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Flaherty against term limits without referendum; McCrea says Yoon stole his idea again
By adamg on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 4:47pm
Mayoral hopeful Michael Flaherty says he wants a referendum this November to let voters say if they want a limit on how long somebody can serve as mayor. In a statement today, he says:
The fact that our current Mayor just marked his sixteenth year in office brings new relevance to discussions on term limits. However, when it comes to making any decision about term limits, we must recognize that we are talking about limiting voters' choices about who is representing their interests at the government level. For that reason, I believe government officials have no business deciding whether we should impose term limits. If residents truly believe that the issue of imposing term limits should be debated, then i think it should be debated by the residents, not public officials. That is why I would support the idea of putting this issue on the ballot for voters to decide this November.
Meanwhile, Kevin McCrea says Sam Yoon's call for term limits today is just another example of "Sam stealing convenient ideas," noting he's he's been calling for term limits since he launched his campaign earlier this year.
And what of incumbent Mayor Tom Menino? Well, he's trying for his fifth straight term this fall.
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Comments
Which is it, Mike?
Didn't Yoon's press release that UH printed already say that it could be done by a ballot question? Is Flaherty for term limits - or not? Or will he give us two different answers, depending on the audience - like he does on drug testing for firefighters.
Could you post Flaherty's statement?
I didn't see it on his web site on a first pass. I'm curious whether he actually does or does not say he supports term limits, other than saying it should be on the November ballot -- a method I personally prefer, BTW, because then it is truly the vote of the people dictating term limits, versus a home rule filing which could be mucked up in some political bruhaha (i.e., tabled in committee).
That's it
The thing I posted above was his complete statement. All that's missing is the contact info for his PR person. Oh, and the headline:
OK thanks for that
BTW has Menino ever said anything about whether this would be his last term if he is re-elected? I know there's some speculation about him dropping out in two years and appointing his successor (although I vaguely remember him denying such a scenario). Anyways, he obviously is not a term-limit fan, but I was just curious whether he said this is his last mayoral campaign. Anyone?
Credit Crisis
I, for one, did not realize that McCrea was the sole proprietor of this newfangled "term limits" concept. K-Mack seems oddly fixated with taking credit, which I guess makes sense when you're running to succeed a mayor who puts his name on every piece of public property in the city.
Main Point
Rajon - I think Kevin's main point (on top of Yoon "sharing" his opinion - which he seems to do a lot - not really surprising since Yoon and McCrea are both the outsider/reform candidates which is why I personally think they should win the runoff - but I know that's highly unlikely) is that a few years ago when it was politically convenient, Yoon was supporting Menino for re-election despite 12 years in office. Now that he needs to enhance his platform and position himself AGAINST the mayor, Yoon has jumped on term limits.
What?!
Sam wasn't even elected during Menino's last bid for mayor! He was running for his first-term as City Councilor-at large! He's never been a Menino "supporter," Sam is one of the only City Councilors who even votes against the mayor's budget. I would say Flaherty, on the other hand, has come out against Menino only recently- but not Sam.
Do some research, please.
did my research
Read the post - I said when Yoon was running for election - i.e. the same time Menino was running for his 4th term. Sure he votes against the mayor's budget - he says we don't spend enough money. He wants to introduce even more taxes like his one half of one percent for violence prevention. I asked him a while back if the $22k per year per student we already spend on Boston schools is not enough, how much do we need to spend? His answer came back - after sifting through a bunch of stuff about gardens and weeds - that there is never enough.
Don't get me wrong - I like Sam - he's a smart man and an honest person - he'd make a great professor - but a horrible mayor. He's so high up in his ivory tower nobody takes him seriously. He's a thinker - not a doer.
Term limits=great idea
Term limits are a great idea- especially in a city with a mayor seeking his 5th-term. Sam's platform is looking really good- especially when you add it all up. Transparency, accountability, term limits, zip cars, 311 service, it all seems so easy to do and yet we've been waiting on these kind of innovations for decades.
Seriously?
Yeah, Sam Yoon who doesn't have an original idea (okay, maybe the zip car idea, though that is close to Connolly's proposal for the bike share)? Let me see, term limits = proposed by Councilor Tobin, 311 = proposed by the late Councilor Brian Honan current Councilor Steve Murphy in 1998 (Murph has continued to run this idea up the flag pole, albiet without any traction but hey, he gets an "A" for effort. Sam Yoon is a fake. No thank you on him as mayor. UGH.
Research, please
Maybe the journalists involved at the newspapers and UH should do some more research. Councilor Tobin is the original proponent for term limits. He proposed it a few years ago and again this year. It's a shame that McCrea, Yoon and Flats can't admit that fact. Tools.
Yes, I know about John Tobin and his proposal
He brings the idea up pretty much every single year. Props to him.
But he's yet to get it enacted and he's not running for mayor.