RAINS DOWN ON CITY HALL
Pundits downplay hit on mayor’s future ‘Won’t make a difference’
In the political arena, Martin Walsh may escape any serious harm after two top aides were found guilty of conspiracy — especially since Boston is a union town, pundits say.
“It should be a problem for him because he was so closely associated with these convicted people,” said David Tuerck, executive director of The Beacon Hill Institute. “But the fact it’s a very strong union town will probably mean that it won’t make a whole lot of difference to his re-electability.”
Ex-city tourism chief Kenneth Brissette and Timothy Sullivan, the former head of intergovernmental relations, pressured Crash Line Productions into hiring unneeded union labor for a September 2014 concert at City Hall Plaza. A jury found both men guilty of conspiracy, and Brissette also of extortion. The two resigned following their verdicts.
Walsh’s deep union ties crept into the trial — with Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Kaplan arguing that Brissette and Sullivan were paying back a union that supported their boss.
Tuerck said Walsh “created an environment in which this sort of thing could happen, he bears responsibility for that” but added, “It’s unlikely in my judgment that he will pay any kind of penalty.”
Democratic strategist Dan Payne said the trial’s result is “not good” for Walsh, but he doesn’t see it having a major effect on the mayor’s political future.
“Mayors always have people trying to help them on the edges, and I think these characters — whatever they thought they were doing — it didn’t work and it became an embarrassment to the Walsh administration,” Payne said. “I’d say it’ll have a tiny effect. It’s one of those things if it happens again, it becomes more of a problem.”
Payne and Tuerck said the guilty verdicts against Walsh’s men likely won’t be enough fodder for those looking to go against the mayor in his next election.
Walsh said in a statement Wednesday, “I have made clear from the beginning that there is only one way to do things in my administration and that is the right way. I have always believed that their hearts were in the right place.”
Scott Ferson, another Democratic strategist, said Walsh is “a stand-up guy, and I think that’s part of his brand and I think he’s demonstrated that.”
“For elected officials, there are speed bumps and there are full stops. I think for the mayor, in both his standing and his prospects, this is a speed bump,” Ferson said.