THERE ARE positive signs that Mayor Menino may be ready to lean more on theorists like Mitchell Weiss, who critically examine the role of government, than on political operatives like Michael Kineavy, who helped Menino capture an unprecedented fifth term. It’s almost inconceivable that Menino will run again in 2013. Like a much-loved 1950s Chevy, his reelection machine can now be packed away, and those most skilled at operating it should see their roles reduced or redefined.
Weiss, the director of a nonpartisan research center in Cambridge, stood quietly off to the side of the ballroom at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel Tuesday night, as Menino delivered his victory speech. The fingerprints of the 32-year-old Harvard Business School graduate were all over the speech, right down to the final sentence, which reads “G-d bless all of you and all the citizens of this city.’’ (Some observant Jews, such as Weiss, won’t transcribe the name on paper for fear it will be discarded or defaced).
The short, evocative speech glossed over the record-setting fifth straight victory by a Boston mayor. “Let’s be clear,’’ said Menino. “We haven’t made history with this election, but we will with what we create of it. . . . Complacency is the highest hurdle we face.’’
Kineavy, sporting a couple of weeks facial growth, worked his own form of magic on election night from the basement “boiler room’’ of the hotel. With just 45 minutes remaining before the polls closed, he was tracking turnout on his laptop and dispatching precinct captains in Dorchester and Mattapan to draw out potential Menino voters who were still at home. But whom could Kineavy call to transform the city’s schools, reduce outlandish health care costs for city workers, or maximize the use of Boston Harbor for both economic and recreational purposes?
Menino is on the hunt for advisers who can offer exciting alternatives to old ways of doing business. The mayor makes no secret of the fact that he wants Weiss back in City Hall. Weiss was instrumental in recruiting new talent to the Menino administration and upgrading technology during his stint as mayoral adviser from 2004 to 2006. It’s not clear whether Weiss would consider giving up his head post at the Tobin Project, an organization that tries to bridge the worlds of academia and public policy, to return to City Hall. But he is exactly what Menino needs - someone who can engage in blue sky thinking while keeping his feet on the ground.
