In less than one week, Marty Walsh will be officially sworn in as Mayor of Boston hot on the heels of Mayor Tom Menino’s two decade tenure in City Hall. They’re big shoes to fill, Menino’s, as he leaves the office of Mayor with an astounding approval rating in the neighborhood of 80 percent favorable. But for some, who were there from the beginning, there were some aspects of Menino’s 20-year term that could’ve been substantially improved upon. And as Boston readies to welcome it’s new Mayor and a new year, it begs the question: What could Mayor Menino have done better?
It’s a tough question to answer, especially given the current state of Boston’s progressive economical, technological, educational, and healthcare scenes. Even still it’s a burgeoning city, unsatisfied with the status quo and ever-hungry to improve in all of these regards.
But there certainly are some areas where Mayor Menino could’ve eased up on the reigns. BostInno spoke with Peter Ubertaccio – Director of Joseph Martin Institute for Law & Society at Stonehill College, Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science & International Studies – to find out the areas in which Mayor Menino could’ve used some improvement and it may surprise you to find out that perhaps he could’ve been less of a personalization of the city.
“He takes personally parts of the city that I think can be a little dangerous,” noted Ubertaccio. “Like when he called it ‘my business community.'”
He’s referring, of course, to an October speech made by Mayor Menino when he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the New England Council in which he credited the success of the Northeast region not with “Tom Menino. It’s my business community. It’s people who collaborate with me.”
“The city is in a great place but I often wonder where might things be if the mayor had loosened his grip a little bit,” continued Ubertaccio.
And he’s right. The city is a great place to live. But, if you can believe it, it’s almost as if Mayor Menino cared a bit too much. You might remember when unfavorable conglomerates like Walmart and Chick-fil-A tried to plant enterprising seeds in The Hub or when Mayor Menino engaged in a public spat with developer Don Chiofaro who challenged the Mayor’s building height limit.
While yes, in many respects Mayor Menino might have had the city’s best interests at heart Ubertaccio suggests acting in such a manner does, in fact, have its drawbacks.
“It served nobody’s purpose,” he went on. “It does not foster a culture of innovation and experimentation when the mayor is that controlling.”
Then there’s what perhaps became the biggest enigma of the 2013 Boston Mayoral race, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). Mayor-elect Walsh vowed to reform it, citing an urgent need for transparency and collaboration with other departmental branches. For those reasons it became a stigma for Boston, a mysterious entity that somehow wielded too much power under the administration of Menino. And why not? Menino used it as a sort of bully pulpit, an opportunity for quid pro quo. It could’ve been an even more dangerous weapon if he was one to hold grudges or had too thin skin.
“[The BRA became] An extension of the mayor himself; if development’s going to get done in Boston you have to please the Mayor personally,” said Ubertaccio. “If you don’t or can’t do that then the BRA isn’t going to approve that what you seek to do.”
These aren’t condemnations of Mayor Menino’s civic accomplishments or his administration throughout the years, but rather areas that Mayor-elect Walsh may want to specifically address upon assuming office. And Walsh has been very cautious about announcing the policy changes he intends to implement, the talent of which he’ll be surrounding himself, and the timeline that these will all take place.
Hindsight is, after all, 20/20 and in that respect Mayor Menino certainly could’ve improved on some facets of his mayoral career. Boston, though, is thankful for his tireless efforts on behalf of the city and its residents and we’ll be forever thankful.
