Could crises end Marty Walsh’s reign of mayor?

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is juggling daily multiple crises — ranging from severed statues to pandemics to police — as he nears a re-election race that could draw several significant challengers.

How skillfully Walsh handles the near constant barrage of criticism and scrutiny will likely determine whether voters hand him a third term — if he decides to run — or go with an upstart newcomer, most likely a person of color.

As a white, Irish Catholic pol in a city torn by racial divisions and protests over police brutality against African Americans, Walsh is especially vulnerable.

The two-term mayor did trounce an African American challenger in 2017 and he remains popular in most of the city’s neighborhoods.

But everything has changed in the span of just a few months.

First, Boston and the rest of the world were hit by a killer coronavirus that forced a complete economic shutdown of the city — from tony stores on Newbury Street to small businesses on Blue Hill Avenue. The pandemic also forced Walsh and the state to close all public and private schools, leaving hundreds of thousands of kids to try and learn from home.

Then, George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, triggering protests across the country, some of which became violent.

Just take a walk down Newbury Street or Boylston Street, with stores boarded up as far as the eye can see and National Guard troops patrolling the virtually empty sidewalks, to give you an idea of the enormity of what Walsh faces in the coming months.

Take a look at the now headless Christopher Columbus statue in the North End.

Listen to the piercing sound of fireworks shooting off every night over the city’s neighborhoods, scaring residents into staying inside their homes.

How do you begin to rebuild a city scarred by violent looters, racial unrest and a global pandemic that’s killed thousands and left tens of thousands without jobs and a place to go to work?

These are the kinds of questions that face Walsh every day and night.

There are a few glimpses into how Walsh will likely handle these crises based on what he did with the Christopher Columbus statue.The mayor basically kicked the can down the road — deciding to remove the headless statue but holding off deciding on what will happen to it.

It’s a technique he’s used before. Not the most decisive strategy, but it’s worked.

Walsh is now faced with calls to defund the city police force and so far has only said he’ll look into “reallocating” some funds — which did not satisfy critics like City Councilor Andrea Campbell.

Campbell happens to be one of his potential rivals in 2021.

Walsh is going to have to walk a fine line on this one because he can’t appear to abandon his cops.

There is one solution that could fix everything for Walsh: a new job.

And if his buddy Joe Biden wins the presidency, that could happen. How does that sound, Mr. Secretary?

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/30vUADG