Campaigning on fiscal reality – that would be a first
Since we are deep into the era of “firsts,” here’s another one.
Should Michelle Wu become the first woman and first Asian elected mayor of Boston in November, she would be the first non-Boston-born mayor in almost 100 years.
Not only that, when she topped the ticket in last week’s mayoral primary, she beat out four other candidates all of whom were not only born in Boston, but were raised in the city as well.
Wu, 36, a four-term progressive member of the Boston City Council, was born in Chicago to Taiwanese parents and went to early school there.
She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and began her political career working for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, her mentor. Wu was a law student of Warren’s and worked on Warren’s successful 2012 Senate campaign against GOP Sen. Scott Brown.
Wu now faces Bostonborn Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George 48, a moderate, in the November election. George is of Polish and Tunisian descent. She attended Boston schools, Boston University and has a master’s degree in education from UMass/Boston. She was a school teacher before entering politics.
While George is a friend and ally of former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, now Secretary of Labor, Walsh has not involved himself in the campaign. George does have the endorsement of former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross.
For the record, though, the last mayor of Boston who was born elsewhere was Malcolm Nichols, a Republican. Although he was born in Maine, he carved out an interesting political career for himself in Boston.
After serving one term in the state House of Representatives and another in the state Senate, he was elected mayor in 1926. Four years later, however, he was defeated for re-election by James Michael Curley.
Nichols ran again for mayor on two occasions, but was defeated. He died in 1951.
Although the birthplace of a candidate in these diverse times is of little relevance, what is interesting is that Nichols began his career as a State House reporter for the Boston Traveler.
The Traveler, now long gone, gave me my first Boston newspaper job as — you guessed it — a State House reporter.
That aside, while Wu, who easily topped the ticket in the primary, is considered the November favorite over George, she will face serious challenges over her progressive stand on the issues. So look for her to move to the middle..
One potential campaign pothole is her position on the Boston Police Department.
While both candidates want to “reform” the police, Wu’s proposals are more drastic, including cutting the police budget. She has, for instance, proposed diverting cops from traffic stop duty and replacing them with unarmed civilians.
Wu would also divert 911 calls over mental health, drug, homelessness and drug abuse issues from the police to social workers.
George, with Gross as a police adviser, is opposed to cutting the police budget. She also has called for the hiring of some 300 more cops with an emphasis on more community policing.
Another key issue is the MBTA and the call for ”free” T service by eliminating fares. Wu believes that “public transit would be a public good, just like libraries and parks.”
George, taking a more moderate approach, has supported existing programs for free or reduced fares for targeted groups, like essential workers, students and seniors.
A fare-free MBTA makes for good copy, even though nothing in life is free. It may be free for thee, but not for me. In the end someone else pays. Somebody always pays.
And the talk of a free T ride could not come at a worse time, especially for Wu. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation in a report found that the ailing transit agency is headed for a $400 million budget shortfall as ridership has all but disappeared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news comes as onetime federal funds dry up and there is no expectation that commuters who have abandoned the transit system will return once the pandemic has subsided.
Not only will daily operations be affected — unless new revenue is forthcoming — but long-term projects like East-West high speed rail or the expansion of South Station will be impacted, including “free” fares.
“The trend is unequivocal and unsettling,” the fiscal watchdog organization said. “This is a fiscal calamity.”
Who will be the “first” to campaign on that?