In a nice piece of work by Yawu Miller, the Bay State Banner weighs the joint, kind of, candidacy of Councilors Michael Faherty and Sam Yoon in efforts to defeat Mayor Tom Menino next month. It's another case of mene mene tekel upharsin, as you surely are wont to chant. The article weighs them and finds them wanting.
The short of it is that while the closest Menino comes to being of color is his ruddiness, Latino and African-American like him (to the tune of 65% of the vote). Flaherty took some unpopular stances with those constituents, such as wanting to end school busing until he recently changed his mind. However, the advantage goes to the Da Mare for simpler reasons.
Many voters of color see him as having been there for them, literally as well as figuratively. As the article cites sometimes Menino critic Councilor Chuck Turner:
According to City Councilor Chuck Turner, Menino has earned black support by maintaining a strong presence in the community.
“I just saw him this morning at a groundbreaking in Dudley Square,” Turner noted. “He spends a lot of time in the district. I think the Menino administration has made as great, if not greater, investment in the Greater Roxbury area than any previous administration.”
Obviously Flaherty and Yoon can't overtake years of presence in the next month. Individually, they have strong support in Flaherty's Southie and similar areas, as well as among progressives who like Yoon. In the final weeks before Nov. 3rd, we'll have to see if they can or even try to make major advances in Menino's base.
Tags: massmarrier, Boston, Flaherty, mayor, Yoon, Bay State Banner, Menino
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