Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was back on Boston Public Radio for his monthly "Ask the Mayor" segment. The Mayor talked with hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan about Pres. Obama's immigration plan, the closing of the Long Island bridge, and the possibility of putting the 2024 Olympics in Boston.
Walsh was supportive of President Obama's Thursday announcement about US immigration. "[Sen.] Mitch McConnell stood up there and said, 'We're not going to move anything forward for President Obama,'" Walsh said. "They're crippling the country, and they should stop playing politics on it. (...) It's a controversial issue most people don't want to talk about."
Walsh said Pres. Obama has taken blame for years for past immigration initiatives by Presidents Reagan and Bush. "All of a sudden this President has to wear everything that happened in the past," Walsh said.
Walsh was asked about the emotional issue of winter parking space savers. Walsh began with a joke: "We're not going to have any snow this year, so we're not going to have to worry about that. This is not Buffalo." Walsh said the Boston space-saver policy would stay the same this winter.
Walsh said plans for a possible protest after the Ferguson, Missouri grand jury verdict have been underway for a while. "We've been preparing for this for a long time. The [Boston Police] Commissioner and myself have met with community leaders. (...) Whatever the ruling is of the findings, here we'll have a peaceful protest."
Walsh thought Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's plans to deploy the National Guard would cause more harm than good. "When you talk about bringing in the National Guard for crowd control for something like a demonstration, (...) [you'll have] problems," Walsh said.
The Mayor was asked by a caller whether he had plans to help those displaced by the closing of the Long Island Bridge. Walsh said he's supported the programs on Long Island for his entire career, and said a solution was in the works. "The short term we're talking two or three years. (...) Obviously, it's very difficult because there's siting issues in neighborhoods," Walsh said. "We need to provide showers, we need to provide safe living arrangements, we need to be handicap-accessible." Walsh added that people without permanent homes were able to get into shelters in the mean time. "We're able to house the same amount of people in different places that we have."
Walsh was asked whether the inclusion of LGBTQ groups in the Veterans Parade meant the annual St. Patrick's Day parade would follow suit. "I'm hopeful. You know, we were very close last year on the [St. Patrick's Day] parade. It came down to a banner and putting the letters 'LGBTQ' on the banner," Walsh said. He added, "The fact that we're having this discussion about a parade (...) is ridiculous."
The Mayor attracted attention recently for firing eight long-time city workers. Braude and Eagan asked whether Walsh was cleaning house. "In some of the places we're making changes. (...) We're going different routes. It's something that you don't want to do," Walsh said. Walsh explained that changing government means changing his staff around, too. "If this is private sector there's no conversation here. (...) It's not an easy thing, and it's not something I take pride in."
Pope Francis has announced a trip to the US in 2015, where he will visit New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Walsh wants to persuade His Holiness to come to Boston, too. "I'm not going to give up the hope. I certainly would love to see him come here." Walsh said he'd sent a letter to the pontiff — using Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley as courier — asking him to come to Boston. "I'm not sure if any other city sent him a letter to invite him here," Walsh said.
Walsh said Cardinal O'Malley was Boston's best hope for a papal visit. "I had dinner with the Cardinal probably about a month ago, and at that dinner the [topic] of the Pope came up. (...) I'm going to stay on the Cardinal because [he's] our best conduit to getting the Pope to come here."
Braude and Eagan asked Walsh if Boston was close to picking a permanent school superintendent. "We are on track for January. (...) The nominating committee set up a timeline in December to do interviews, and to be able to get people here at the end of January," Walsh said. "I'm very pleased with where we are."
Walsh said hiring a superintendent of color was important to him. "It's certainly important in the consideration, we certainly want the best candidate to come here and be superintendent of schools." Walsh added, "but it's also the best-qualified candidate."
A BPR caller from Hingham asked the Mayor whether he'd consider keeping City Hall open Wednesdays to issue birth certificates. "We're in the process of changing this," Walsh said.
Interest has risen in choosing Boston as a potential site for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Walsh said the process has gone well with one exception. "[We've] been a little slow on the one area that I think we have to do a better job on, is notifying the public. (…) This has to be strengthened, tightened up — a lot better process moving forward," Walsh said.
"The majority of the money that's going to be raised here for an Olympic bid, (…) it's going to be private money. (…) There will be city- and state-owned land that [stadiums] will be built on." Walsh assured that "the city will not be building stadiums," but said the city would be responsible for building some infrastructure.
"I am not going to leave my successor somewhere down the road with an Olympic bill that's billions of dollars," Walsh said. "As we're putting contracts together we'll make sure the city is indemnified" against unforeseen expenses.
Has the Mayor talked to Governor-elect Baker about the 2024 Olympics? "I've had conversations with Charlie about stuff. We haven't gotten into a deep conversation."
Recently, Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell wrote about the sorry state of architecture in the Seaport. Walsh was asked whether he agreed with Campbell about the area, which was a pet project of his predecessor Mayor Menino.
"I wouldn't say it's a mess. I definitely think we have opportunities still in the Innovation District. (…) When you come in off the water and you come into Boston harbor, you see some buildings that are nice-looking buildings, but nothing that's like, 'Wow.' I think we need some 'Wows.'"
Braude and Eagan asked Walsh what he thought the hardest thing was about being the mayor of Boston. "The schedule — trying to get enough time to actually think about things. Really, there's not a lot of that in the office. (…) I think I need more time for planning and thinking about what we want to do in the city."
The other? Education. "It's going to take years to completely turn the system around. (…) We're talking about a very complicated department and area," Walsh said. "[If] it's not turned around quick enough, [parents] get angry, they try to turn it around again."
In the 2014 governor's race, Attorney General and then-candidate Martha Coakley championed universal pre-kindergarten for the state. Walsh said he's seen promise in data about pre-K, and thinks it would be effective statewide. "We've seen it" work, Walsh said. Coakley's opponent, Governor-elect Charlie Baker, was against it. When asked whether he would lobby Baker on pre-K, Walsh said, "Of course."
Mayor Menino was a fixture of the holiday season in Boston, and the former mayor participated in numerous tree-lighting ceremonies around the city. Mayor Walsh acknowledged he has big shoes to fill. "Mayor Menino — God love him — really set the tone for these tree-lightings. I think I have 67 tree-lightings this year," Walsh said. "I went with the Mayor last year on a lot of them.
"It's a great way to see people. (…) You get a feel for the mood of people out there. (…) They'll tell us concerns, they'll tell you good things you're doing, bad things you're doing." Walsh added: "My first tree-lighting is actually coming up on Saturday night. First of many."
Do people treat Walsh differently as Mayor than as a state lawmaker? "People love pictures. It's amazing. What amazes me is how tuned-in the young kids are in Boston. When I see the little guys, (…) they know who I am, they're talking to me. People are great. I mean, honestly, my 11 months here [as mayor] I've had people angry," but by and large, "they feel good."
When asked whether he's gotten the attention of Boston's power-brokers, Walsh responded in the affirmative. "I have a lot of new friends today that I didn't have a year ago."