Mayor Martin Walsh’s transparency issues could haunt him at the ballot box

Mayor Martin Walsh’s convoluted, closed-door method of selecting School Committee members has undercut his own cherished transparency pledge — a contradiction that hands potential rivals a juicy opposition narrative just as the 2021 mayoral election nears.

Walsh announced Thursday night he plans to re-appoint Alexandra Oliver-Davila and Dr. Lorna Rivera after a quiet, blink-and-you’ll miss it selection process.

Parents who wished to be involved were forced to search for a nonpublicized Citizens Nominating Panel meeting on Nov. 18. The 13-member group of parents, teachers and education advocates interviewed and selected four candidates to advance to the mayor — but never issued any announcement of their choices.

The complex process hardly empowers parents — many of whom were already irked by a secrecy-shrouded school superintendent selection process that largely handed all decision-making to the mayor.

Walsh has staunchly refused to relinquish the reins of power when it comes to appointing members of the school board, even as many parents and city councilors are pushing for a return to an elective process.

These closed-doors complaints are re-emerging as Walsh — who has suffered from transparency issues throughout his two terms — nears the 2021 mayoral election cycle. City Councilor Michelle Wu has emerged as a potential opponent while others may be waiting in the wings. Wu opposes moving to an elective School Committee, but has said she is open to including city councilors in the selection process.

The roster of Walsh’s transparency missteps is long. Walsh quietly hired ex-state Rep. Carlos Henriques in 2018, after the former rep had been convicted of assaulting a woman. Walsh has since fired Henriques. Other times the Dorchester Democrat has simply failed to question business as usual, as is the case in a bribery conviction from within his Zoning Board of Appeals. Walsh has promised to make sweeping changes to the board, but his administration will still own the negative headlines.

The Dorchester Democrat has cited his 2015 aggressive reforms at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, but that was five years ago. Walsh needs to step up his reform game and missteps like last night’s School Committee appointments — abruptly announced only after the Herald asked about them — won’t help.

Potential rivals are frantically looking for weakness in his administration, and voter frustration about the School Committee process could become prime ammunition for that next mayoral hopeful looking to frame Walsh as a business-as-usual insider.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/35jU4Y8