Marty Walsh filling Boston boards with appointees on way out

Mayor Martin Walsh is filing unusually large numbers of board and committee appointments as he heads toward the door.

The mayor filed 31 appointments for the city’s sundry boards in advance of this week’s City Council meeting — after filing eight and 15 for the other two meetings this year.

That’s a total of 54 appointments in 2021 by the first meeting in February — more than double the 22 each he filed by this point in 2020 and 2019.

This proposed filling of the myriad boards and committees — which need approval by council to go into effect — comes as Walsh’s departure looms. It’s unclear when the mayor will leave, but his nomination from President Biden for Labor secretary will be heard Thursday by a U.S. Senate committee. The Senate, controlled by fellow Democrats, hasn’t voted down a Biden appointee yet.

Asked about the flurry of appointments, Walsh’s office touted the need for “continuity of government operations.” After he leaves, the city will be run by an acting mayor — City Council President Kim Janey — who will not have the power to make permanent appointments.

“The City of Boston is committed to ensuring all boards and commissions operate at full membership so they are able to best serve the residents of Boston,” a Walsh spokesman said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic created unique challenges, and we are working to ensure the continuity of government operations, while following the appropriate processes — including procedures like receiving potential nominees from a nominating panel — that are required to fill any vacant appointments.”

The start of the year is normally the busiest time for appointments, as many boards have terms that begin in January. Others happen at various times throughout the year, such as in May and June.

Walsh’s appointments at the start of this year include the Boston Public Health Commission’s Board of Health, Boston Cultural Council, Boston Human Rights Commission, Boston Scholarship Fund Committee, Boston Civic Design Commission and Boston Fair Housing Commission.

It included putting state Sen. Mike Rush and Walsh’s political adviser Joyce Linehan on the Boston Public Library Board of Directors, Walsh’s head of Civic Engagement Aisha Miller to the Make Boston Shine Trust Fund, civic engagement staffer Edward McGuire to the Boston Groundwater Trust and Walsh’s former director of emerging industries Alexis Tkachuk to the Boston Election Commission.

In 2020, Walsh appointed a total of 68 people to the various boards, including 10 to an all-new pot licensing board.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3tlSiTP