Campaign notes: Globe goes for Menino

By adamg on Sat, 10/31/2009 - 2:04pm

The Herald reports Flaherty is going after the party-hardy vote and details the Kenneally-mobile.

John Carroll gets his crank on, describing Menino as "his usual incoherent self" at a WBUR forum yesterday and calling Flaherty a "Boston mayoral footnote."

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Comments

John Kerry at Roche Bros. in West Roxbury

By adamg on Sat, 10/31/2009 - 4:59pm.

Campaigning for Ayanna Pressley today.

Listen to Clinton's Menino robo-call

By adamg on Sat, 10/31/2009 - 5:01pm.

Here, although I'm guessing the music was added in later in honor of Halloween.

Clinton Backs Wrong Horse

By Gene Mazzella on Sun, 11/01/2009 - 3:46am.

At a time when seniors, caregivers and former city employees are uniting to expose Mayor Menino and Michael Kineavy for mis-using the Commission on Affairs of the Elderly to help him win an unprecedented 4th Mayoral term back in 2005, Bill Clinton has stepped up to help his "friend" win yet another four years.

Too bad Bill doesn't know Menino and his cronies have been exploiting Boston Seniors these past 5 years in an effort to continue building his legacy and subsequently leaving their needs behind.

Beyond that point, it boggles my mind that a former President would support a candidate who laughs at term limits and is asking for an endorsement of 20 years in office when we all know how too much power for too long can easily lead to corruption.

Why Mr. President, why would you do that??

Gene Mazzella, Dorchester

Ignorance

By Foxed on Sun, 11/01/2009 - 8:35am.

I'm going to have to claim ignorance on these claims about the elderly. I have been following the race pretty closely, and have seen nothing about this.

Second, with regards to the original post, the Nightlife for Flaherty movement is always a good laugh. For one thing, Flaherty has said nowhere that he would let bars stay open later. It's still something on the state level. If the nightlife of Boston wanted something done, they'd go after the State House, not City Hall.

Of course, Flaherty is just going to let them think that he can help them for the votes.

-Foxed

Position Paper on Seniors Issues

By Gene Mazzella on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 4:37am.

You are right to say there has not been much in the pre-election discussion, debate, comments or analysis on Senior Issues. Despite serious advocacy to raise the issues from a grass roots level no one is taking it on. I guess Seniors are only good for the vote, but can be left behind when they need a voice!

Below is a position paper that has been sent to every newspaper, City Councilor, State Rep and Senator - Respective to Boston, Elder Affairs, Gov. Patrick and President Obama and both Candidates.

The only one who has reflected and worked these issues into their dialouge was Michael Flaherty at the MassVote debate in Fanuel Hall.

BOSTON SENIORS COUNT

Why We Won’t Be Voting for Mayor Menino…

We, concerned seniors and elder advocates, are outraged by
the dismemberment of vital programs that have caused the
deterioration of services for Boston’s elders.

It is not only the elders who are paying, and will
continue to pay for this lost vision. It is the personal and
professional caregivers, the families, the children, grand
children, great grand children – young men and women
and the single folks of Boston who will eventually bear the
cost of this lack of oversight and leadership. When elder
services are poorly planned, mismanaged and unmonitored,
they cost millions of dollars that the City’s budget cannot
afford. Everyone suffers.

As concerned seniors and advocates, we are aware of several critical programs that are no longer operating in the city’s Elderly Commission:

1. Mayor Menino once saw the wisdom in great programs like Boston Seniors Count which reached out to the “hidden,” most frail and vulnerable elders;

2. The SHINE program was removed from the Elderly Commission to ABCD;

3. The Senior AIDES program went to the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts as the Mature Workers Program;

4. The Boston Partnership for Older Adults was years in the planning and development. It focused on creating a solid infrastructure for Boston’s elder services by working with elders to develop critical public/private partnerships to insure that Boston would be well prepared for the aging Baby Boomers, their parents, and caregivers, including grandparents raising grandchildren;

5. Council on Aging services are reduced, almost exclusively, to information and referral.

Instead of using state funding for the Council on Aging and Area Agency on Aging to continue critical programs for planning, advocacy, outreach and direct services, the Commission’s social event calendar was increased to help secure an unprecedented 4th term for the Mayor.

Whatever the outcome of this election, competent, respectful, adequate and appropriate elder services in Boston MUST be a top priority.

Signed,

Concerned Seniors
Elder Advocates
Personal and Professional Caregivers
Joyce Williams (former Boston Elderly Commissioner)