Instead of meeting as usual, my UPP class convened downtown at midday to sit in on a city council meeting. Like the rest of City Hall, the council chamber is rendered in imposing concrete shapes, though softened here by old hardwood furniture and paneling. As always, I grated at the opening prayer, which due to some extensive legal gymnastics in decades past is not considered a First Amendment issue. (Unreasonable? Maybe.) This was immediately followed by a special recognition of the new director of the Catholic archdiocese's recovery services, and then the West Roxbury high school baseball champs, who did not seem thrilled to be dragged in front of this stuffy assembly. The main order of business would be a lengthy discussion of the FY16 operating budget. Some highlights: an argument over the privatization of Boston Housing Authority facilities at Franklin Hill and Whittier Street, possible reclassification of high school truant officers, and a relatively vicious dispute over proposed school closures, which lead to Councillor Jackson throwing shade at Councillor O'Malley and posing the question of top-down cuts versus bottom-up. The operating budget for the Boston school system was unanimously rejected in this session. Other points of debate: the bizarre lack of general BPD jurisdiction in the Seaport (which has its own dedicated officers); the unclear path forward for the city's homeless services following the condemnation of the Long Island bridge; and a proposal for defibrillators on all public safety vehicles.
After most of the meeting had passed, Prof. Sutherland motioned us out. We took the elevator up to the offices of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, where we were shown the Model Room, which contained an incredible, massive and meticulously detailed diorama of a great portion of the city. I found our apartment at the very edge of a table to the side, locating it via the track in the Fens. After a few minutes spent marveling at this and various other Boston paraphernalia (ancient maps, books and records) we went back downstairs and were shown back into the Curley Room, where we'd stopped briefly to drop off our belongings. Councillor Pressley came to meet with us, and we enjoyed an off-the-record discussion and Q&A. I learned that the entire city of Boston has four truant offices in total, and that Councillor Jackson's base is in Roxbury and his earlier positions were not only ethically sound but also comported well with the interests of his constituents. Councillor Pressley discussed her work with youth summer jobs before the general segue into the topic on everyone's mind: the Boston 2024 Olympic bid. I greatly appreciated her take: "I'm not a 'no,' but I am a 'yes, if'," with an emphasis on making sure the less privileged would benefit as much as those who could afford tickets. She continued to impress me throughout the Q&A: describing good politics as "thoughtful intervention," distinguishing between a "pol" and an advocate (who has a symbiotic relationship with their constituents), and saying that "you run before you run" (as in: a platform is, or should be, an actualization of the values you already hold dear.) I was left with a very positive impression of Ms. Pressley, who must have run a killer campaign to win an at-large seat as a woman of color.
I went home to meet Johnny and Kofi, smoke and watch Greater Boston. Later on, Jennifer came over to the apartment and we cooked up a lasagna like my mother's, with spinach/without meat. So satisfied, we moved on to baking chocolate drop cookies, which also came out perfectly after their dusting of powdered sugar. In time we elected to take a walk and headed over to the Fens, where we found some kind of intramural or rec-league baseball going on. We sat and soaked in the game for a while, occasionally cheering a bit and just rooting for whoever was hitting. We got chilly, went home and watched The Truman Show before going to bed.
Quote of the day:
"I heard Councillor O'Malley say words like 'loyalty' and 'accountability'. Well, we need to be loyal to our young people, and we need to be accountable to them." - Councillor Jackson
"At City Hall, they like to name rooms after politicians. This one happens to be named after a very corrupt one." - Prof. Sutherland
Playoff section:
Stanley Cup Final:
CHI v. TBL: 2 - 2 Chicago grinds out a win, despite Vasilevskiy's excellent play in goal.
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