Many Brighton Elected Officials Oppose BC's Proposed Brighton Dorms

Boston College's just-released 10-year master plan continues to include a proposal to build undergraduate dormitories on their Brighton Campus, i.e., the former St. John's Seminary land purchased by BC in 2004-2007. One of the buildings has been moved a few hundred feet away, and the combined number of beds was reduced from 600 to 500, but the current proposal is mostly similar to that proposed earlier in the year.

Representative Michael Moran of Brighton expressed his opposition in July to Boston College's proposal:

"I am disappointed that Boston College went down this road, especially after they promised the community that they would not be putting any undergraduate dormitories on that side of Comm Ave. I think they should pull back and re-evaluate.

If they are hoping to gain community support for other things in their master plan, it will be very difficult to gain support for their many other projects if they started off with not telling the community the truth.

The notion of building UG dorms on this side of Comm Ave is something I do not support."

Representative Kevin Honan of Brighton also expressed his opposition to the dorms in a July phone conversation:

"I don't support that [undergraduate dorms] on the St. John's Seminary, no I don't support that.

An opportunity exists for BC to build more housing on their Chestnut Hill campus. There is no longer an opposition to them building dense[ly] on their Main Campus. The community feels that they would rather see BC build on their Main Campus. Use the land over at St. John's for administrative offices and academic purposes."

During the campaign for the District 9 City Council seat, Councilor-elect Mark Ciommo repeatedly expressed his opposition to the dorms.

Senator Steve Tolman, when asked Tuesday for his position on the Brighton Dorms, was more circumspect, saying that he has not yet formed an opinion. As for the master plan, in general, that BC just released, Senator Tolman said, "I think it's a good first step. They're doing it straight... I don't think there's any problem that can't be worked out."

Mayor Thomas Menino has not expressed an opinion on the Brighton Dorms proposal, but has historically favored increased on-campus housing for Boston's universities and colleges. Reverend William Leahy, S.J., President of Boston College, said that "the Mayor hasn't given his seal of approval on each individual proposal, but the [overall master plan] concept is favorable to him because he likes having students on campus..."

Outgoing Councilor-At-Large Felix Arroyo, and his replacement, Councilor-Elect John Connolly, both oppose the Brighton Dorms. Other Councilors-At-Large either did not respond to the questionnaire (Councilor Stephen Murphy) or did not give clear answers for or against the proposal (Councilors Sam Yoon and Michael Flaherty).

District 9 Crooner-Elect

Mark Ciommo, District 9 City Councilor-elect, was a no-show at the City Councilors (and candidates) talent show October 26th in Hyde Park.

Did he dodge the event because he can't carry a tune? One report from last night's tree lighting in Brighton Center said that he, in fact, has quite a voice when he's Christmas carroling. Rosie Hanlon, Executive Director of Brighton Main Streets (which sponsored the event), managed to get him up front of the crowd, but he apparently woudn't take the microphone to lead the singing. Maybe he's just shy. Next time: setup a shower curtain.

The City Council needs a crooner to replace outgoing Councilor-At-Large Felix Arroyo.

Bulk Mailing Permits: Not Much Evidence There

The Boston Herald has been focusing on the apparent link between Councilor-At-Large-elect John Connolly's campaign mailings and the anonymous attack mailings sent the week before the election that he has denied sending -- but which share the same bulk mailing permit number (out of North Reading) as at least some other bulk mailings sent by the Connolly campaign.

How unique is such a match for the bulk mailing permit?

I've been shoving some of the mailings I received during the campaign into a yellow envelope, so this gives me the opportunity to pull them out to inspect the bulk mailing permit numbers. I got two other packrats in town to help out. We all braved the silverfish while reporting for this story. The numbers in parentheses gives the number of unique mailings the three of us received from that candidate. (There might be some duplicates among us.)

#231 (No. Reading, MA or zipcode 01864): Alex Selvig (6); Mark Ciommo (1); Rosie Hanlon (2)
#315 (Brockton, MA): Greg Glennon (3)
#396 (Boston, MA): Steven Tolman/Kevin Honan/Michael Moran [not campaign literature] (1); Steve Murphy (1)
#755 (Boston, MA): Mark Ciommo (4)
#52955 (Boston, MA): Steve Murphy (4)
#54162 (Boston, MA): Tim Schofield (1); John Connolly (5)
#54302 (Boston, MA): Sam Yoon (1)

I'm not sure if permit #231 is the same one out of North Reading on the anonymous mailing the Herald referred to, but it looks like a reasonable inference.

Does the bulk mailing "evidence" mean that Selvig, Ciommo, and/or Hanlon are the real culprits who sent the anonymous mailing(s) with the North Reading bulk mailing permits? Or that the bulk mailing permit line of evidence just isn't a unique piece of evidence all by itself? I'll bet on the latter.

The Herald's linking of Connolly to the remaining anonymous mailings via the evidence of bulk mailing permit numbers is not a unique match: many mailings from various campaigns may use the same permit numbers. Instead, the Herald's reporting should be focusing on the other factors that they are really using to assess a possible link between Connolly and the mailings: motive, means, and opportunity. That's where the discussion should be focused.

Why Ciommo Won and Arroyo Lost in the 2007 Municipal Election

Just before the polls closed last Tuesday night, I posted my predictions for the City Council race. I was pretty much spot-on for the Allston-Brighton District 9 seat (albeit missing the turnout numbers by a lot), but got the wrong odd-man-out in the Councilor-At-Large seat. Here is some analysis of what I thought happened on election day.


Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor

I predicted that Mark Ciommo would beat Greg Glennon by at least 900 votes and by at least 57-43% (possibly as high as 60-40%). My prediction couldn't have been closer: Ciommo won by 948 votes by 59.8-39.8%. The full precinct results can be found here.

That said, I screwed up on two points -- one moderate mistake (Wallingford Road) and one a big mistake (voter turnout) -- which magically cancelled each other out to make it look like I hit the lottery.

Turnout. I guessed 6500 voters would turn out, which was at the low end of previous municipal elections. It was far worse at 4745, which was barely over the 4521 votes in the preliminary municipal election.

Why was I so wrong? Not because of the weather. I think that the rank-and-file voters got so little information from the mainstream media (Allston-Brighton TAB excepted), that there was little motivation to vote. I also heard from many voters in the preliminary election who were dissatisfied with the two choices in the final election; I suspect many of them just stayed home, unwilling to be forced to choose.


Wallingford Road. Glennon carried Ward 21, Precinct 13, full of elderly Russian Jewish voters at the Wallingford Road housing project, over Ciommo 303-142 in the preliminary election. I predicted that he would add to that lead by +200 votes, but the forces of arm-twisting pushed it the other way: Ciommo won 333-242, giving Ciommo a net +252 votes. I blew the vote difference by 452. Oops.

But this is a really, really big story in the neighborhood. Tim Schofield told host Joe Heisler on the Talk of the Neighborhood show that the Russians mostly listen to former State Representative Brian Golden and Mayor Menino; to that I add a likely third party, the Mark Alford-Pat Galvin-(and-his-brother) trifecta. Golden, Alford, and Pat Galvin all supported Glennon -- and Ciommo holds progressive social positions incompatible the conservative Russian voters, at least in the conventional wisdom -- so this means that the Mayoral power in A-B is now at the point that it trumps all else in specific cases of arm-twisting (like Wallingford in this election).

The other big feature of the Wallingford Road vote is that it actually didn't matter in the election. Ciommo could have won without a single vote from the Russians. In looking back on this year's election, the message we should all take away is that the Russian vote can impact a preliminary (or three-way) election in an important way by determining the second-place finisher, but their strength cannot dominate over the powerful base of a long-time resident.


Oak Square battleground. I predicted that several precincts in the Oak Square neighborhood would represent battlegrounds between the long-term Brighton residents (Ciommo's base) and socially conservative Irish Catholics (Golden's base, and hence Glennon's). Many people in the neighborhood have one foot firmly in each camp, so predicting how they would swing was the parlor game of the election.

Ciommo carried the combined Ward 22, Precincts 7, 11, and 13 in the preliminary, with Glennon and Schofield in a virtual tie for second. Schofield's voters generally swung heavily for Ciommo, regardless of his endorsement, but this was the one neighborhood where that pattern might have been broken.

In the final election, Ciommo won 22/7, 22/10, and 22/11 heavily, and barely nudged Glennon 102-98 in more conservative 22/13. I predicted, "if Ciommo carries 7, 10, and 11 with big margins, then it's lights out." That it was.

My model was that Schofield's supporters went 80-20% for Ciommo, Selvig's 65-35%, and Hanlon's 50-50%. Using that model on Ward 22, Precinct 7, for example, my prediction was Ciommo over Glennon by 137 to 61 votes; the actual result was 131-67, off by six, but within the margin of error of 14 votes (for 198 cast).


Ward 21 Progressive Precincts. I predicted that you should forget-about-it without a strongly identified progressive in the case (like Schofield). Ward 21, Precinct 8 actually doubled their turnout over the preliminary election -- from 1.6 to 3.2%. In the end, the progressive precincts still didn't show up.


Summary. The bosses of Ward 22 were able to get Councilor Jerry McDermott elected in 2002 (he is the cousin to the Galvins, after all), even though McDermott claimed after the election that he was not the Mayor's candidate. (Ciommo told me earlier in the year that he disputes that characterization of the 2002 race, however, since the Mayor did not formally endorse a candidate.) In 2007, however, the Ward 22 bosses no longer appear to be able to throw an Allston-Brighton election to their favorite candidate -- although they can get him a second-place finish and into the finals.

Councilor-elect Ciommo enjoyed powerful support from middle-aged men who chose to stay in Brighton to raise their families here. He won out over the younger, more transient constituencies -- like former Representative Golden and lame duck Councilor McDermott -- who leave town with their young families.

Long-time Brighton residents and the Mayor's influence ended up winning over the ward bosses and families in transition through the neighborhood.


Boston City Councilor-At-Large Race

While many in the city thought that the race for the fourth seat among the Boston City Councilors-At-Large was between Councilor Stephen Murphy and challenger John Connolly, there were many soothsayers predicting Councilor Felix Arroyo to be the odd man out.

I called the race a toss-up until the last moment, when I thought that Connolly's strategic blunder of sending out the anonymous attack mailings would cost him enough votes to lose out on fourth place. I was obviously wrong, and the Arroyo predictions were right.

Why did Arroyo lose? The pundits have rained in with some pretty convincing reasons: low voter turnout working against minority candidates; Arroyo raised little money, while Connolly raised around ten times as much; Arroyo didn't campaign very hard or send out many mailings, while Connolly campaigned like crazy (and sent out quite a few flyers!); Arroyo's record on attendance at City Council meetings and hearings; etc. None of the reasons seems enough by itself, but, taken together, they seem plenty to explain why he got around 15% fewer votes than Connolly.

This year's City Council election is an important one for data mining purposes in the future, because it shows clearly how low voter turnout impacts voting from ward-to-ward. Connolly's West Roxbury Ward 20, for example, voted disproportionately higher than the rest of the city.


The election numbers, plus analysis on a ward-by-ward basis, for the Councilor-At-Large race can be found at Matt O'Malley's website.  He ran, albeit unsuccessfully, in 2005 for Councilor-at-Large, so he knows the ins and outs of all the different neighborhoods and their voting trends.

Precinct Results in the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council Election November 6, 2007

Ward	Precinct	Greg Glennon	Mark Ciommo
21	3	9	24
21	4	16	28
21	5	16	27
21	6	35	120
21	7	18	38
21	8	16	30
21	9	43	64
21	10	59	103
21	11	51	54
21	12	125	146
21	13	241	333
21	14	20	18
21	15	12	32
21	16	120	55
22	1	126	206
22	2	99	150
22	3	86	169
22	4	114	118
22	5	64	58
22	6	46	90
22	7	67	131
22	8	106	136
22	9	79	92
22	10	74	211
22	11	48	153
22	12	101	149
22	13	98	102
Total	...	1889	2837

EDIT: Note that the results published in the Allston-Brighton TAB for Ward 21, Precinct 16 (Glennon 55, Ciommo 0) are incorrect.

EDIT (11/12/07): The TAB has fixed those errors online.

Predictions for the Boston City Council Election

These predictions are being submitted at the close of the polls on Tuesday, November 6th. If I'm totally off-mark, then please take every opportunity to laugh at me without end.

Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor

Mark Ciommo will carry the election in what approaches a landslide, predicted at 57-43% -- but possibly as high as 60%-40% -- and a difference of at least 900 votes.

Turnout. With lots of rain forecast and a city-wide (non-Mayoral) City Councilor-At-Large race with only one strong challenger, the turnout will be lower than expected, probably close to 6500 votes in Allston-Brighton. Those 2000 votes of people who didn't show up for the preliminary election are Glennon's best -- and only -- chance to pull out a win today.

Russian Jewish elderly vote. They vote in large numbers in preliminary and primary elections, which means that there's not a lot of room to grow into the final or general election. Glennon picked up 302 votes in Ward 21, Precinct 13 to Ciommo's 142. Look for, at most, 200 more votes among these Wallingford Road -- and that the forces of darkness will twist both Ukrainian arms to turn it into a true voting bloc. Probably another 50-100 votes in the less-Russian, but still elderly, Precinct 12. Glennon +200 votes relative to Ciommo.

Who will Schofield-Hanlon-Selvig supporters vote for? In the preliminary municipal election on September 25th that saw 4500 total votes cast, Tim Schofield took third with 965 votes, Rosie Hanlon fourth with 576 votes, Alex Selvig fifth with 293 votes, and James Jenner sixth with 28 votes. That comes to 1862 votes up-for-grabs, or 41% of the overall vote. On September 26th, all these voters were looking hard at Ciommo and Glennon to figure out who to vote for.

All four candidates who finished out of the running have since endorsed Ciommo.

I haven't met a single Schofield supporter who admits to now being a Glennon supporter. There must be some, there really must be some... so I'll make a conservative estimate that Ciommo picks up Schofield's votes 80-20%.

Selvig supporters congregated around Boston College's new Brighton Campus area in Ward 22, Precinct 8 where Glennon supporters Patrick Galvin and Mark Alford are long-time and influential residents. The Selvig supporters I have spoken to, however, are breaking Ciommo, so I'll put it at 65-35%.

Hanlon supporters come from all over the district and have a variety of constituencies: business owners, long-time residents, more conservative Irish Catholics, etc. She took a long time to decide to support Ciommo, and I think her supporters will show similar difficulty choosing between the two: 50-50%.

What do these numbers mean? Ciommo picks up 1250 votes from the other candidates' supporters, while Glennon only picks up 600. Advantage Ciommo, +650. Big, big advantage which more than neutralizes Glennon's elderly pick-up.

Ward 21 progressive precincts. Forget-about-it.

Irish Catholic vote near Oak Square. Ciommo walloped Glennon in Ward 22, Precincts 7, 10, and 11, while Glennon tied him in 4 and 6. These precincts will be the bell-wether of the election: if Galvin, Alford, and former State Representative Brian Golden call up every single person they have ever remotely heard ever came within three miles of this neighborhood, then Glennon may get close here and make the race overall relatively close. But if Ciommo carries 7, 10, and 11 with big margins, then it's lights out. In one of Governor Patrick's casinos I would bet on the latter.

Other new voters in final election. This leaves 1600 new voters in the municipal election who didn't vote on September 25th. They haven't been following the race as closely, so they base their votes on the limited information coming from the mainstream media and other factors (like endorsements).

Glennon picked up the Boston Herald endorsement, but virtually nothing else aside from a former Mayor who lives elsewhere, a former State Representative who lives elsewhere, and the gentlemen of Lake Street.

Ciommo cleaned up on the endorsements, getting the Boston Globe and Allston-Brighton TAB, all the other (defeated) candidates, all the unions, and the only two local elected officials who made endorsements (current State Representative Michael Moran and current State Senator Steven Tolman).

Up until these last 1600 votes, Ciommo was winning 56-44%. Give Ciommo 60-40% among these final-election-only voters, which is Ciommo +300.

All told, that's Ciommo by 900 votes out of 6500 total votes cast, or 57-43%.


Boston City Councilor-At-Large

I don't pretend to understand the nitty-gritty voting patterns of the city-wide race. Let me say that again, so that you don't misunderstand.

I was quoted last week as saying that this race is too close to call. More specifically, Councilor Michael Flaherty will easily top the ticket again, as he did in 2005. Other than that, I believed it to be a toss-up between Councilors Felix Arroyo, Stephen Murphy, Sam Yoon, and challenger John Connolly.

The election-eve hijinks of Connolly with his campaign's anonymous mailing attacking Councilor Murphy threw a wrench into the machine. While I am active in the blogosphere -- and the blogosphere was totally abuzz with establishing the links between the mailing and Connolly, as well as expressing negative comments afterwards -- the web probably only could managed to move hundreds of votes, or maybe a thousand, from Connolly to Councilor Murphy. It could've been the margin in a very close race... but probably not enough.

Councilor Murphy's rapid response mailing, however, extended the reach of the escapade to people who had no idea that any of this had been going on all weekend. He'll get extra sympathy votes from all over town. On top of that, Connolly got the bad press of a story on the Boston Globe City/Region front page on election morning. Yuck.

A race that was too close to call isn't quite anymore. Connolly takes fifth place, again, by a few thousand votes. All the incumbents are re-elected. Matthew Geary gets a nice, but distant, sixth place: he showed far more understanding of local political issues than any other 22-year-old you could dream up.

Election Day and Night

Tuesday, November 6th is a municipal election in Boston. On the ballot for residents of Allston-Brighton: (1) District 9 City Councilor [open seat]; and (2) four City Councilors-At-Large.

Polls are open 7:00 am - 8:00 pm.

After the polls close, you can head over to the campaigns' after-election parties. The Ciommo campaign provided the location for their event, but the Glennon campaign did not respond to email or a ...  but, aha!, the TAB's blog has the information.

Mark Ciommo post-election party
Tuesday, November 6th
Starts around 8:15 pm
Corrib Pub, 396 Market Street, Brighton, MA 02135

Greg Glennon post-election party
Tuesday, November 6th
Start time:  ???
Cafe Brazil, 421 Cambridge Street, Allston, MA 02134



Voter Information Guide. In case you haven't seen all the Election 2007 related voter information, load the full website of the Brighton Centered Blog and look at the links at the right-hand-side of the page. Transcripts, audio recordings, questionnaires, interviews, campaign finance reports -- as well as analysis and critical commentary. There is literally no shortage of information about the candidates in this election.

League of Women Voters has a thorough guide detailing everything you need to know about voting.

Note:  if the precinct doesn't seem to have you on their list of registered voters, then request a provisional ballot.  If they won't give you a provisional ballot, then call the City of Boston Elections Department at 617-635-3767 and they will "gladly assist you."


Who to vote for? For the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council seat there are two final candidates: Mark Ciommo and Greg Glennon.

For Boston City Councilor-At-Large, you may vote for up to four candidates among: Felix Arroyo, John Connolly, William Estrada, Michael Flaherty, Matthew Geary, Martin Hogan, Stephen Murphy, David Wyatt, and Sam Yoon.


Where to vote? Just go to "Where Do I Vote (MA)?"

Note that a few A-B precincts have changed their poll locations. If you go to a polling place and your name is not on the list of registered voters -- but you believe that your registration may still be current -- then request a provisional ballot. You vote now, and then the elections officials will sort it all out later.


When to vote? Polls open 7:00 am -- 8:00 pm. Usually, voters who are in line by 8:00 pm are allowed to vote, no matter how long it takes to process through the queue.


Election Results? Probably at the City of Boston's Current Elections website.


How often to vote? Once per registered voter, please.

A-B TAB Package on A-B City Council Race

The Allston-Brighton TAB has published a nice package of information this week related to the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council race.

Candidate Profiles: Mark Ciommo, Greg Glennon
Questionnaire: Ciommo, Glennon
Campaign finances -- also see original stories at Brighton Centered and A-B Community Blog
Editorial Meeting with the Candidates: Public schools, institutional expansion, housing and taxes
Various people's endorsements (of Ciommo, not Glennon), Ward 21 committee (also see original story at Brighton Centered), and former opponents endorsements
Editorial Endorsement of Ciommo

The Allston-Brighton TAB compiled a comprehensive collection of information about the election that will help to inform Allston-Brighton voters of their choices. The TAB is to be commended on a job well-done!

A-B TAB Endorses Ciommo, Arroyo, Connolly, Flaherty, and Yoon for City Councilor

The Allston-Brighton TAB has endorsed Mark Ciommo for Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council. Their editorial page writes:

In the time we’ve been observing Ciommo, he’s shown himself to be a consistently reliable advocate for the people of Allston-Brighton. He’s regularly attended community meetings and, again in contrast to his opponent, never skipped a community debate. When local activists have asked candidates to fill out election-related questionnaires for publication on local blogs, Ciommo has always taken the time to answer them.

On the issues themselves, the TAB highlights Ciommo's stance on improving the Boston Public Schools through advocacy of the K-8 model, while contrasting it with opponent Greg Glennon's support for state-chartered schools and school vouchers.


In the Councilor-At-Large race, they picked "[Councilor] Michael Flaherty over [Councilor] Stephen Murphy, because we hear from him more – and that’s significant since all of the at-large incumbents could probably stand to pay a bit more attention to A-B than they do"; I have heard from a lot of people in the neighborhood who have the opposite view altogether.

Their other endorsements are for Councilors Felix Arroyo and Sam Yoon, for providing "a voice in government for people who might not otherwise have one," and challenger John Connolly, because he "would bring a fresh, new, intelligent perspective to the council" even though his positions on some of the issues "are different from those of some of the other candidates we’re endorsing."

Abortion, Gay Marriage, Glennon, and the Ambassador

Mark Ciommo, candidate for the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council seat, has been open on his positions on major social issues of the day. He is openly pro-choice and supports marriage equality, and wrote to me that he opposes the death penalty. Four of his opponents in the preliminary municipal election all openly answered questions on social issues, such as gay marriage, when asked.

Ciommo's opponent in the final municipal election, Greg Glennon, has, on the other hand, been remarkably quiet on these issues in this campaign. An audience question at the October 23rd debate asked him his personal position on abortion, and Glennon declined to answer the question. (Listen to the audio under "audience questions".) When given the same question, Ciommo instead chose to answer it (albeit in the fewest possible words)... and off we went to the next question.

Both Ciommo and Glennon expressed the opinion that these issues are not particularly relevant to the job of a City Councilor. But when asked if he thought these issues do matter to voters in the City Councilor election, Ciommo told me he thinks they might. "I think voters may consider these issues, however, I believe voters care most about having someone who has a record of service and experience and of proven results."

There is a clear disconnect between the two remaining candidates in their approach to addressing these major social issues of the day. It isn't really much about their particular stances on the issues -- although that does factor into the equation. Instead, their eagerness or unwillingness to address the issue with Allston-Brighton voters is the story.

Three particular points have been difficult for me to get my arms around in this election: (1) Where does Glennon stand on these social issues? (2) Does it matter to voters? and (3) Why won't he answer the same questions that other candidates will?


Where Does Glennon Stand on the Social Issues?

Where does Glennon actually stand on these social issues? Nearly everybody I have spoken to expresses certainty that Glennon opposes gay marriage and is pro-life. Is this accurate? I went to the public record to find out. (Glennon did not respond to the request to provide his positions on gay marriage and abortion for this article, or to describe how his position might have changed since 2005.)

Many stories in the last few years which have tried to categorize Glennon's political positions have called him "conservative." In general, however, the articles give no direct reference to a position paper or a quotation from Glennon himself. A simple example from the 2005 race for State Representative was in the Boston Globe's coverage (categorizing Glennon without quoting him):

Gregory Glennon... seems poised to make a play for more conservative voters who will respond to the anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage views he shares with Golden.

As best as I can tell, the paper-less trail seems to go back to one event in Brookline in 2005. Adam Reilly of the Boston Phoenix reported:

Greg Glennon, a former legislative aide to Golden, represents the district’s conservative constituency (Brighton is also home to the Boston archdiocese’s headquarters) and wears his views proudly. During a recent candidates’ debate in Brookline, Glennon declared himself pro-life and, after acknowledging that Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land, plugged "reasonable restrictions" on abortion rights (e.g., "informed consent" and parental-notification rules). He also denounced the Supreme Judicial Court’s Goodridge decision, which legalized gay marriage, as bad jurisprudence, and suggested that freewheeling popular debate on the subject would be healthy for Massachusetts...

Another media report I have found about the event, but which is not available online, was a column by Mark Trachtenberg in the now-defunct Allston-Brighton Bulletin:

Glennon knew he was walking on eggshells on the issue [of gay marriage] and his comments reflected it. He was the only candidate in the [2005 state representative race] field who opposed the Supreme Judicial Court decision legalizing gay marriage.

[Glennon said:] "I believe the voters deserve the chance to voice their position on the issue by way of the [state constitutional] amendment. I believe the amendment is a fair, thoughtful amendment that respects the concerns off those who believe that consensual adult relationships deserve legal recognition."

Trachtenberg's column continues on with the issue of abortion:

As a devout Catholic, Glennon disapproves off abortion but regards a woman's access to most reproductive health services as a matter of "settled law."

The qualification "most reproductive health services" is a hole wide enough to drive a truck through, but the "settled law" statement is also a strong respect for legal precedent.

In the October 15, 2007 candidates debate, Ciommo asked Glennon about whether or not evolution should be taught in the schools. According to two people in attendance, Glennon initially seemed ready to respond -- like he did to the aborion issue in the October 23rd debate -- that the social issue was not within the purview of a City Councilor, and so that he wouldn't answer it. But the attendees said that he appeared to change his mind early in the answer; Glennon then said that it was OK to teach evolution in the public schools. (Ciommo might be cut out for the job of journalist should the election not go his way: that was a clever question he wrote, designed to pull a candidate out of his shell. It succeeded.)

There we seem to have it. Glennon is quoted as personally opposed to abortion, considering it to be a matter of "settled law," but supporting "reasonable restrictions" on it. He disagrees with the SJC's decision on gay marriage, possibly on legal grounds (he is a lawyer, after all), but has not spoken on whether or not he personally supports gay marriage; instead, he wanted a popular referendum on a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage (a position also generally taken, it should be noted, by outspoken opponents of gay marriage).


Are These Major Social Issues Relevant to a City Councilor?

A Boston City Councilor has virtually no jurisdiction over any of these three issues -- abortion, gay marriage, or the death penalty -- so his position is unlikely to lead to changes in the law. There are three ways I can think of, however, in which the issues might impact voters.

First, the Boston Police Department has a significant influence over enforcement of laws related to abortion: anti-abortion protestors, such as those outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Commonwealth Avenue just outside the District 9 borders, could be impacted by either aggressive or lax enforcement of the law. Changes in state law are currently making their way through the legislature, which would increase the buffer zone from six to 35 feet and re-define where the buffer zone originates, make enforcement an issue that is likely to crop up within the next year or two. City Councilors do have influence over police enforcement issues.

Second, getting elected City Councilor could provide an "entry point" or springboard for a politician who eventually may seek a higher office where his views could actually create an impact. Elect someone now with whom you disagree on fundamental issues, and that person could be the next Congressman.

Third, while the Legislature voted this past year not to send a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the voters, they may vote yet again in the future to do so. If Governor Deval Patrick gets his casinos, then I would bet in one on such a referendum passing and reversing the SJC decision. The City could be in the position to re-consider providing domestic partner benefits to city employees, an issue on which a Councilor might vote.

Of these three arguments, the first one is current and relevant on Commonwealth Avenue -- just across the boundary of District 9. The second and third arguments are, admittedly, more and more of a stretch.

What do some voters think? One undecided voter recently told me that the "entry point" argument was relevant in choosing a candidate. Many other undecided voters -- supporters of Schofield, Selvig, and Hanlon -- have told me since the September 25th preliminary election that they are considering the candidates' positions on these social issues when deciding who to support for the November 6th municipal election, with abortion and gay marriage being the key two issues.

Should these social issues matter in a City Council election? Probably not. Are voters considering these issues in this election? It sure sounds like they are -- and Ciommo suspects as much. (Glennon did not respond to a request to comment on whether or not he thinks that voters are considering these issues in this election.)


Former Mayor Flynn Supports Glennon for City Council

Former Boston Mayor and former Ambassador to the Vatican Ray Flynn supported Glennon in the preliminary election with a $200 check; he was also seen on election day, September 25th, outside the Oak Square YMCA, a polling location, wearing a Glennon campaign button. Flynn is well-known for his strong advocacy of the pro-life position on abortion, particularly through the organizations Catholic Alliance, Your Catholic Voice, and Catholic Citizenship. Under a photo of Ambassador Flynn and Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Catholic Citizenship expresses its goal "to get to the point where all candidates are pro-life."

I asked Ambassador Flynn recently why he supported Glennon's candidacy for A-B District 9 City Councilor. The first reason, he said, was that former State Representative Brian Golden's office -- which included staffer Glennon -- was "one of the best state representatives for delivering constituent services," an important function which was "getting short-changed in an age of institutional expansion." The second reason was the friendship that Glennon had developed with the Ambassador's son, Ed Flynn, in recent years.

I asked Ambassador Flynn if Glennon's position on abortion factored in as a reason for his support based on the Ambassador's own well-known advocacy for right-to-life causes. He said that "there's not much a City Councilor can do on this issue." But then he added, "I admire [Glennon's] position on the respect for life."

While Ambassador Flynn's response indicates that the main reasons for his support of Glennon are a past record of delivery of constituent services and a personal relationship through his son, his answer nonetheless shows that he is aware of Glennon's stance on abortion and "admires" it.

Glennon may not have wanted to answer publicly the audience question on abortion during the October 23rd debate, but he appears to have answered the question privately with at least one of his prominent supporters.


Why Would Glennon Avoid These Social Issues?

The obvious question keeps coming back to me: Why is Glennon avoiding stating his position on these social issues while his opponent -- and all the other opponents in the preliminary election -- were perfectly happy providing their positions?

One conclusion: Glennon's perceives that his position on these issues is at odds with the bulk of the electorate in Allston-Brighton. The 2005 race was a very close three-way contest between Glennon, Michael Moran, and Tim Schofield; now-State Representative Moran eeked out the win. In an election where social issues did matter, less than 1/3 of the electorate voted for the conservative candidate on these issues.

An alternate conclusion: Glennon's actual position on abortion (and/or gay marriage) is not quite conservative enough that he might fear alienating his conservative supporters. Note his statement about abortion being "settled law": this is close to heresy to the religious right, since many conservatives would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned altogether.

One Brighton political insider told me that in 2005 Glennon confided to him that he was worried what his conservative supporters might do if they heard his comment about "settled law." If this one person's account of a conversation in 2005 is accurate, then this just might provide the key to understanding Glennon's 2007 campaign strategy not to answer questions on these social issues.

Glennon appears to be walking a tightrope when he declines to answer questions about abortion: not wanting to alienate his conservative supporters with a more measured view of abortion, while also not wanting to alienate the broader A-B community who rejected a social conservative candidate more than 2-1 in 2005.

Are Glennon supporters like Ambassador Flynn aware of Glennon's somewhat nuanced position on abortion that acknowledges it as "settled law"? I cannot tell. But it is also possible that some people who were considering voting for Ciommo based on Glennon's perceived stance on abortion may take a second look at Glennon.



Caption: One of two campaign signs for Greg Glennon recently mounted outside Brighton Center's Knights of Columbus Hall. The middle line on the sign on the brick wall reads, "PRAY FOR THE UNBORN." The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal benefit society that is active in pro-life causes.

Arroyo Stopping Traffic in Brighton Center

Nearly two weeks ago, Councilor Felix Arroyo was in Brighton Center for a "visibility": holding signs up on the sidewalk during rush hour to raise awareness of his re-election campaign for Boston City Councilor-At-Large. Most of the candidates do this on occasion at the corner of Washington Street and Market Street / Chestnut Hill Avenue.

Sure, the couple of guys Councilor Arroyo had along with him were standing on the sidewalk. But not Arroyo...

No, he was in the middle of the street, walking along the double yellow lines handing out campaign literature to drivers through their driver-side window, maybe even a few kisses on the cheek. It was apparently quite a scene, a little bit of fun partying for Friday morning commuters. Smiles all around. This guy has boundless energy, and knows no boundaries. The police at D-14 station two blocks away didn't even think to interrupt Arroyo's one-man, populist machine.

By the time I got a camera over there, though, Councilor Arroyo was nearly -- but not quite -- back on the sidewalk about to pack it in for the morning and head back to City Hall.



In a city where politicians try to be calm, cool, and collected, Councilor Arroyo comes across as someone who seems to break the rules -- and the traffic laws.


Mark Ciommo's Sugary Visibility

During Wednesday's Brighton Business Trick-of-Treat, Mark Ciommo, candidate for Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor, was running his own visibility in the heart of Brighton Center.

Ciommo and his campaigners were not just holding up signs, but also giving out candy to the young, costumed revelers. Cute move. No, I did not see him trying to register voters among the under-18 crowd.

Ciommo was himself disguised as a pirate superman Dumbledore teenage mutant ninja turtle politician. Sorry, no photos.

Boston Phoenix Endorses Ciommo and Re-Election of All Councilors-At-Large

The Boston Phoenix has endorsed Mark Ciommo for Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor, and the re-election of all four Boston City Councilors-At-Large -- Felix Arroyo, Michael Flaherty, Stephen Murphy, and Sam Yoon.

Actually, they tried to endorse a fifth candidate for Councilor-At-Large, John Connolly, by writing, "If Phoenix readers looking for guidance in next week’s election disagree with one of our endorsements, we hope they will vote for Connolly." Maybe they couldn't quite make up their mind.

In endorsing Ciommo, they write:

In the hard-fought district race in Allston-Brighton, the Phoenix urges the election of Mark Ciommo, a life-long resident of that neighborhood and the executive director of the Veronica Smith Senior Center. In the years to come, Allston-Brighton will have to cope with the continued growth of Boston College and the unprecedented expansion of Harvard University. During the campaign, Ciommo has made his mark as the candidate best able to fight for the interests of his neighbors while simultaneously engaging the educational powerhouses as potential allies.

In the Councilor-At-Large race, the Phoenix has been the only city newspaper to provide regular, in-depth coverage. The Phoenix's local politics endorsements ought to carry weight from the politically-astute crowd, because their news and op/ed pages have provided information and analysis on which to base editorial board endorsements.

Their endorsements for Councilors Flaherty and Murphy seem to be based on their records and perception that both are continually improving during their time in office. For Councilors Arroyo and Yoon, the Phoenix editorial board appears to be encouraging both to better reach to their potentials as voices for minorities and those who are less fortunate economically. The near-endorsement of Connolly says that he too would be a "welcome addition" to the council.


So there you have it. Between the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Boston Phoenix you have endorsements for both candidates (Ciommo and Glennon) in Allston-Brighton, and all five front-runners (all four incumbents plus Connolly) for Councilor-At-Large. Well, actually the Globe said to "throw the bums out" in the Councilor-At-Large race, and the Phoenix says to "keep the bums in, but maybe substitute a new guy if you want to throw one bum out." The Allston-Brighton TAB will be coming out with their recommendations in the next day or so, and I expect they will stay within these seven names.

So go ahead and try to figure out who to vote for based on media endorsements. You won't see any endorsements here, though.


On a related note, within 24 hours of the Herald endorsement of Glennon I saw stickers plastered to Glennon lawn signs reading, "Endorsed by the Herald," as well as a one-page photocopied flyer left about. No such response from Ciommo, at least that I've seen, about his endorsement from the Globe. Schofield had same-day flyers out in A-B after he was endorsed by the Globe in September.

Campaign Finance Reports in the A-B District 9 City Council Race

The two remaining candidates, Mark Ciommo and Greg Glennon, for the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor race were required to file their second campaign finance report by October 29, 2007, covering the period September 8 - October 19, 2007. Harry Mattison, of the Allston Brighton Community Blog, and I have jointly been gathering the reports to put them online.

Here are links to the most recent reports, which go to the AllstonBrighton2006 Google Group website:

1. Mark Ciommo
   
2. Greg Glennon
   

In the District City Councilor races, these finance reports are required to be filed downtown at City Hall in paper form, which makes it difficult for the public to obtain them. I would like to thank both the Ciommo and Glennon campaigns for providing their reports to us.

The previous filing on September 17, 2007, covering the year-to-date up through September 7, 2007, was described on a previous post. In that post, I found that Glennon's September 17th filing contained a number of summation errors on the cover page. This was corrected by the Glennon campaign in a filing on October 3rd, which can be found here.

Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor

Reporting Period: September 8, 2007 -- October 19, 2007

NAME	BEG BALANCE	RAISE	OWN MONEY	SPEND	END BALANCE
Mark Ciommo	$3,150.59	$8,850.00	$0.00	$9,129.14	$2,871.45
Greg Glennon	$11,813.70	$8,608.00	$0.00	$15,520.24	$4,901.46
TOTAL	$14,964.29	$17,458.00	$0.00	$24,649.38	$7,772.91

COMBINED Reporting Period: Year-To-Date Through October 19, 2007

NAME	BEG BALANCE	RAISE	OWN MONEY	SPEND	END BALANCE
Mark Ciommo	$0.00	$33,442.00	$0.00	$30,570.55	$2,871.45
Greg Glennon	$0.00	$24,206.00	$4000.00	$23,204.54	$4,901.46

Note: Glennon's loan of $4,000 to his campaign (in the campaign report filed September 17th) is not listed under receipts or included in the ending account balance, while the other candidates in the preliminary did both. I have included an extra $4,000 in his ending balance to reflect this -- both for this reporting period and the combined reporting to-date -- so he may have more cash in hand than he thinks.


Expenditures

Ciommo continued to put many of his expenditures under the generic category of "consulting" by paying $4,500 (around 50% of total expenditures) to Sage Systems. That amount is down substantially from the $19,000 spent on "consulting" through 9/7/07 (90% of total expenditures up to that point) in the last campaign filing. Those who enjoyed watching the trolley in the Allston-Brighton Day Parade will be happy to know that it cost $600 to rent.


Contributors Transferred From Other Candidates

Did any of the new campaign contributors for Ciommo or Glennon previously contribute to the other candidates in the preliminary municipal election, i.e., Rosie Hanlon, Tim Schofield, or Alex Selvig? These data are not thoroughly convincing for two reasons: first, that there are only a handful of contributors in the preliminary for the third- through fifth-place candidates who then contributed to the first- or second-place candidates in the final; and second, Glennon did not itemize $2,358 of his receipts (perfectly legal for contributions of $50 and under) resulting in some donors being overlooked.

None of Selvig's contributors subsequently contributed to either Ciommo or Glennon. Two of Hanlon's (probably a married couple), and one of Schofield's, contributors before the preliminary election gave to Ciommo after the election. The data are probably statistically insignificant in showing a trend towards contributing to either candidate after the preliminary election.


Receipts

Harry Mattison reports that 55% of Ciommo's contributions come from outside Allston-Brighton zipcodes 02134 and 02135, while 78% of Glennon's come from outside A-B.

Former City Councilor Michael McCormack appears to have been spending some time at the race-track: he has now bet on the trifecta of Rosie Hanlon, Mark Ciommo, and Greg Glennon. Since Ciommo and Glennon are in the final, he'll definitely hit one for three.

Rep. Michael Moran and Sen. Steve Tolman Endorse Mark Ciommo for City Council

State Representative Michael Moran of Brighton -- not to be confused with Michael Moran of Newton -- and State Senator Steven Tolman are both endorsing Mark Ciommo for the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council.

Rep. Moran told me that Ciommo, as a long-time resident of the community, understands the important historical elements of the neighborhood that are important for the job of District City Councilor.  The press release from the Ciommo campaign quotes Rep. Moran expanding on this reason:

“Mark Ciommo remembers when many of the Colleges in our community did not have community liaisons. Mark can recall the struggles our former City Councilor Brian McLaughlin had, organizing residents to attend meetings in City Hall to protest the encroachment of these Universities. Those efforts ultimately led the Colleges to establish departments to deal with our concerns. Mark will call on this deep knowledge to be our voice in City Hall.”

Rep. Moran also backed up his endorsement with a personal check to Ciommo's campaign on October 17, 2007 for $300 and another check from Moran's campaign committee for $100 (the maximum amount allowed for a political committee).

Sen. Tolman already donated $100 to Ciommo's campaign on June 29th -- and had also sent contributions to Tim Schofield and Rosie Hanlon -- but had not endorsed a candidate in the race at the time.  He has now come out for Ciommo, saying that:

"From coaching and founding youth sports programs in Allston-Brighton to his 14 years of experience serving the seniors of our community as the Executive Director of the Veronica B. Smith Multi-Service Senior Center, Mark has an unparalleled dedication to this community."

No word yet from State Representative Kevin Honan or retiring A-B District 9 City Councilor Jerry McDermott on who, if anyone, they might endorse in the race.

Last week, former candidates Rosie Hanlon and James Jenner both endorsed Ciommo in the race.  All of Ciommo's opponents in the race, except for run-off opponent Greg Glennon, have therefore endorsed Ciommo for the final municipal election on November 6th.

Boston Globe Endorses Ciommo and Connolly for City Council

The Boston Globe offered two endorsements today for Boston City Council:  Mark Ciommo for the Allston-Brighton District 9 seat and John Connolly for one of the Councilor-At-Large seats.  They endorsed no other candidate for the Councilor-At-Large seats, even though voters may vote for up to four and four will be elected.

The Globe had previously endorsed Tim Schofield for the Allston-Brighton seat before the September 25th preliminary election.  When Schofield took third place, missing the final, he endorsed Ciommo -- a path the Globe has now followed.  The Globe's previous endorsement of Schofield appears to have been made without interviewing the six candidates, according to a number of them; the Globe has done a more thorough job this time by interviewing both Ciommo and Greg Glennon, according to Ciommo campaign worker Michael McLaughlin.

In their endorsement, the Globe noted that:

Ciommo's roots are deep in the neighborhood and his civic accomplishments are long...

Ciommo won't be pushed around, but he knows when it is time to draw the line and when it is time to negotiate with Harvard for community benefits and traffic mitigation. Even in Brighton, where Ciommo opposes the construction of a new [Boston College] dorm on land formerly owned by the Archdiocese of Boston, he suggests an alternative site.

The alternative site the Globe was most likely referring to is the counter-proposal for BC to build densely on their Main Campus (e.g., on the MODS location).

The Globe endorsed Connolly for Councilor-At-Large, calling him "a challenger with impressive energy and experience."  They primarily cited his experience as a former school teacher -- before he left the profession to pursue a law degree -- saying that he "understands and articulates the interplay of public safety, good schools, and stable neighborhoods."


In endorsing Connolly but not other candidates, the Boston Globe might appear to have avoided the sticky problem of endorsing candidates with opposing views.  But in their endorsement of both Connolly and Ciommo they had a bit of the issues clash.  Connolly favors a return to neighborhood schools, but Ciommo favors only a modest change to the walk-zone assignment process (e.g., from 50 to 60%; see "public schools" audio link).  Ciommo supports creating a city planning department, but Connolly opposes it.  

There are also some issues on which the two agree.  Connolly does join Ciommo in opposing Boston College's proposal to build undergraduate dorms on the former Seminary land, and both want BC to house all their undergraduates on their Main Campus.  Both Connolly and Ciommo (audio link on "gambling, taxes") support casino gambling in general, but want neighborhood input (or a referendum) before a casino comes to East Boston.


Harry Mattison on the Allston Brighton Community Blog compares the Globe's current non-endorsements of Councilors Felix Arroyo, Michael Flaherty, Stephen Murphy, and Sam Yoon with their past endorsements of each and every one of them (some in 2003, others in 2005).  Mattison asks, "Does The Globe feel that strongly positive about John Connolly or that negative about the other candidates?"  The Globe is pushing an odd position in their current endorsement of only Connolly for Councilor-At-Large.  They didn't use the term "bullet vote," but it sure sounds like that's what they're implying.

Ward 21 Democratic Committee Endorses Ciommo, Arroyo, Connolly, and Yoon for City Council

The Ward 21 Democratic Committee met two weeks ago to consider endorsements in the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor and Boston City Councilor-At-Large races.


Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor

In A-B, they had endorsed Tim Schofield in September, but he took third place in the September 25th election thereby failing to make the final election. This time around, the Ward 21 committee endorsed Mark Ciommo. Their selection is not surprising, since Greg Glennon was yet another no-show -- this time not even responding to the committee's invitations to meet with them. You would think Glennon would learn how to send a nice letter, email, or phone call saying, "I'm sorry, but I will unfortunately have to decline your invitation to meet with you." That kind of politeness is standard teaching in charm school, be it in Massachusetts or Pennsylvania.

Attendance wasn't the only thing leading to their endorsement; the issues also mattered. Nan Evans, acting chair of the Ward 21 committee, said that Ciommo "has a record of accomplishments in the A-B community, and his basic political orientation is compatible with that of the [Ward 21 committee] members." As for Glennon's stance on the issues, she was more harsh, saying that Glennon "appears to prefer the goals of Bush Republicans to those of most Democrats."


Boston City Councilor-At-Large

Residents will have the opportunity on November 6th to vote for up to four candidates for Boston City Councilor-At-Large. There are nine candidates on the ballot.

The Ward 21 committee chose to endorse three candidates for the seats: Councilor Felix Arroyo, John Connolly, and Councilor Sam Yoon.

There were not quite enough votes to make a fourth endorsement; the leading contenders for that slot, Councilors Stephen Murphy and Michael Flaherty, appear to have lingering issues with some members of the committee, although the exact nature of that history is not clear.

When looking at those three endorsements, one thing struck me as odd: Councilor Arroyo (more so than Councilor Yoon) has many positions on the issues that are at odds with John Connolly.

In particular, Connolly is a vocal cheerleader for returning to neighborhood schools, while Councilor Arroyo opposes it in favor of the current system (with minimum 50% walk-zone). Connolly favors casino gambling -- including within Boston's city limits, albeit only after the input from East Boston residents -- while Councilor Arroyo opposes casinos, full stop. Councilor Arroyo proposed to split of the planning responsibilities from the BRA and instead create a city planning department, but Connolly opposes this plan.

If I kept researching the candidates and the issues, I am willing to bet I would continue to find many more issues on which they disagree. Councilor Arroyo is Boston's leading populist in politics, and is a rallying point for the city's minority and immigrant communities. Connolly, on the other hand, represents an older Boston full of Irish Catholics and political dynasties -- his father was, after all, the long-time Secretary of the Commonwealth. Connolly and Councilor Arroyo's stances on neighborhood schools is a classic confrontation between old and new Boston, representing the schism that engulfed the city in the 1970s over desegration and busing. It is an argument over issues like the "white flight" to the suburbs and making the schools serve every child -- no matter their race or economic background.

Why would the committee simultaneously endorse two candidates with such substantive differences?

Acting Committee Chair Nan Evans's Answer: "The decisions were not based on single issues, but on records as a whole (with the known candidates [e.g., Councilor Arroyo]) and the perception of potential (with those who have not yet held office [e.g., Connolly])."

My Answer: Connolly is a law partner of Schofield; the latter temporarily stepped down as chair of the Ward 21 committee while running for City Council. It is simply a lot easier to endorse Connolly when he is the friend and colleague of a guy you trust. But they could also have been making a more politically-adept move, as suggested by one committee member: if elected, Connolly might be more accessible to members of the Ward 21 committee due to their connection to him through Schofield.

Access buys a lot. The Ward 21 Democratic Committee got none with Glennon and therefore endorsed his opponent; the same committee appears to have picked character and access, rather than the issues, when they chose to endorse Connolly.

A Raucous Debate -- and an Unresponsive Candidate

For those who haven't heard, the debate on October 23, 2007 between Mark Ciommo and Greg Glennon, candidates for the Allston-Brighthon District 9 City Council seat, at times became highly charged. Both candidates interrupted each other repeatedly for a while in the middle of the event, thereby preventing each other from speaking according to the debate's format. This was most obvious during the "institutional expansion" topic (#6), which you can listen to on this previous post.

In a nutshell, Glennon repeatedly accused Ciommo of standing up for Harvard instead of the community, because Ciommo rose "in support of the proposal" at the BRA Board Meeting on Harvard's proposed science complex on October 3rd; Glennon rose during that meeting "in opposition to the proposal." Ciommo repeatedly accused Glennon of failing to attend certain community meetings and candidate forums, and for failing to submit public comments.

The Allston-Brighton TAB has run a story with their play-by-play:

The gloves came off during questions about the continuing encroachment of universities in Allston-Brighton. Glennon continued his stance that Ciommo couldn’t be trusted to stand up for the community because of his stance at the BRA meeting.

“Folks know this is a good and worthwhile project, and an agreement must be signed before permits are issued,” Ciommo responded. “I will stand with the community every time.”

Ciommo said Glennon didn’t attend a Harvard Allston Task Force meeting the previous night, causing Glennon to repeatedly interject.

“It’s absurd to suggest you have reservations when you stood in support of Harvard,” Glennon said in his rebuttal. “You had a chance to fight for the neighbors, and to say you did is misleading.”

Ciommo then asked Glennon why, after missing two forums and not submitting public comments on projects, should voters elect an unresponsive city councilor?

“A person who supported Harvard’s plan is unresponsive,” Glennon said. “Mark wants to have it both ways. He says he stood for the community, but he stood with city insiders.”

Ciommo responded, “We want Harvard to keep their word on all issues: noise, traffic, rodent control.”

Were the Candidates' Charges Factually Accurate?

While the heated arguments were at times not civil, most of the accusations were factually accurate.

Glennon failed to show up for the BAIA/ACA candidates forum on September 17, 2007 without notifying the organizers; he failed to answer organizers' phone calls, but eventually answered the phone the following day for an A-B TAB reporter. Glennon also failed to show up for another one on September 19, 2007, although I am told that he notified the organizers that night. During the debate, Glennon appears to have confirmed his absence from the community meeting about the proposed Lowe's store in Brighton. Glennon did not submit public comments to MEPA related to Harvard's request for a phase 1 waiver of review of their science complex, which can be confirmed by inspecting the list of those comments received at the end of the Draft Record of Decision written by Ian Bowles, State Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

At the BRA Board Meeting on October 3, 2007 to consider waiving further review of Harvard's science complex, Ciommo did stand to deliver his public comments during the section for "those in favor of the proposal"; Glennon, on the other hand, did deliver his comments during the section for "those opposed to the proposal."

One accusation that was not correct was when Ciommo stated that Glennon had not submitted public comments to the BRA related to Harvard's DPIR on the science complex. In a previous post, I reported incorrectly that Glennon failed to submit those comments to the BRA, while I was accurate that he did not submit any to MEPA. Glennon did not provide a copy of his BRA comments to Harry Mattison (who posted all such comments on HarvardInAllston). Glennon also did not provide them to me when I made a direct request for them in an email dated September 12, 2007; several other candidates did respond to that request. The BRA only a week or so ago got back to me on my request for the whole package of public comments. In the interim, Harry Mattison obtained a copy of all those comments, and posted them at HarvardInAllston, where you can find Glennon's one-page letter to the BRA on p.82.


A Non-Responsive Candidate

Even though that one accusation by Ciommo may have been incorrect -- and was probably based on incorrect information provided here at Brighton Centered -- the incorrect information was the direct result of Glennon's failure to respond altogether to my legitimate media request. If Glennon thinks that the BRA provides such documents readily and quickly to journalists and community members -- as he implied in the feisty exchange with Ciommo -- then I think Glennon needs some education on how transparency in government actually works (or doesn't) in practice. The BRA has improved lately in responding to requests for public documents -- and they deserve credit for that -- but it is simply unreasonable that a candidate for public office should rely on an understaffed agency to provide copies of his public comment letters to voters and journalists.

Instead, Glennon should answer his email in a timely fashion. That's called constituent services.

I cannot once remember Glennon answering his home or cell phone when I have called, nor can I remember him returning a single call at a later time. And he has responded only twice to emails of mine (on 8/24/07 seven days after I wrote to him on 8/17/07; and on 9/10/07 when sending me his responses to the crowdsourced questionnaire). I know of a large number of people who have had similar problems getting through to Glennon on the phone and via email; I've even recommended to many of them to punch in "*67" before calling him in order to block their outgoing caller ID in hopes that he'll pick up if he doesn't know who it is calling. As Glennon is on record having said in the candidates forum on July 23, 2007:

"I will always be available. Every phone call will get returned, every email, every letter." [italics added]

On top of that his home phone number is unlisted. (I've tried looking it up in the hard copy of the white pages and online.) His campaign website doesn't list a phone number -- imagine that for a candidate for public office, not telling you how to call his campaign office!*** Once again from the 7/23/07 candidates forum he said:

"Even more, always being available, being in the community, always having a publicly listed home phone number anyone can call whenever they want to pick up the phone to call me." [italics added]

Glennon has therefore already made campaign promises to have a publicly listed home phone number and to return every phone call and email. Those campaign promises are waiting to be fulfilled. And there's fewer than twelve days before the polls close on November 6th.


*** EDIT [11/1/07]: The campaign website now lists a phone and FAX number for the campaign office.

Audio of the District 9 City Council Candidates Debate

With the kind assistance of Harry Mattison and his HarvardInAllston website, I have put up links to the MP3 audio from the District 9 City Councilor Candidates Debate on Tuesday, October 23rd at the Edison Middle School between Mark Ciommo and Greg Glennon.

I've split up the audio into a series of files focused by topic.

The ground rules of the event were that the questions would be a mix of ones written by the moderator and by each candidate. When a question was asked, candidate A got 90 seconds to respond; candidate B having 90 seconds to respond; and then candidate A would have an optional additional 60 seconds for rebuttal. The next question would then start with candidate B responding. Opening and closing remarks were two minutes per candidate. I was the moderator for the event.

On the recording, Glennon's audio sounds softer then Ciommo or myself simply due to the location of the recording device (on my podium, thus furthest from Glennon), I'm sorry if you may have to raise/lower the levels when playing it back.

1. Opening remarks
   
2. Taxes, gambling
   
3. Public schools
   
4. Housing
   
5. Zoning, licensing
   
6. Institutional expansion
   
7. Open space
   
8. Public safety, budgetary trade-offs
   
9. Audience questions
   
10. Closing remarks

Raucous Debate At Times

This debate became highly charged and quite raucous at times, with the candidates lobbing accusations back-and-forth. The exchange can be heard in the "institutional expansion" (#6) audio above.

I've put some analysis of the accusations into a companion post.

Former City Council Candidate Alex Selvig Endorses Mark Ciommo

Alex Selvig unsuccessfully ran for the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council seat in the preliminary election last month. He seems to have been researching the remaining two candidates, Mark Ciommo and Greg Glennon, and their positions on the issues prior to making an endorsement.

I have noticed that Selvig has had a Ciommo sign up on his front lawn for a number of days, indicating it is clear who he would be voting for. Now, he has expanded that into an endorsement of Ciommo's candidacy.

Selvig says of Ciommo:

Mark Ciommo is always at meetings, park cleanups, and other community events, and has faithfully attended all of our debates. He respects the people of Allston-Brighton.

Mark's broad support makes him less beholden to special interests, and will allow him to be an open, accessible, and honest broker for the citizens of our community. I look forward to working with him as our next City Councilor.

Tim Schofield has already endorsed Ciommo in the final election. Only Rosie Hanlon and James Jenner have not endorsed a candidate; I think that Hanlon's long wait might be indicative that she will not endorse either candidate.

A-B District 9 City Council Candidates Debate: Tuesday 10/23 at 6:30 pm at the Edison School

Allston-Brighton District 9 City Council Candidates Debate:
Mark Ciommo vs. Gregory Glennon

Tuesday, October 23
6:30 pm -- Informal Meet-and-Greet
7:00 - 8:30 pm -- Candidates Debate

Sponsored by: Brighton Allston Improvement Association
and Allston Civic Association

Location:  Edison Middle School
60 Glenmont Road, Brighton, MA 02135
Parking at rear of building

Moderator: Michael Pahre, Editor, Brighton Centered Blog

On November 6 we will elect a new Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor.  There will be questions about issues that are important both city-wide and locally here in Allston-Brighton. Audience-written questions will also be accepted.

For more information, contact Abigail Furey of the BAIA at (617)782-1382.