In case you aren’t aware (and let’s face it, most of us aren’t), Boston will hold its quadrennial mayoral and city council elections next Tuesday, November 3. Incumbent and current heavy favorite Thomas Menino is running for his fifth term (the most ever by a Boston mayor) against former City Councilmen Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon, who are running as a Mayor/Deputy Mayor ticket. Mayor Menino, the sometimes bumbling but largely effective politician is widely expected to win despite some allegations of corruption.
Wouldn’t you know it, that’s just the way your BU administrators want it. And why not? After all, since Mayor Menino came on the scene in 1993, BU has been allowed to greatly expanded its reach across the city, opening several new buildings across campus including the School of Management, the Photonics Center, the Life Sciences and Engineering Building, and of course, all of the John Hancock Student Village, which includes Agganis Arena, the Fitness and Recreation Center, and now the 10 Buick and 33 Agganis residence halls. Menino also oversaw the expansion of hospital facilities and the merger between the BU Medical Campus and Boston Medical Center. Menino Pavillion, a hospital facility that opened in 1994, is named after him. So friendly has the Menino administration been to BU expansion that the University was at one point (and probably still is) seriously considering acquiring air rights to space above the MassPike.
The donations to Menino’s current campaign made by University officials (albeit as individuals, not representatives of the University) reflect this. All in all, University employees donated $5,625 to Menino’s campaign, with $4,100 of that coming from senior administrators, according to filings made with Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Donations to Flaherty and Yoon were just $522 combined, with no administrators donating.
Most notably, President Robert Brown and President Emeritus John Silber both donated the maximum amount of $500, as did Vice President of Operations (who oversees Facilities Management) Gary Nicksa. Assistant VP of Facilities Management William Walter, Assistant VP of Campus Planning and Construction Michael Hathaway, Senior Associate VP of Real Estate Management Michael Donovan, Vice President of Community and Government Affairs Edward King and Provost David Campbell all donated $200.
All told, it’s very clear which candidate the majority of BU administrators, especially those involved with the school’s physical expansion, support. Students, on the other hand, have not chosen which candidate they overwhelmingly support, possibly due to widespread apathy when it comes to city politics in general. Even though the Mayor of Boston has a tremendous amount of influence over area schools, few students will likely turn out on Tuesday. And that means, love him or hate him, Mayor Menino will almost definitely be back for a fifth time, and for better or worse, BU administrators will get their wish.
Hat Tip: The Huntington News
FYI Flaherty and Yoon are currently city councilors-at-large