Biden taps Walsh for key task
N.H. jobs panel could forecast Cabinet role
Joe Biden’s campaign is tapping longtime pal Boston Mayor Martin Walsh to lead an economic roundtable with New Hampshire business owners, fueling speculation he’s in the mix for a potential Cabinet post.
“The mayor would be an excellent pick for President Biden’s Cabinet,” Democratic strategist Scott Ferson said. “He’s been a legislator, he’s been a chief executive, he’s a laborer, he fits kind of a Biden profile.”
Walsh will host a group of Granite State leaders and small business owners at noon Friday to talk about the first plank of the presumptive Democratic nominee’s “Build Back Better” economic plan, “Made in America,” which would grow domestic manufacturing to create millions of new jobs.
The discussion “will focus on Biden’s efforts to rebuild and grow the manufacturing industry in the Granite State and across the nation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic,” according to a Biden campaign press release.
Walsh sat out both the New Hampshire and Massachusetts presidential primaries, endorsing neither the old friend who spoke at his second inaugural in 2018 nor his state’s senior U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. He did host Biden in June 2019 to talk climate resiliency and tour Martin’s Park in the Seaport.
Mobilizing Walsh, a longtime union boss, comes as the Biden campaign works to challenge President Trump on his strongest issue with pandemic restrictions leaving the economy in tatters.
It also renews buzz that Walsh could be up for a Cabinet post should Biden win in November.
Mike McCormack, a former Boston city councilor who’s now a consultant in the city, said the idea of Walsh in Washington — mostly likely as secretary of labor — is a “distinct possibility” and one he continues to hear rumblings about.
“Eight years is a long time as mayor — you just get tired of it,” McCormack said. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the mayor would be looking for an exit strategy.”
Walsh said through his campaign Thursday, “The only job I’m focused on is leading this city, and the best way I can deliver for Boston is by doing everything I can to get Vice President Biden elected in 2020.”
The mayor is now 2K years into his second term as Boston’s chief executive. He’s expected to face competition — most likely from City Councilors Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell — for a potential third term in 2021.
Walsh hasn’t yet committed to running again, but he retains a massive war chest and would be in a strong position if he does.
“That’s a decision he’ll make down the road,” said Michael Goldman, who consulted for Walsh’s 2013 campaign. “But I don’t have any reason to believe that he has any interest in anything other than being mayor of Boston.”