Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a press conference with BPD Commissioner Michael Cox after eight people where shot during the Caribbean Festival Saturday. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
Michelle Wu doesn’t need to hand off the reins of power to a fake mayor every time she steps out of the city.
She can still preside over City Hall and keep in touch with top aides whenever she wants to take her kids to the beach. The wheels of government don’t stop when she’s gone.
The century old city charter language that says the council president takes power in case of a mayoral absence or “vacancy” wasn’t intended to apply to short-term absences from the city or non-emergencies.
It was designed to put an acting mayor in charge if the elected mayor resigns or is gone for a long-term leave of absence, which has happened before – most recently when Marty Walsh resigned to become Secretary of Labor.
That’s when an acting mayor is needed to fill the void in power. But even then the powers of the acting mayor are limited – “only in matters not admitting of delay,” according to the charter.
Do you think former Mayor Tom Menino let the council president take power as “action mayor” — as Menino called it — every time Menino left the city? Or Ray Flynn gave the keys to the mayor’s office to Dapper O’Neil? That’s laughable. Flynn wouldn’t even let Dapper into the Parkman House when he was out of the city once in 1992.
Nor should Wu hand anything to Ed Flynn. Boston doesn’t need an acting mayor right now. Nobody elected Ed Flynn to be mayor. He got 15,000 votes in 2021 as District 2 City Councilor.
Wu got nearly 92,000 votes two years ago to win the mayor’s race.
Flynn risks looking like a cross between Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone” and Al “I’m in charge, here” Haig if he pushes the issue further. He is also alienating himself from Wu, and that will hurt his clout on the council.
There are no real vacations when you’re mayor of Boston. Wu can make phone calls or participate in video conferences, effectively running the city when she’s on a short break.
She can still force feed her woke agenda on residents and take a few days away with her family. She can stay in touch with police when there are shootings or violent kids marauding the streets – as there was a few days ago.
“She is available and checking in with the team as usual,” a Wu spokesperson told the Herald on Tuesday.
Wu in fact announced several initiatives when she was away.
And Wu can always return to Boston City Hall in case of an emergency or major outbreak of violence or a serious storm threatening the city. If she can’t, and is expecting to take uninterrupted vacations, then she probably shouldn’t be mayor.
Run for Congress if you really want a vacation. U.S. senators and House members take plenty of them, and no one misses them when they’re gone. In fact the country is better off when they’re on break.
