The news of Bill Walczak’s attack ad this morning was certainly well timed for tonight’s televised debate on NECN, the first featuring all 12 candidates, airing at 8 p.m. from Suffolk University.
Walczak, along with Mike Ross, Rob Consalvo, Charlotte Golar Richie (the race’s sole female), John Barros, and Felix Arroyo will be looking to throw their names into the list of front-runners currently vying to replace Mayor Thomas Menino, the city’s popular leader for the past 20 years.
As of now, John Connolly and Marty Walsh remain at the top, with Connolly holding a 12 percent to 11 percent advantage, respectively, in the most recent poll.
Dan Conley, currently, is on the outside looking in at the main contenders, placing third (9 percent) in the same poll.
Below is a Boston.com breakdown of where the 12 candidates in tonight’s debate stand on current issues — or, judging from the myriad dashes, straddle the line or decline to comment entirely.
From left to right: Arroyo, Barros, Clemons Jr., Conley, Connolly, Consalvo, Golar Richie, Ross, Walczak, Walsh, David James Wyatt, and Charles C. Yancey.
| Do you support the Suffolk Downs casino? | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Do you support a city-wide vote on the casino? | – | – | ||||||||||
| Have you marched in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade since gay and lesbian groups have been barred? | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Would you march in the South Boston parade as mayor? | – | – | ||||||||||
| Would you keep Ed Davis on as Boston Police Commissioner? | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||
| Should the cap on charter schools be lifted? | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Would you welcome Walmart in Boston? | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Would you extend operating hours for bars, restaurants, gyms, and other businesses? | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Would you push to allow bars to have happy hours? | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Should Boston allow developers to build taller buildings? | – | – | – | |||||||||
| As mayor, would you have made it hard for Chick fil-A to open in Boston? | – | – | ||||||||||
| Should the mayor have term limits? | – | – | ||||||||||
| Do you support requiring paid police details at construction sites? | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Would you allow corporate sponsorships to fund improvements in Boston Common? | – | – | – |
As you can see, the majority of the candidates have refused to clash on current issues, which makes tonight that much more important for candidates looking to make a late run.
Joe Battenfeld, of the Boston Herald, noted that tonight’s televised debate is particularly important for Richie who “appears to be the mayor’s favorite.” Thus far, Richie has played it close to the vest. Whether or not she is able to take hold of a particular topic tonight will be something to monitor.
One area where Richie, and every candidate, will certainly touch on is the issue of casino development in Boston, most specifically the proposed plans for Wynn Resorts in Everett and Caesar’s at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
Walczak and Charles L. Clemons Jr. are the only candidates openly against a Boston area casino. Richie, along with Walsh, Ross, Arroyo, Consalvo, John Barros, have stated that they are in favor of a casino. The favorite, John Connolly, remains undecided.
Conley, also undecided regarding a local casino, has still managed to become a prominent voice on the issue. A staunch supporter of a citywide vote on the East Boston casino proposal, Conley has distanced himself from the mayoral favorites in this regard.
“Like the East Boston proposal, the Wynn proposal was voted . . . on in just one community,” Conley said at a City Hall Plaza press conference, “while residents and businesses from Charlestown to Somerville and beyond will bear its traffic, economic, and social burdens but receive none of the proposed benefits.”
Conley’s stance has drawn criticism from other candidates, but, with Connolly, Walsh, Ross, Consalvo and Arroyo against a citywide vote, he has uniquely positioned himself in the race. With his open advocacy for the development of East Boston, it doesn’t appear likely that Conley would outright oppose a Suffolk Downs casino.
Walczak, in addition to supporting a citywide vote, remains one of only two candidates (Clemons Jr.) publicly not in favor of a casino in Boston.
When the candidates aren’t flexing their muscle on the topic of a Boston casino, expect them to answer questions and probe one another on Boston Public Schools and city jobs development.
The needle hasn’t moved as far as frontrunners are concerned in some time. This might be the biggest opportunity for middle-of-the-pack candidates to gain some momentum — or else risk falling into obscurity altogether.
