As Mayor Thomas Menino prepares for life after the throne, his crown could become somewhat tarnished as the piñata that is the Boston Redevelopment Authority continues to take a near-daily […]
Municipal Government
Posted inPolitics
Asians do better than their numbers would suggest
One minority group that seems to be moving assertively into Greater Boston’s power structure is Asians. They are making stronger inroads in the workplace than blacks and Hispanics, who outnumber […]
Posted inPolitics
The numbers for the state, Boston show improvement
The minority hiring records of the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston are both relatively good, a sharp contrast to most companies in the private sector. State records […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
¡Arriba Lantigua!
“Who are you?” Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua is not happy to see a reporter in his downtown campaign headquarters, much less one who has dropped in unannounced and is busy […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Flood of Super PAC dollars the new normal
Boston’s mayoral race closes today with a fire hose of outside super PAC money dousing the city. It’s an unprecedented shift for municipal politics in the city. But it’s not […]
Posted inPolitics
MAYOR MATTERS: Fair play
First in a series In the Summer issue of CommonWealth, with the Boston mayor’s race gearing up, James Aloisi suggested that Boston faced a “surfeit of candidates and a dearth […]
Posted inPolitics
Playing the union card
Marty Walsh’s union background is his great curse and his blessing. It helped him assemble an army of campaign volunteers who helped propel him to a first-place finish in last […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Beacon Hill blues
A labor arbitrator defined Boston’s mayoral race before either candidate hoping to succeed Tom Menino had a chance to do so. The 25-percent raise for the police patrolmen’s union, now […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
Former Medfield hospital cleanup sets precedent
A settlement to clean up a former Medfield State Hospital landfill will prod state agencies to give more careful review to remediating environmentally sensitive Commonwealth-owned sites, especially ones near rivers […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
No new fees, taxes for convention buildout
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEWithout increases in fees or taxes or additional state funding, operators of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, already the largest building in New England, plan to […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
To be or not to BRA: Is that the question?
During the mayoral primary, the future of the Boston Redevelopment Authority emerged as a hot topic, and rightly so, as the BRA touches on our lives in so many ways. […]
Posted inPolitics
The face behind the badge
Dan Conley is working the sidelines at the Bromley-Heath basketball courts on a hot Saturday afternoon. The idea behind the annual basketball tournament taking place is to let teens at […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Healthy attitude
In the crowded race for mayor in Boston, where candidates have struggled to distinguish themselves from the pack, Bill Walczak finds himself in an unusual position. He has stood alone […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
No letting up
Go ahead, try to hide behind your sunglasses. Stare down at the sidewalk — no, better, stare right through the concrete on the ground. Walk as quickly as possible. Discover […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Motor City breakdown
“I’d blow up the place and start all over.” That was the quip from Boston Mayor Tom Menino about Detroit that has caused such a stir. Menino’s comment, which appeared […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Vote hunting
Boston is full of places where Mike Ross can expect to run into Charles Yancey. Like the City Council chambers where they both work, or a political fundraiser, or one […]
Posted inPolitics
A gay-friendly field
If the goal was to draw out differences among candidates for mayor on issues of concern to the gay community, last week’s forum sponsored by the Dorchester gay political group […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
In mayor’s race, out of town cash is king
An unusually crowded race for mayor of Boston is forcing candidates to look outside the city for campaign cash. Candidates in the wide-open, 12-person mayoral field are tapping into suburban […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Elections highlight shifts in Boston voting
In the spring issue of CommonWealth, we wrote about the shifts occurring in the distribution of votes in Boston, highlighting the big increase in votes coming from downtown and other […]
Posted inPolitics
Barrier-breaking candidate of status quo
There was excitement in the air last Wednesday night as Charlotte Golar Richie addressed several hundred supporters gathered at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury. But the charge in the room certainly […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Mondays with Marty
The winning path in Boston’s 12-way scramble for mayor travels first through a candidate’s core base of supporters, but has to branch out from there to less familiar terrain. Which […]
Posted inPolitics
We’re not missing this one
THE LAST TIME Boston had a race for mayor without an incumbent was 1993, three years before CommonWealth came into existence. We missed that race, but we aren’t going to […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Managing innovation
You’re the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Innovation District manager. What does that mean? The Innovation District lives in between planning and economic development. It’s really meant to be an urban lab […]
Posted inPolitics
The new campaign
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DEREK KOUYOUMJIAN JOYCE LINEHAN HAS the most famous living room in Massachusetts politics. It used to be that Linehan’s Dorchester house drew its fame as a crash pad […]