Eviction Notice

This article, entitled "Is Gutierrez ready to rumble," got me to thinking about the similarities that exist between Chicago and Boston. It elaborates a bit on the possibility of the demise of the Daley regime and the prospect of a person of color being squarely at the helm of the city's power structure once the dust settles.

I often find myself reflecting on the veneer of backwards progress that has come to epitomize Boston under the Menino administration. As a matter of fact, we could even throw my hometown up in the mix too, where Joe Riley has been mayor longer than I have been alive. It just baffles me sometimes how some folks can justify progress through sheer domination as opposed to evolution. Any NSBE heads will attest that I am a devout fan of leadership by fire. You're only as good of a leader as your successor. I don't even remember where the original quote came from, but a leader should be judged most by the quality and effectiveness with which s/he trains and develops future leaders.

There was an interesting little snippet in the yesterday's Globe about Boston's current vacancies for police chief, fire chief, and public schools superintendent. And somehow I cannot find it online. But its premise was essentially to highlight what everyone's been saying. Boston is unaffordable and cold and those damn baby-boomers have all the big-time gigs on lock. Um, like, duh, yo. All three cities have unique histories and interconnected legacies, yet the mayoral power structure epitomizes the oft-embarrassing tendency for folks to overstay when it's time to roll out. This is not to say that those in charge have not done anything of significance, but it does paint a telling picture about the need for change every so often so that collective creativity and new thought perspectives are not stymied by a closed network of the same ole people, making the same ole deals, paying more attention to the same ole things, while my hood is in its same ole sorry state of affairs. And I am not fuqing feeling that.

Gutierrez says it succinctly:

"Should I lead this city, I have no interest in my legacy being the number of visitors to a beautiful lakefront park or the year the Olympics came to Chicago. It would be how many more kids graduated, how many quality teachers we hire and how many new schools were built."

Now for all my Beantown folks; think back to how often you see the words, Thomas M. Menino, inscribed all over the place on everyting from signs, to illboards, murals, flyers, etc. Guerilla marketing or urban legend? And can someone tell me why do I appreciate the TV show, Good Times, exponentially more right now than I ever did as a child? Word to Big Bird.