Conflicts mar Boston convention

Why can't the rusted steel and cement of the elevated Green Line come down by the time Democrats and television cameras show up at the Fleet Center in July? Because the MBTA says it can't, which, face it, relates to the refusal of a Republican governor to address the project as a priority.

It has a petty, partisan feel to it, the kind you would expect from an old-time pol, not from a modern chief executive like Mitt Romney who supposedly understands business.

Headlines like that, combined with behind-the-scenes rumblings about a lack of cooperation between local convention planners and those embedded in Boston by the Democratic National Committee signal a bumpy road ahead between now and the time delegates descend on Boston to officially launch the Democratic campaign to unseat President Bush.

Boston's political and business leaders worked hard to win this convention, wooing the Democratic National Committee with the promise of a smooth team, prepared to deliver an enthusiastic and inviting city as a backdrop for Democrats. Since then, civic pride seems to be taking a back seat to more-traditional Boston concerns such as political turf wars, nailing contracts for friends of the mayor, and using the upcoming convention as leverage in union negotiations.

Parochial arrogance is in turn running up against the arrogance of the DNC crowd from Washington. The group running the convention for Mayor Thomas M. Menino is called Boston 2004. The private nonprofit is headed by David Passafaro, the mayor's longtime friend and former chief of staff. Last July, DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe appointed Rod O'Connor as CEO of the 2004 Democratic National Convention. O'Connor and his team are now living and working in Boston, charged with supervising everything that happens inside the convention hall.

Put two turf-conscious, ego-conscious men who report to two different bosses in charge of an effort like this and what do you get? Not much warmth and the prospect of less-than-enthusiastic cooperation.

Last month, Tom O'Neill, son of the late House Speaker Tip O'Neill, held a belated welcome-to-Boston party for O'Connor. Passafaro showed up just as O'Connor began to speak. It was February, so perhaps the chill in the air was seasonal, but it felt more personal. Indeed, when Passafaro learned about the event, he reportedly asked O'Neill, "When's my party?"

O'Neill says he hosted the party for O'Connor at the suggestion of Susan Brophy, a native of Massachusetts and aDemocratic political activist who worked as a congressional liaison in the Clinton White House. "What we should do is welcome him to the city as part of the Democratic family," says O'Neill of O'Connor.

The family has a lot of work to do before July. Millions more must still be raised to offset convention costs. Security remains the biggest challenge. The city cannot risk an outbreak of the type of discord and violence that marred the celebrating after the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl.

As a matter of fact, convention planners might want to think about the Patriots as a role model for the kind of teamwork this city needs to host a successful national convention. The football players worked together, united in their quest for success. Their coach led quietly but firmly by example. There were stars, but they put the greater goal of team victory ahead of individual ego. They let their competence as athletes speak for itself and showed they were winners. They did more than talk about it.

Sometimes, it is about competence, not ideology.

Liberalism may define the Bay State to much of the outside world, especially to those who still think about Massachusetts in connection with Michael Dukakis and his 1988 presidential campaign. But the bigger image problem may yet be related to another Bay State characteristic -- the resistance to working together to achieve common goals.

Massachusetts is not the same place it was in 1988. Boston Harbor is clean, and Massachusetts liberals have been coexisting with Republican governors for 14 years. Even so, Democrats will have a lot of ideological stereotyping to disprove. When it comes to this convention, proving competence should be the easy part.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.