Tom the meek

Part 4

by Michael Crowley

To understand Menino's inaction, however, is not to excuse it. Unless he believes real reform can come only in the midst of chaos, Menino must realize that he has every advantage: a strong economy, huge popularity, a full four years ahead of him.

How can he ignore the opportunity? These new approaches to city government not only support his commitment to basic services but provide a way to challenge the criticism that wounds him most: lack of vision. If vision is about seeing essential goals through the clutter of the moment, Menino could truly display it by moving the city into a new era of government.

As mayors across the country are proving, these innovations work. They make government perform its basic tasks more effectively -- but they also promise far greater things. Millions of dollars in budget savings can be used to lower taxes on businesses and property, keeping a strong base of jobs and a solid core of middle-class families in the city. Or they can be reinvested: Indianapolis's Goldsmith has begun a $700 million infrastructure campaign focused on the city's seven poorest neighborhoods.

And though Menino looks untouchable now, how long does he think his wide but shallow public support will last if the economy goes bust? With little state or federal aid to bail him out, the tax hikes and budget cuts he'll have to make could set the city's growth back years. But streamlining the bureaucracy and building up budget surpluses could help Menino defend himself and the city.

He can begin by ordering a comprehensive independent audit of city government, like the one conducted by a panel of more than 300 business leaders in Philadelphia. That would build public support for innovation by showing people how much waste their taxes were supporting. Then Menino could proceed: competitive bidding, renegotiation of the most unreasonable union contracts, and vigorous use of performance standards.

And if the public interest doesn't move him, perhaps he can be stirred by selfish incentives. He yearns for more national attention. And we know he's pondering his political future: in recent months Menino has suggested he may want a third term as mayor, and he has even been mentioned as a candidate for governor.

It may be, as Chris Lydon says, that "we have no conversation anymore about city politics." But we expect more from the mayor of a city known as a capital of ideas and intellect, of political bravery -- of revolution, no less.

In its endorsement of Menino last week, the Boston Globe declared that the mayor has earned an uncontested second term. That isn't so. A combination of factors -- namely, a strong economy and a stagnant political culture -- has left Menino without a challenger, and the city with no substantial debate about its direction. That only increases his obligation to govern bravely, and not complacently, over the next four years.

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Michael Crowley can be reached at mcrowley[a]phx.com.