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The top challenger is a no show, but the rest of the candidates talk about the issues
BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2003 -- Pat White, the challenger most likely to oust an incumbent, failed to show for a debate of at-large city council candidates in Brighton Thursday evening. The other seven candidates engaged in a friendly and often substantive discussion in front of a standing-room-only crowd of about 75 at the Brighton Elks Hall in Brighton center. While the seats at stake may be city- wide, the voters made clear that they have their own neighborhood interests at heart. Based on the preliminary election results, five of the eight candidates are vying for the four seats. Council President Michael Flaherty led the September voting with 18 percent, followed by Stephen Murphy (16), White (15) Maura Hennigan (14) and Felix Arroyo (13). Barely 3,200 votes out of 111,000 cast separated second-place Murphy from fifth-place Arroyo, so nobody knows who will be the odd one out on November 4th. Nevertheless, the four at-large incumbents were as chummy as could be -- at times they almost seemed to be promoting each other more than themselves. When given the chance to question an opponent, Murphy playfully asked Hennigan how many hits her new pothole Web site has had, giving her the chance to orate on her favorite subject. On her turn, Hennigan returned the favor by asking Murphy to explain his discovery of an obscure overlay budget disparity, through which Murphy claims to have freed some $25 million dollars in the city budget. Their camaraderie extended to the challengers. Flaherty asked challenger O’Malley how he might want to spend the transportation savings his neighborhood-schools plan was sure to reap. (Improving schools, O’Malley was happy to respond.) Arroyo asked Roy Owens to elaborate on his plan to improve public safety. Several of the candidates even made sure to praise Allston-Brighton councilor Jerry McDermott, who attended the debate, which was sponsored by the Brighton-Allston Improvement Association. McDermott’s opponent for his council seat, Dan "The Bagel Man" Kontoff, was also on hand. Much of the evening’s discussion centered on planning and development, giving Arroyo and Hennigan an opportunity to tout the home-rule petition they introduced this week to create a planning agency separate from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Matt O’Malley, who finished a distant sixth in the preliminary election, proposed a cabinet-level secretary of development. Other questions from the audience concerned proliferation of outdoor advertising, problems with garbage collection, enforcement of zoning rules, absentee landlords, public transportation, traffic, parking, and of course the incursion of local colleges onto Allston-Brighton land. In other words, what will you do for my street? Flaherty raised the spectre of drugs, naming it as the number-one issue facing the city. "We have 13-, 14-, and 15-year-old kids picking up heroin and OxyContin as easily as they would pick up a tennis racket," he said, calling it a "major problem of epidemic proportions" and calling for new detox and transitional-living facilities. He said that he is undecided about drug testing at schools -- but also seemed to suggest that he would like such testing to look for alcohol as well. O’Malley picked up on the drug threat, suggesting that lawmakers "designate the entire city of Boston a drug-free zone, not just parks and schools." Challenger Althea Garrison focused her comments on economic development and job creation, while Roy Owens emphasized Bible teaching and faith-based programs to improve communities.
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