Janey needs strong first impression as acting mayor
Acting Mayor-in waiting Kim Janey needs to move quickly to use her new powers this week, avoiding any missteps in what will be her first introduction to many Boston voters.
First impressions matter — and Janey will have a little more than five months before voters go to the polls to make a splash and solidify her historic standing as the city’s first nonwhite male chief executive in history.
After what must have seemed like an agonizing few months wait, Mayor Martin. Walsh is set to finally step aside this week to join the Biden administration after the Senate confirms him late today.
What she does with her powers as acting mayor in just a few short months will likely determine whether Janey can grab the full title of mayor later this year in an already-crowded race.
Janey needs to go beyond just making history — she has to show herself to be an inspiring and more than competent leader who can usher the city into a new era.
Janey curiously has not yet declared her intention to run for mayor in 2021 — perhaps because she doesn’t want her every move viewed as a campaign tactic.
But Janey has retained the services of veteran political consultant Doug Rubin, a clear indication of her intentions.
But the delay has allowed her potential opponents, including a powerhouse trio of city councilors — Michelle Wu, Andrea Campbell and Annissa EssaibiGeorge, to set the agenda in the early goings of the race.
Janey already has a huge advantage over the others — she will become the first mayor in the city’s history who is not white and is not male — though not the first elected one.
She will also have limited powers under the old city charter that could hamper her ability to forge a strong record of achievement.
But it’s still a position of power that will give her a huge leg up on her opponents if she decides to run for mayor this year.
Janey probably figures that as soon as she announces for mayor, she’ll be vulnerable to attack from her opponents.
Wu is already finding that out. During the St. Patrick’s Day roast on Sunday — an event that’s supposed to be light-hearted — Campbell took a snide shot at self-styled progressive Wu for her vote to make former Councilor
Bill Linehan president a few years ago.
“Because of course there’s nothing more progressive than electing another Irish man as council president,” Campbell said. “Michelle, I’m sorry but no amount of Irish Dunkin’ Donuts coffee is going to make folks forget that one.”
The full Senate vote on Walsh’s nomination planned for today is not expected to produce any surprises, although some Republicans will reject him. GOP leaders have worked to stall Biden’s Cabinet nominations for as long as possible and Walsh is the last secretary in line to be approved.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted last month to confirm Walsh by an 18-4 vote.