conventions, Cahill pointed to the Florian Hall event and said, “We’re going to have a big event that I think will maybe not rival the conventions but we hope to have a lot of people there.”

Connolly to help ‘weatherize’ house on Bowdoin Street

City Councillor At-Large John Connolly has teamed up with a pair of environmentally-focused UMass-Boston student groups to “weatherize” a Bowdoin Street home. Connolly, along with the campus’s Sustainability Club and Mass Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG), will be replacing the light bulbs in the home of Rupert Besley. They will be exchanged for more energy efficient ones. His windows will also get “weather-stripped” and his doors will receive rubber stripping.

The “weatherization” is aimed at highlighting a statewide effort reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020, according to MassPIRG.

Connolly chairs the Council’s Committee on Environment and Health.

Quote of Note: Wayne Wilson

“If anyone asks for my assistance, it will not be forthcoming. It is now clear to me that no one in the Democratic Party remembers or appreciates the hard work that was done by me on their behalf. I am really disgusted that the people who know me in this forum were not supportive or would not stick up for me.”

So writes Wayne Wilson, in a post titled “Withdrawal” on the popular left-leaning blog, Blue Mass Group.

Wilson, who was aiming to run for the state Senate seat that is opening up by Marian Walsh’s retirement, filed the post after failing to collect the necessary 300 nomination signatures needed to get on the ballot. Wilson has also attempted runs at the Sixth Suffolk House seat and state Rep. Liz Malia’s seat. In the post, he said he would “never seek elective office again” and also that he is resigning from the Ward 19 Democratic Committee.

For the record: An item last week on councillors pushing for compliance in construction standards incorrectly stated that the city requires developers and contractors to hire local residents and certain percentages of minority and female workers. In fact, the city has issued guidelines that encourage the hiring of local residents and the percentages.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Material from State House News Service was used in this report. Check out updates to Boston’s political scene at The Lit Drop, located at dotnews.com/litdrop.


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