Finding common ground

There is no question that this has been an astonishingly good three years for Boston — with more to come. The sea of cranes and the sound of piledrivers in the Seaport District, Fenway and downtown are ample evidence of that.

So Mayor Marty Walsh had every right to take a well-deserved bow last night in his State of the City address. He has been a driving force behind an unprecedented level of development, including the kind — like GE’s new worldwide headquarters — that will mean good jobs and a civic presence that has already attracted more companies to take a look at — and take a chance on — doing business in Boston.

Note to Walsh’s would-be political opponents: All of that is a

good thing, not a bad thing. But Walsh, who spent years as a labor leader, realizes that leading a great city is, as he put it, about “more than new logos in the skyline.”

“Boston is a city for everyone,” he said. “Whatever your age, whatever your income, whatever your dream: you should be able to make a home here.”

Bringing jobs and affordable housing to neighborhoods which have not always shared in the city’s growth and prosperity were part of his commitment last night.

It is true that during his first years in office Walsh was too often distracted by the latest shiny object on the horizon — Boston 2024, the Indy Car disaster. But he has also proven to be a quick learner, realizing that sometimes running a city is about the basics — like a public school system good enough to keep young families in the city and able to produce students equal to the jobs being created all around them.

A $1 billion commitment to new and/or upgraded school buildings is now part of that.

“We need everyone to understand that better buildings and grade configurations means changing the status quo,” he noted last night. “We all need to trust in our shared values.”

Fights to save aging buildings and failed programs won’t accomplish that.

During a time of deep political divisions, Walsh made a strong case for finding common ground “to stand on — and to build on.” He’s right about that — and that he can’t do alone.