Janey misses Medal of Honor event
Absent from reception named after her position
The “Mayor’s Welcome Reception” kicking off the prestigious Medal of Honor Convention in Boston went off smoothly — albeit without the mayor actually being there, frustrating some veterans.
Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s office confirmed she didn’t attend the reception named after her position Tuesday night, saying she at no point had been expecting or expected to go.
“Mayor Janey was honored to deliver a speech at the Medal of Honor public gathering on March 25, but was not scheduled to be part of last night’s private event,” a Janey spokeswoman said. The city said — and a veterans’ source confirmed — that Janey sent Veterans Affairs Commissioner Rob Santiago in her stead, who gave a proclamation and told those in attendance that the mayor wished she could have made it.
But just a few hours before the 6 p.m. reception at the Seaport Hotel, the Medal of Honor Society tweeted, “Today, the Medal of Honor Recipients will be welcomed into the @cityofboston by @MayorKimJaney with a special reception to kick off our annual Medal of Honor Convention.”
The fact that the mayor didn’t show at the Mayor’s Welcome Reception “was disappointing and embarrassing for the city,” one veteran source told the Herald the next day after the event, which ran until 9 p.m.
Just before 7 p.m., as the event continued, Janey’s mayoral campaign tweeted out photos of the acting mayor glad-handing grocery shoppers around the Roche Brothers supermarket in West Roxbury. “I loved connecting with voters in #WestRoxbury today with Maura Hennigan! We’re on Day 3 of Early Voting — no need to wait, cast your ballot early!” the account tweeted.
The preliminary election in the mayoral race is this coming Tuesday.
After her staff knew what questions were coming after an unrelated event on Wednesday, Janey quickly split, ignoring reporters as she hopped into her city SUV and drove away. Her campaign didn’t respond to a request about whether she was campaigning during the event Tuesday night.
The Medal of Honor Convention has come to Boston now four times, more than to any other city. The first time it came here was October 2001, just after the Sept. 11 attacks, and this time events are scheduled to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the bombings. The convention includes ceremonies honoring fallen soldiers and granting awards to brave civilians.
Asked about the Medal of Honor event, City Councilor Ed Flynn, a Navy veteran who was in attendance, said, “The Medal of Honor recipients are true American heroes and it’s an honor for our city to once again welcome and host this exceptional group.”