There’s No Carlos Danger In Boston’s Race for Mayor

Photo by Talk Radio News Service on Flickr

New York City, last seen handing its top office to the highest-bidding billionaire, on Tuesday offered up the spectacle of a leading mayoral candidate with the sext-assault nom de plume “Carlos Danger.”

So, you can see why New York doesn’t consider Boston a world-class city. All we ever look for in a mayor is someone smart, serious, and dedicated to public service on behalf of the constituents.

Eight such candidates appeared together at a forum at WGBH studios last night, hosted by Allston-Brighton associations, and moderated by wonkish state senator (and congressional candidate) Will Brownsberger. The mayoral campaign has been chock-full of such events, giving it the feel of a typical at-large city council race; the candidates are becoming more comfortable and adept at them. Last night, Felix Arroyo, John Connolly, Rob Consalvo, Charlotte Golar Richie, Mike Ross, Bill Walczak, Marty Walsh, and Charles Yancey were able to give sharp answers in the short time snippets, demonstrating significant knowledge of the issues facing the city, while dutifully slipping in their key resume points.

That’s eight pretty solid, serious, scandal-free candidates for mayor. (Yancey might not be your cup of tea, but he’s a smart guy with a long record of service who knows city government as well as anybody.) John Barros and Dan Conley, who did not attend last night, are equally legit. That’s a lot of good candidates.

In addition to spouse-humiliating trouser-droppers, the large field is notably lacking in self-indulgent celebrities, blowhards, dilettantes, mega-millionaires, race-baiters, rabble-rousers, and single-issue crusaders.

Perhaps it’s the city’s Puritan spirit; or maybe Boston really has been molded into Tom Menino’s image.

All I know is that it makes the choice for the voter an awfully difficult one. It’s really hard to find good reasons to scratch candidates off your list. You have to actually evaluate and compare their views on the issues, and assess their abilities as a leader.

It would be way easier if some of them went a little Carlos Danger on us. Also, it would be much more fun for the media. But, alas, we’re not a great city like New York.