Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Like father, like son
Or, in Boston's case, is it "Like son, like father"? ... One of the reasons I've long admired Mayor Menino, despite all his flaws, is that he's avoided the taint of personal scandal over the years. Indeed there hasn't been many blockbuster City Hall corruption scandals in general since he took office. The use of city workers to renovate his and Jr.'s homes certainly doesn't rank high on the Blago Scale of Public Take-Your-Breath-Away Sleaziness. But it does, combined with the Dianne Wilkerson fiasco, suggest rot has set in at City Hall. City employees toiling away on public officials' homes is one of the oldest scandals in the book -- and Menino fell for it. He's lost his touch. He can yap all he wants about how he reimbursed them. But, c'mon, using city workers on home renovations, the same employees he bosses around on their day jobs, is a sure sign of a mayor morphing into an old-style city Boss. ...
Or, in Boston's case, is it "Like son, like father"? ... One of the reasons I've long admired Mayor Menino, despite all his flaws, is that he's avoided the taint of personal scandal over the years. Indeed there hasn't been many blockbuster City Hall corruption scandals in general since he took office. The use of city workers to renovate his and Jr.'s homes certainly doesn't rank high on the Blago Scale of Public Take-Your-Breath-Away Sleaziness. But it does, combined with the Dianne Wilkerson fiasco, suggest rot has set in at City Hall. City employees toiling away on public officials' homes is one of the oldest scandals in the book -- and Menino fell for it. He's lost his touch. He can yap all he wants about how he reimbursed them. But, c'mon, using city workers on home renovations, the same employees he bosses around on their day jobs, is a sure sign of a mayor morphing into an old-style city Boss. ...
