The mayor has shown common political sense in removing his name – temporarily – from consideration for a voting membership on the School Committee.
The mayor is now facing three major fronts.
Call them cracks in the dam. Call them what you will.
The genie is out of the bottle for him with regard to serious racial issues being raised by Councilor at Large Gerly Adrien, the Boston Globe, the Leader Herald, and the fair-minded people of this city.
The mayor’s failure to comment on the City Council’s poor behavior two weeks ago, haranguing Adrien and urging her to resign, has not been resolved.
The racial overtones permeating and bandied about at that meeting, and at others, was embarrassing even by Everett City Council standards.
That the video of the hearing was erased, stolen, or ruined is another matter for a closer look at the Administration.
This led to a protest in front of Everett city hall last week where Everett residents were joined by residents from a half dozen cities complaining loudly that maybe the time had come to throw out the mayor and the City Council.
Nothing like this has been seen here in all the years of covering Everett City Hall we can recall.
The lack of comment from the mayor about Adrien being bludgeoned because she is a Black woman and an aggressive presence on the City Council is also embarrassing but more odious as it is the mayor who sets the standard for leadership here – and perhaps that is the real problem.
The mayor having nothing to say about overt acts of racial indifference and gender intolerance by city officials is reason enough for the mayor to become rattled when large crowds show up here to shout him down in public.
This is not going to go away.
Racial inequality is a problem for him.
He’s had 12 years to figure things out, but he has yet to do anything about charges of racism regarding the city’s nearly all-white hiring practices.
Another difficulty of the first order for the mayor is the disaster at Encore Boston Harbor Hotel and Casino.
The city cannot afford to lose a dime of what Encore has promised to pay.
It is only a matter of time before Encore comes to the city to renegotiate its Host Agreement.
Without enough money coming in, it is impossible to expect Encore to pay for very long the entire amount that is due.
Many millions are likely owed, and that is a problem that will grow larger as time passes – especially during the next two months.
Encore is turning out to be a disaster instead of the city’s savior.
The city must prepare for the worst, which it has not done under this mayor.
Another problem is the mayor’s bold faced bid to become a voting member of the School Committee. It has been an embarrassment to him.
In the first instance, his effort failed miserably.
The matter is now on the table, so to speak, until the next round.
Politicizing the School Department is a distasteful and unwanted element to deal with for Superintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani.
She does not want the mayor as a voting member.
She understands what the mayor is attempting.
Tahiliani serves for the children of the district.
She feels the mayor should do the same by leaving the School Committee alone.