Commish faces headwinds
Obstacles in mayor race may be too much for Gross
Police Commissioner William Gross would face formidable challenges if he runs for Boston mayor, testing anti-police sentiment that could prevent him from winning progressive votes.
Gross has said he’s been approached by unnamed people and is seriously considering a run but he doesn’t sound like he’s there yet.
“Whether it’s me or not, we need to work on healing this city,” Gross said.
Though the popular Gross sounds like a good candidate on paper — vying to become the first black mayor in the city’s history — this would clearly be no cakewalk.
His police record will be heavily scrutinized, dating back decades. Every police misconduct case that he may have had jurisdiction over will be reviewed. His decision to meet with Attorney General William Barr, which drew outrage, may be a nonstarter for many progressive voters.
Gross, if he runs, will be bucking history. No Boston police commissioner has ever made the leap into the mayor’s office. The last one who tried was the late Francis “Mickey” Roache, who ran in 1993 and received just 3% of the vote. Two years later Roache did win a seat on the city council.
But there are major reasons why the city’s top cop doesn’t make for an ideal mayoral candidate, especially in a year when police protests and reform bills have dominated the political landscape.
Law enforcement bias. Gross will face a huge obstacle in convincing voters who don’t want a law and order mayor that they should support him. Especially in these times when it’s fashionable to be anti-police, especially among liberals.
Fundraising. Gross will start completely from scratch, unlike his opponents who have been raising money for months. He may be able to raise some money from police officers and unions but that won’t be enough to close the gap.
Gender. Gross is not a woman so he’d lose out on that historic story line to his other competitors like Wu, Andrea Campbell and Kim Janey.
Dual jobs. How can Gross expect to hold down his police commissioner post and run a campaign full-time for mayor? Gross may need to resign or take a leave of absence if he runs, which means he would lose a big platform.
Single issue candidate. Gross would be viewed as the law and order or police official candidate but what about all the other issues that face a mayor, like affordable housing and health care? Gross is a novice when it comes to those issues and would have a tough time convincing voters he’s not just a single issue candidate.
Fire in the belly. Does Gross really have what it takes to take the leap from being a police official to a full-time politician? It takes a certain type of personality and ego to run for office, and it’s unclear whether Gross has that.
Too moderate. Will Gross be able to pass all the liberal litmus tests that face candidates for office now? Probably not. For instance, where does he stand on reproductive rights? Or single payer health care?
Say hello to your mother. Gross reportedly is waiting to get clearance from his mother before he runs. That’s usually never a good sign.