There’s nothing extra perilous in politics than defeated lame-duck elected officers with nothing to lose – and that’s what Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is going through proper now.
Two Boston metropolis councilors bounced by voters within the preliminary election – and one who’s about to go away on his personal – are selfishly making an attempt to torpedo Wu’s plan to wash up Mass and Cass.
Scandal-scarred Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who Wu snubbed in the course of the election, appears particularly bent on getting revenge on the mayor who endorsed his opponent within the preliminary.
Defeated Councilor Kendra Lara, who misplaced her job due to slamming her automobile right into a home whereas driving an unregistered car with no license, can also be opposing Wu’s Mass and Cass ordinance, calling it a “drastic” answer.
It’s not drastic. No one will likely be thrown onto the road. People at Mass and Cass can be supplied shelter and transportation in addition to a spot to retailer their belongings earlier than their camps can be eliminated. And it’s not likely new as a result of the town already has taken down a few of the encampments, solely to have them shortly spring up once more.
Wu’s ordinance additionally would permit police to handle the violence and crime which have plagued the South End neighborhood, which is close to Boston Medical Center.
The mayor’s plan is probably not good however at the very least it’s an try and clear away the drug and crime-riddled encampments on the notorious intersection of the state’s homeless and substance use disaster.
Arroyo already delayed Wu’s plan by ready till this week to carry a listening to, and at a nine-hour assembly this week made clear he wouldn’t vote for it.
At the listening to, Arroyo handled Police Commissioner Michael Cox rudely, reducing him off and dismissing his testimony. The far left councilor questioned whether or not Wu’s order was authorized and referred to as it a “return to bad policy” that hasn’t labored in different cities.
“Nobody has produced any evidence that this has worked anywhere,” Arroyo stated.
Besides progressives like Arroyo and Lara, even councilors on the opposite facet of the political spectrum wouldn’t again Wu.
Conservative Councilor Frank Baker, who will even be leaving in just a few months, accused Wu of making an attempt to “spread blame” on the council for the Mass and Cass issues.
“If my voice were listened to in this conversation, I wouldn’t mind taking some of the blame, but my voice isn’t being listened to,” he stated.
Other councilors stated they didn’t assume Wu’s ordinance was crucial as a result of the town already has energy to clear the tents.
The solely ones supporting Wu’s ordinance seemed to be President Ed Flynn and Councilors Ruthzee Louijeune and Sharon Durkan. Louijeune is a frontrunner to turn out to be the following council president and doesn’t need to alienate herself from Wu.
This isn’t the primary time the dysfunctional and embarrassing council has tried to say itself and push again in opposition to Wu. Councilors tangled with Wu over the town finances and tried to chop again police additional time earlier than Wu needed to veto it.
Now the Mass and Cass ordinance appears useless on arrival because of self-serving councilors nonetheless stinging from their election losses.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”