Globe Tracy Miner Update Missing Bryon Hefner Link

February 27, 2019

From our Late to the Party of the First Part desk

Nice cameo in yesterday’s Boston Globe of legal eagle Tracy Miner’s flight from her old law firm to her own.

Lawyer ‘energized’ with starting own firm

Tracy Miner would tell you that there aren’t many woman-owned law firms that specialize in criminal work.

That’s probably true. But you know what’s also rare? Lawyers who start their own firms while they’re in the midst of one of the city’s biggest white-collar criminal trials.

Miner can claim both honors. She launched Miner Orkand Siddall LP earlier this month, just as the Insys Therapeutics trial was getting underway. The racketeering case revolves around federal prosecutors’ claims that Insys executives improperly marketed the painkiller Subsys to doctors. Miner represents Mike Gurry, a former vice president at the drug company and one of the defendants in the case.

 

Jon Chesto’s Bold Types piece also mentions Miner’s defense counseling for “state lawmaker Vincent Piro, who had been accused of attempted extortion involving two liquor licenses that a developer sought for the Assembly Square Mall in Somerville” and “John Connolly, who was charged with taking bribes and tipping off James ‘Whitey’ Bulger to a secret federal indictment that enabled him to flee and remain on the run for 16 years.” (Piro got off; Connolly obviously did not.)

But the normally buttoned-down Chesto inexplicably fails to mention Miner’s highest profile current client: Bryon Hefner, the estranged husband of former State Senate President Stan Rosenberg. Last we saw, Hefner – who’s been accused by several men of sexual assault – goes on trial March 25.

Not exactly a minor omission. Considering Chesto’s track record, though, give him a mulligan, eh?

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Class Notes from Boston’s Op-It Gals

October 24, 2013

Two of the best columnists in town – the Globe’s Joan Vennochi and the Herald’s Margery Eagan (yeah yeah, she’s technically not an op-ed columnist but couldn’t resist the headline) – land on the same square today in their coverage of the Boston mayoral race: The “phony class war” as Vennochi puts it, or the “‘washerwoman’ fixation” as Eagan has it.

From the former:

BOSTON DOESN’T need a phony class war, fueled by labor supporters of mayoral candidate Martin J. Walsh — not when it faces the prospect of a real one.

Forget about new Boston versus old Boston. The real issue is rich Boston versus poor Boston and whether the next mayor cares enough to do something about it.

 

From the latter:

This “washerwoman” fixation is about politicians battling over who’s had a tougher life. That’s supposed to determine which candidate would make the better mayor, senator or governor — though I’ve yet to see any proof.

 

Both pieces are worth reading. Vennochi’s conclusion:

Where the next mayor came from matters less than where he wants the city to go — and how many Bostonians get there with him.

 

Eagan:

[Y]ou can’t fight class warfare if you’re both smart, powerful men in the same class. Vote Connolly or vote Walsh. But prince vs. pauper this race is not.

 

They’re both right.

 

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Tom Menino: I don’t run a dictatorship [Ha!]

October 14, 2013

From our LOL desk

Mistah Mayah makes an appearance in both local dailies today with a story less believable than Bill Clinton on Saturday night. Start with the Boston Herald :

Menino warns: Endorsements only go so far

The two candidates for mayor fought hard for key endorsements last week — with both Martin J. Walsh and John R. Connolly claiming IMG_3337.JPGvictories in that fight — but the current occupant of City Hall, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, said yesterday endorsements aren’t worth the breath they’re uttered on if supporters can’t back it up with votes.

“Endorsements are great to have, but people have to get out and vote. I don’t just say that. When I ran for mayor, I had no endorsements and I won,” Menino, who insists he’s staying neutral, told the Herald, referring to his first race 20 years ago.

 

But here’s the best part:

Menino maintained yesterday he’ll stay out of the fray.

AN3V4060.JPG“Some of my people are with Walsh, some of them are with Connolly,” Menino said. “If anyone comes to me, I say, ‘Do what you want to do. It’s up to you … I don’t run a dictatorship.’ … Unless it gets personal. I don’t intend to get involved in this campaign at all. It’s really great to watch from the sidelines.”

 

Yeah, and he’s also looking forward to spending more time scrapbooking.

Crosstown, it’s much the same eyewash at the Boston Globe.

In this race, Menino loyalists are on their own

Their arms have hoisted green Mayor Menino signs for 20 years. Their fists have knocked on doors from Oak Square to Neponset.suarez_12mayormachine(2)_MET_003

They have driven sound trucks blasting get-out-the-vote messages in Spanish through Hyde Square and lashed political placards to the fence outside East Boston High School, dressing the polling place for Election Day.

They are the members of Team Menino, the vaunted political machine of Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Some loyalists joined upstart mayoral campaigns as soon as Menino announced in March he would not seek a sixth term. But the mayor’s vow to remain neutral in the 12-candidate preliminary election kept many on the sidelines.

Until now.

 

Nut graf:

“I said, ‘Do what you want to do,’ ” Menino said in an interview. “It’s not a dictatorship. I have an organization that’s committed to things I believe in in government. They want to make a choice, let them make a choice.”

 

Yep – they won’t have Tommy to kiss around anymore.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Local Dailies Wax . . . Different about Mayoral Candidate Pledge

October 3, 2013

Boston mayoral candidate John Connolly has pushed opponent Marty Walsh to sign a People’s Pledge to keep third-party money out of the race. But – no surprise – the local dailies present Connolly’s initiative in very different terms.

From today’s Boston Globe editorial page:

Marty Walsh should join Connolly in rejecting super PACs

MARTY WALSH has more to lose by refusing to disavow super PAC support in the mayor’s race than he seems to realize. With every dollar of third-party spending that oozes into Boston to elect the Dorchester state representative, Walsh wastes an opportunity to stick up for clean elections and dispel doubts about his own independence. His opponent has agreed to a pledge to discourage spending by super PACs and other independent expenditure groups, and Walsh owes it to the city to do the same.

Then comes the to be sure graf:

Walsh has called the pledge . . . a gimmick. He points out that John R. Connolly, his opponent in the mayoral final election, flip-flopped before signing on. Connolly did reverse himself. But at least he landed in the right place, spurning the help of an outside group that was prepared to spend $500,000 on his behalf. Walsh has also flip-flopped, but in the wrong direction; he earlier indicated he’d sign the agreement.

 

Crosstown at the Boston Herald it’s a whole nother story, one not so understanding about Connolly’s conversion.

IMG_2828.jpgConnolly changes tune on ‘people’s pledge’

City Councilor John R. Connolly yesterday renewed his call for a so-called “people’s pledge” in the mayoral race, saying he wants to “level the playing field” by barring the windfall of union cash flowing in to state Rep. Martin J. Walsh’s coffers . . .

The “people’s pledge” was proposed by Councilor Rob Consalvo during the preliminary but Connolly, who at the time had an education reform group ready to back him, dismissed it as a “gimmick.” He later said he would sign it, if other candidates agreed, but that never happened.

 

Not gonna happen this time either.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

All Those Dollars and No Sense in Boston Mayoral Coverage

October 2, 2013

Go figure the way the local dailies cover the cash cache of the two Boston mayoral finalists.

Start with the Boston Globe’s Page One Metro piece.

 

Picture 1

 

It’s what left that counts, though.

“Thumbnail figures provided by Walsh’s campaign show he collected $381,647 in September, leaving him with $181,115 cash on hand, down significantly from the $700,000 he had in the bank at the end of August . . . Connolly took in $163,419 in September, leaving him with $191,473, far less than the $589,000 he had in his account at the end of August, according to his campaign.”

So, pretty much neck-and-neck, even-steven, whatever you want to call it.

Except at the Boston Herald, which calls it very differently.

Walsh drubs Connolly in campaign cash haul

Boosted by new infusions of union cash to his campaign war chest, state Rep. Martin J. Walsh is drubbing City Councilor John R. Connolly in their head-to-head fundraising clash, hauling in a staggering $381,000 in September — more than double the dough raised by his West Roxbury rival, both camps told the Herald.TED_8061.jpg

Connolly and Walsh jockeyed for the top fundraising position throughout the preliminary race but last month was no contest as Connolly’s campaign reported raising just $163,000. Walsh beat that total in the first two weeks of September alone, when he raised $206,000, records show.

 

The piece focuses on “powerful unions — many of them out of state — [pouring] money into Walsh’s coffers.” Nowhere does it mention that Connolly now has more money on hand than Walsh does.

Doesn’t fit the Herald’s story line as well.

 

 

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Local Dailies Cop Different Attitudes on Boston Police Pay (II)

September 28, 2013

Once again the Boston dailies have very different front-page approaches to the knee-buckling pay hike an arbitrator awarded Boston police patrolmen.

Boston Herald:

 

Screen Shot 2013-09-28 at 11.41.20 AM

 

Boston Globe:

 

Screen Shot 2013-09-28 at 11.42.19 AM

 

But wait! There’s more!

Today Rep. Marty Walsh issued this statement:

FOLLOW-UP: STATEMENT OF STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND MAYORAL CANDIDATE MARTY WALSH ON BOSTON POLICE ARBITRATOR AWARD

Many working families across the city have seen no raises, or have even seen drops in their family income over the past few years. I believe the raises awarded by the arbitrator are clearly out of line with the current economic environment and unsustainable for the City of Boston. Because Mayor Menino has chosen to pursue irresponsible negotiating tactics, he has put the City in the untenable position of choosing between an exorbitant arbitration award or reneging on the basic tenets of collective bargaining.

For that reason, I am calling today on Mayor Menino and the BPPA to come back to the bargaining table and jointly negotiate a deal that would better protect the taxpayers while addressing the concerns of our hardworking police officers who have gone years without a contract. As Mayor, the buck would stop with me and I would not leave the future of city’s fiscal health to an arbitrator’s decision. We need a resolution of this issue that protects taxpayers first, and the only way to do that is for the Mayor and the BPPA to return immediately to the bargaining table.

 

Councilor John Connolly, as far as we can tell, is still ducking and covering.

 

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Boston Herald a Day Late, $500,000 Short on Mayoral Race

August 22, 2013

Preliminary indications are that our feisty local tabloid is taking a pass on the Boston mayoral race. The first competitive City Hall election in 20 years is apparently less important than the non-existent political career of a certain Scott Brown (R-Nowhere).

Monday it was Brown traipsing around Iowa that earned him Page One of the Herald.  (Q: What’s the difference between Scott Brown and the Iowa State Fair butter cow? A: The cow will participate in the 2016 Iowa presidential caucus.)

Today the big news is that Brown continues not to run for governor. So that’s front-page material too.

 

MA_BH

 

But while the Herald recites Make Way for Charlie, a real campaign has broken out in the Boston mayoral race, mostly around City Councilor (and current co-favorite) John Connolly.

From Monday’s Boston Globe:

 

Picture 7

 

Tuesday:

 

Picture 5

 

Wednesday:

 

Picture 8

 

So, to recap: Stand for Children, a national education non-profit, says it’s going to dump half a million bucks into the race. Initially no response in Monday’s Globe from the object of the kibitzer’s largesse. Rival candidates scream bloody murder. One proposes a People’s Pledge.  Connolly bites back at critics in Tuesday Globe, but still doesn’t say anything about the Stand for Children loot. Rivals scream louder. Wednesday, Connolly says he he won’t take the dough, but says People’s Pledges are just a gimmick – no wait – he signs the pledge.

Got that?

Meanwhile, the Herald isn’t reporting much of anything or even recycling Globe stuff the way it sometimes does. Thank goodness, though, for the Herald editorial page, which has noticed there’s a mayoral race.

 

Picture 3

 

The Herald agrees with what Connolly used to believe: “[The People’s Pledge] has become just another self-serving campaign gimmick.”

But fun to watch, yes? As long as someone’s covering it.

 

1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Being Ed Davis

June 28, 2013

Police Commissioner Ed Davis has officially become a litmus test in Boston’s mayoral race.

It started with this piece in Wednesday’s Boston Herald:

STON1329.JPGConley promises to retain top cop

Puts feud with Davis behind him

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley yesterday vowed to keep Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis if elected mayor, as a rift between the two men appears to have ended.

“Commissioner Davis and I have had a very close working relationship for many years now. We are in constant communication anytime there are issues involving the public safety in Boston,” Conley told the Herald.

In the past, the DA and Davis have clashed over jurisdictional issues and strategies for dealing with Boston’s homicide rate.

 

That triggered this piece in Thursday’s Boston Globe (which credited the Herald for raising the subject):

Boghosian_11menino3_METHalf of hopefuls for mayor would retain Davis

Following the Boston Marathon bombings in April, Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis was praised for his steady presence during the ordeal and regaled with an honorary degree. His name was even bandied about as a possible candidate for mayor.

Davis decided to sit it out, but his name has remained part of the race, with questions arising about whether he would keep his post under a new leader at City Hall.

Half of the 12 mayoral candidates contacted by the Globe Wednesday said they would ask him to stay on. Five would not commit to keeping him. One did not respond to the question.

 

(Interesting foreground/background contrast in the photos, yeah?)

Related Globe piece on the mayoral candidate breakdown:

Yes: Felix Arroyo, John Barros, Bill Walczak, Robert Consalvo, Martin Walsh, Dan Conley.

Still deciding: Charles Clemons Jr., John Connolly, Charlotte Golar Richie, Michael Ross, David James Wyatt.

Did not respond: Charles Yancey.

Yet to comment: Ed Davis.

Stay tuned.

1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Herald a Lively Index to the Globe (Mayoral Hopefuls’ Income Edition)

June 12, 2013

From our Compare and Contrast in Clear Idiomatic English desk

Coincidentally (or not) both local dailies have salary surveys of the Boston mayoral candidates today, with – wait for it – mostly different numbers.

Start with the Boston Herald:

AN3V9806.JPGBIG BUCKS BACKING BIDS

Herald review shows top earners in mayor’s race

Dorchester health care executive Bill Walczak is the wealthiest among the top tier of mayoral candidates, reporting a staggering $450,000 salary, while state Rep. Martin J. Walsh and City Councilor Michael P. Ross each reported earning more than $200,000, and two others hauled in a quarter-million dollars with their spouses, a Herald review of candidates’ tax returns found.

Walczak, co-founder of the Codman Square Health Center, and his Boston schoolteacher wife, Linda, reported earning a combined $526,000 in 2011, according to a tax return supplied by the Walczak campaign.

 

Like that “staggering”? That’s the Herald all over.

The feisty local tabloid also listed the incomes of former state representative Charlotte Golar Richie, Boston School Committeeman  John Barros, Boston City Councilors Felix Arroyo, Rob Consalvo, and John Connolly, and Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley.

Crosstown at the Boston Globe, the story looked like this:

Income of Boston mayoral hopefuls varies

Many looking to succeed Menino now earn more than city’s median income

There are no Mitt Romneys in the bunch, no nine-digit personal fortunes, no eye-popping investments. But roughly half of the candidates hoping to succeed Thomas M. Menino as mayor of Boston earn more than double the city’s annual median household income of almost $52,000.

Four of the aspirants would face pay cuts if they move into the fifth-floor office that belongs to the mayor, a job that pays $175,000 a year.

As campaigns clash this summer over affordable housing and the plight of the middle class, tax returns can provide a glimpse of each candidate’s socioeconomic status. The Globe requested 2012 state and federal tax returns for all 15 people running for mayor and found that income varied from roughly $59,000 to $700,000. One candidate gave almost $19,000 to charity; another donated a few hundred dollars, the returns showed.

 

The stately local broadsheet also included this helpful chart.

 

Picture 5

 

Notice not just the different numbers, but the Globe’s inclusion of Robert Cappucci, “a former School Committee member and retired Boston police officer who collects a pension,” and its listing of tax rates and charitable donations – both quite telling.

Notice also who failed to provide tax returns, most conspicuously Councilor Charles Yancey.

Follow-up, anyone?

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider