Just prior to being officially sworn in as Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh‘s camp opened the administrative flood gates by announcing a number of personnel changes for when he assumes office. A stream of more announcements are expected, too, just after Walsh’s inauguration Monday, one in particular that he’ll be selecting state Representative Eugene O’Flaherty (D-Chelsea) as his Chief Legal Counsel.
O’Flaherty is a polarizing figure on the stage Bay State politics, certainly having taken more conservative stances on issues ranging from drunk driving accountability to same-sex marriages. But he’s a friend to Mayor Walsh, having joined the Beacon Hill ranks in the same year.
Though there’s been no hard confirmation of O’Flaherty’s appointment from Mayor Walsh’s headquarters, the longtime Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary is thought to bring balance to the leftward leaning Walsh regime while professing to Boston’s new Mayor friendly advice on subjects abound.
BostInno recently spoke with Peter Ubertaccio – Director of Joseph Martin Institute for Law & Society at Stonehill College, Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science & International Studies – on what additional dimension O’Flaherty brings to the Walsh administration who noted, “The Mayor wants to have a balance between new appointees and people with whom he has longevity.”
And longevity they share. The Boston Globe recently noted that besides sharing a Beacon Hill chamber, they forged a bond by both being ” the son of Irish immigrants and like him [Walsh] on the losing side in two consecutive House leadership fights.”
They also share a relationship with a specific person crucial to both of them, though in entirely different means. Lorrie Higgins, Mayor Walsh’s longtime partner also served as a legislative aide to O’Flaherty, as noted by MassLive.
Should the speculation of O’Flaherty’s appointment be true, continues Ubertaccio, “In O’Flaherty, the Mayor has a close ally and friend.”
They’re respective voting records indicate they’ll be able to consider both sides of an issue, and likely in a collaborative manner. Looking back, much of the way they voted is identical. On social issues, though, O’Flaherty is considered more conservative.
In 2007, the Massachusetts legislature signed a bill creating a 35-foot buffer zone around reproductive health care clinics with the idea of preventing any harassment from protestors towards women seeking abortions. Mayor Walsh voted in favor of the buffer while O’Flaherty staunchly voted against it. It was eventually passed and singed into law by Governor Deval Patrick.
But O’Flaherty may be more tolerant towards minority groups than many others expect. During Mayor Walsh’s campaign for City Hall, he strongly supported and was endorsed by the LGBTQ community, a sentiment he reinforced in his inauguraion speech. A currently-circulating article from the defunct Boston Phoenix from 2005 examines O’Flaherty in a less empathetic and more merciless light.
It notes that O’Flaherty was against same-sex marriage and more in favor of civil unions. But when it came to a 2007 Constitutional amendment to define marriage “as between one man and one woman,” O’Flaherty, like Mayor Walsh, helped to vote it down.
“Any administration is going to have a mix of new, fresh faces and close confidants of the Mayor,” Ubertaccio went on. “A city like Boston can attract national names for an incoming administration but a Mayor also needs old hand, those he knows and trusts.”
And with O’Flaherty, he’ll receive it. Not afraid to voice his own opinions and vote against the majority, Mayor Walsh knows he’ll be receiving the advice and consultation needed in his new position at the helm of The Hub.
