Charting a New Course for Boston
By At-Large City Councilor and candidate for Mayor, Michael F. Flaherty

Open your doors and roll out the red carpet. That’s what the Fenway neighborhood does every year for the millions of people traveling from all over the world to visit one of your academic institutions, museums, gardens, restaurants, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and of course, Fenway Park. All of your neighborhood attractions serve as important contributors to the entire city’s economy and cultural diversity. And yet, I’m not sure we’ve always rolled out the red carpet to you. I’m not convinced we’ve genuinely opened the doors of government to you in the way I know we can. In the way that is required to make our city more inclusive and responsive to your needs and priorities, whether it be a mounted police unit, an empowered health center or more quality public school choices. This September and November, I hope Fenway residents will trust me to re-open the doors of City Hall and usher in a new kind of Mayoral leadership that capitalizes on the strengths of each of our neighborhoods and redefines city government’s capabilities.

For almost two years, I have sat at the kitchen tables of resident families, activists, business CEOs, clergy, young entrepreneurs and experienced educators. While each of these conversations has generated a variety of opinions, they generally have reached the same conclusions: Boston lacks the leadership required for survival – and prosperity – in the twenty-first century. We approach today’s problems with yesterday’s solutions and we lack the foresight, vision and energy we need to remain global leaders in innovation, public education and economic development. The current administration’s lackluster approach to city government has resulted in a chronically underperforming public school system, a mismanaged city budget, and unaccountable city services and departments. Equally regrettable, residents have lost faith in their government, a loss I take personally as I have served many years in the public sector trying to better the only city that I have ever called home.

I began my career in public office as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County during the 1990s when our city’s crime-fighting strategies garnered national acclaim. Under Ralph Martin’s leadership, I learned a tremendous amount about our legal system, which afforded me a unique perspective to combat crime as a City Councilor.

And in my prosecuting role, I also learned a painful amount about our broken public schools systems, and how they have failed so many kids who turned to crime because they didn’t have the support they needed to make better decisions, both in the classrooms and on the streets. These were the learning experiences that compelled me to continue my role as a public servant for Boston and run for City Council in 1995. I actually lost that race. And I lost a race the next year when I ran for State Senate. Nevertheless, I remained a student of Boston, intent on learning what residents wanted from their local leaders.

I will never forget the day in 1999 when my commitment to understanding resident issues paid off and I won an At-Large seat on the City Council. More importantly, I will never forget my previous defeats, as they remind me daily that we must work tirelessly to earn the trust and respect of voters in order to earn the right to lead.

The last eight years on the Council have given me a front-seat view of the dysfunctions and shortcomings of this administration. While many of the observations I have made as a Councilor have been disappointing, they have also served as a challenge to me to take on a larger role to make Boston work for all of today’s residents and businesses, as well as any prospective residents and businesses.

Sometimes, incumbents have genuinely not served long enough to affect positive change. However, this Mayor has had sixteen years to bring real reform to our public schools, tackle youth and gang violence and create an accountable, transparent, and efficient city government. I stepped into the race for Mayor because I believe if we haven’t seen growth in these areas in the last sixteen years, we will be hard-pressed to see such achievement in the next four years. As a lifelong Boston resident, parent and elected official, I believe we must view this Mayoral race as an important opportunity to chart a new course for Boston that is led by a new Mayor.

By many accounts, Boston has not failed me. However, it has failed many others and I intend to reverse that trend as your next Mayor. I cannot get their without your help. I need your ideas, your support and your guidance to ensure victory for Boston. Join me now so that together we can lead this great city forward in November. I ask you for your vote September 22, 2009.