Phil's personal position is in the middle. He has friends among the loyal opposition (the "independent" aldermen and the "progressive" voters) and among the mayor's partisans. Mike Capuano has always been courteous toward Phil. They shook hands in passing at Joe Heisler's "Talk of the Neighborhood" show on Boston cable on Sunday night as Phil arrived and Mike left. When Phil and Tony (Schinella, independent candidate) crashed the Hispanic forum in Sept. and sat in chairs flanking Mike designated for absent Democratic candidates, Mike commented jokingly to Phil, "You guys having fun?" Phil commented a couple of times to Mike over the months that if Mike won the Primary, the two of them would symbolize "Somerville Power," and that is indeed what happened.
Phil was friends with Mike's father, Andy, who lived right around the corner from Phil till his death a couple of years ago (Andy dubbed Phil "the professor" the day before he died). Mike and Phil shared a mutual friend in Lenny Scott (née Squillicioitti), the octogenarian and scrupulously honest chairman of the Somerville Licensing Commission (who died early this year). Lenny and Phil were occasional members of the daily "coffee club" (Andy Capuano, Buzzy Gigli, Buddy Crovo) that started off girl-watching and drinking coffee at Mike's Restaurant (no relation) in Davis Sq from 8-9 am every morning and then drove down, usually in Andy's big maroon car (Crown Victoria?), to Cafe Vittoria in the North End, and enjoyed "the best capuccino in the world" from 9 to 10 or 10:30. Then they'd drive back thru the winding streets of the North End, yelling at old friends from past lives (such "Cheech" Cicciollo), and wind up driving home thru Somerville reminiscing about who used to live where and all the little businesses and banks that used to dot Somerville streets in the old days. Phil, Lenny and Buddy continued the North End part of the tradition on Fridays until Lenny had to go to the hospital for cancer late last fall.
Phil agrees with the many Somervillians he's met who feel that, as mayor, Mike has been an excellent administrator. People had very high hopes for Mike when he started, but doubts began to creep in after a year or two. Some say his dad, while he lived, was a moderating influence on Mike.
But as with the daily downsizings and economic collapse stories, Phil, like Will Rogers, "only knows what he reads in the papers." Nothing came out before the Primary, but after the Primary (Sept.21), the Herald, which had endorsed Mike for the Democrat Primary, came out with a frontpage story (small, top banner) titled -
Capuano accused of favoritism in mobster's land deal, by Thomas Grillo, Boston Herald, 9/21/98, frontpage.
[This was eventually answered by Mike -]
Mayor denies special handling of property, by Sarah Fishman, Boston Globe, 10/4/98, p. City 6.
...Capuano denied giving favorable treatment to Howie Winter Jr., son of the convicted local gang leader, on a piece of property for which the Winter family owes the city more than $250,000... said Winter's land...will be treated like any similar property ceded to the city for back taxes.... denied the city was delaying dealing with the property.... said it would make most sense to "land bank" the city -owned parcels until all six plots can be developed together....
[Then there was -]
Rules say Capuano can't have two jobs, by Ellen Silberman, Boston Herald, 10/1/98, p.17.
Somerville Mayor Michael Capuano plans to keep his current job if he goes to Congress, even though a U.S. House official said that would be unconstitutional...."That's their opinion. That's fine," said Capuano, who doesn't want to give up local power until he helps his supporters burrow in to city government.
[A few days later, Capuano issued a statement that he would resign promptly as Mayor.]
[Some background on the above was provided in -]
"The interregnum after Capuano" in Somerville Notes compiled by Sarah Fishman of the Boston Globe on 9/20/98, p.City 4 -
"If Capuano wins the general election in November but holds onto his [mayoral] seat until five months before the next mayoral election in Nov. 1999, the board [of aldermen] could instead [of calling a special election] appoint an interim mayor..." and it's generally believed that Mike would be pushing for the appointment of his ally, Stan Koty, who was himself appointed without election in similar fashion as alderman of Ward 5 after a carefully timed resignation by his predecessor, Joe Macaluso, who in turn was at the time accused of not actually residing in Ward 5 (or even in Somerville) and also of insurance fraud in the matter of a disappearing/reappearing vehicle and who is now installed, by the gradual (re-?)packing of the Housing Board, as the Director of Somerville Housing after Mike's backstage ouster of popular (but independent) Bill Casamento. When Phil expressed doubts about this procedure to Lenny, Lenny roared, "To the victor belong the spoils" indicating two contrasting concepts here - "winner take all" vs. "accommodate the wishes of the people."
Tenants propose names for board, by Sarah Fishman in Somerville Notes, Boston Globe, 10/1/98, p.City 4.
[Aldermen at Large] Bill White...and...Grace Abbruzzio sponsored a unanimously accepted resolution asking Capuano to respond in writing [as to/] what method he'll use [to/] fill the position [of/] tenant representative on the Somerville Housing Authority Board...held by Marie Brady from 1992 until her death in July.... The aldermen's push for specifics from Capuano is a result of his selection of Brady for the tenant slot. Capuano had let Brady's predecessor hold the position for two years after her term expired, and then chose Brady without first informing tenants, according to State Representative Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville).
Capuano says he'll reach out, by David Yosifon, Bay State Banner, 10/8/98, frontpage.
...some African American leaders in the [8th congressional] district are wondering aloud about how much attention Capuano will turn to his constituents of color, especially in light of some statements the mayor has made since winning the Democratic primary in the 8th on Sept. 15. "My first interest is making damn sure the people of Somerville don't get hurt. My second interest is making sure the people who supported me don't get hurt. My third interest is worrying about other people's political careers." [...This contrasted with Mike's statement, "It's my job to reach out to other communities now and earn their respect." However, it]...echoed sentiments Capuano had previously expressed to the Banner during the campaign, when the mayor made no bones of his practice of doling out perks to friends and supporters, to the exclusion of those "who had never carried a sign for me."
...Said former City Councilor and Roxbury activist Anthony Crayton "I've never seen anything like this before. We're not from Somerville, so we're not in his first concern. And he 'damn sure' isn't worried about any political careers here. Just a cursory look at the wards tells you he didn't hardly get squat (in terms of votes) here. So if he holds to his word, he won't be serving the black community at all," Crayton said.
[However,] Capuano has received low marks for leadership among African American leaders in his home town of Somerville. Keven Tarpley [is] Somerville's first and only African American to be elected to the city's Board of Aldermen... "He has a poor record working with the African American community," Tarpley told the Banner. "The black leadership in Boston needs to be prepared for a long two-year dry spell. If he does anything for the black community, it will be crumbs." Tarpley accuses Capuano of having a heavy handed mayoral style, which the alderman predicts Capuano will carry with him as a U.S. Rep. "It's very simple. You don't do what he say, you don't play. He will be exposed for his heavy-handed, totalitarian style of leadership that is not responsive to the public." Other black leaders in Somerville...report less than favorable dealings with Capuano.... Franklin Delambert, president of the Somerville Haitian Coalition...accused Capuano of marginalizing accusations of racism and harassment in the city's Department of Public Works into a "political game" and failing to address the concerns of Somerville's Haitian community, which has rallied around a Haitian worker who levied charges of racism against the DPW....
However, Capuano is not without his boosters among African Americans. Back in June...former state Sen. Bill Owens announced his support for Capuano and...remains a strong supporter. "He assured me that he wants full involvement in the African American community," Owens told the Banner. "And I expect he will follow through." Owens said he was not discouraged by the fact that Capuano did little campaigning in the black community during the primary season. In fact, Owens says he agreed early on that Capuano should focus on his base in Somerville. "...He recognized that Charles Yancey was going to do quite well in the black community, he basically conceded that," Owens said....
Asked if there are specific individuals from whom he will seek advice about the concern's of Boston's black community, Capuano said: " I don't anoint leaders in communities. Communities have to decide their own leaders and then I have to listen to them."... Asked about criticism from Kevin Tarpley, the only African American anointed to an elected leadership role in Somerville, Capuano cut off the question before it was fully voiced. "I'm not going to respond to anything Kevin Tarpley says," Capuano said flatly, calling Tarpley "the most divisive politician I have ever encountered in my political career." "That's a compliment," Tarpley responded. "He says that because I'm one of the only guys who has the guts to stand up to him."
[Now the background article for the next story -]
Youth council is now official, by Sarah Fishman, Boston Globe, 10/4/98, p. City 6.
Somerville officially has a Youth Council, created under city law at the last aldermen's meeting. "A group of kids from Kelley Park area have worked on activities to keep youth off the street," said teenager Carlie Landers. "We have been involved for several years with Patti Terrio," a long-time Somerville youth worker. In calling for the establishment of the council, Alderman at-Large Joe Curtatone said its members will determine how it interacts with the city's youth program, which was defunct during much of the summer.
The city had an active, but not legally mandated, youth council in the 1970s, said Ward 3 Alderman Tom Taylor, and, more recently, young people organized under Terrio's guidance. In June 1997, Curtatone proposed establishing a youth council, and during the last month, young peole met weekly in the youth program office, now headed by Richard Jarvis. Terrio said the youth office shutdown, Mayor Capuano's run for Congress, and failure by board members to let young people take on leadership roles delayed creation of the council.
Capuano foils youth council - Teens' hopes dashed in political feud, by Dorothy Pomerantz, Somerville Journal, 10/15/98, frontpage.
When the Board of Aldermen approved a city ordinance [sponsored by Kevin Tarpley, an assistant director of Youth Build USA,] the young people of the city thought they were finally getting some hard-earned respect and recognition. But last week, Mayor Michael Capuano changed all that when he vetoed the ordinance establishing the council. In a letter to the Board, Capuano wrote, "[While] I strongly agree a youth council should exist, we believe it should not be established by city ordinance nor by adults but by the youth of the city for the youth of the city."
[Translation - neither of the Youth Council's sponsors were of the Mayor's party.]
Thus arise the criticisms of vindictiveness and inability to handle diversity of initiatives, characteristic of political machines in the past, such as that of Mayor Daly in Chicago and Tammany Hall in New York. Aside from the "independents" on the Somerville Board of Aldermen, there is, as you might expect, a political "resistance movement" in Somerville but it is largely underground, luddite (e.g., no fax machines, no explicit phonebook listings, and no websites) and timid (or intimidated). It is called the Somerville "progressives" - holds a progressive potluck once a month at the United Methodist Church on College Ave, and publishes a committee-run newspaper called the Somerville Community News (dismissed by Mike in a recent Townonline chat as the "Somerville Communist News"). The News does call their goal socialism - "a society built upon the creativity and cooperativeness within us all." In the pre-primary issue (Sept-Oct/98), the Somerville Community News came out with a long Editorial (pp.5-6) titled "Why you should not vote for Michael Capuano," giving several multi-paragraph reasons, such as -
One member of the Somerville Community News committee is Greg Gebosky, who walked the Allston-Brighton Parade before the Primary handing out leaflets titled "Will the real MIKE CAPUANO please stand up?" signed only by "Somerville Citizens for Effective Government" with the email address SCEG@usa.net and the disclaimer "Not financed by any Congressional campaign."
The leaflet disputes claims on Mike's campaign literature, such as
If you saw a headline reading "Capuano wins; supporters riot - In a celebration turned ugly, drunken liberals engage in a wild night of '8th District Hooliganism'" and under the Mike Capuano photo, "Off the record, Capuano says that he is 'stoked' to see that so many voters 'bought my bullshit'," note that this was a gag article in the gag newsweekly put out in Somerville (11/5/98, p. 3) called The Weekly Week and billed as "Boston's only redundant news source for news," 629-7747.
The main front men of the Somerville machine are generally thought to consist of -
Speaking for the independents, members of the Somerville Board of Aldermen who do not automatically go along with all the mayor's wishes: