Hearings herald new political season

Mayoral hopefuls try to raise profiles

Boston city councilors with mayoral aspirations are tackling public safety and police union issues in hearings this week, seeking to raise their profiles as political attention quickly shifts from the 2008 election to next year's city elections.

In two proposals aimed at reducing violent crime in Boston, Councilor Michael F. Flaherty wants the city to ban armor-piercing bullets and assess stiffer penalties on people convicted of having illegal handguns inside their homes and workplaces. Flaherty will showcase his proposal at a hearing this afternoon.

Councilor Sam Yoon, meanwhile, will preside over a debate tomorrow on whether the city should continue to require police details at construction sites, although he has not come out on either side of the issue, which has frequently pitted police unions against taxpayer groups and budget watchdogs.

Flaherty and Yoon are the only City Council members thus far exploring a challenge to Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Neither has announced a bid, but Flaherty has been gearing up for a run for months, while Yoon has been pitching himself in out-of-state fund- raising appeals as a rarity in America: a potential big-city mayor who is Asian-American.

City observers say the end of the 2008 campaign provides an opening gun for the 2009 race.

Councilor John Tobin, who has made it clear he would consider a run for mayor only if Menino does not seek reelection, said he expects more ideas on public safety and education to bubble up in the weeks and months to come.

"It's always been my thought that as soon as the clock struck midnight on Nov. 4 with the presidential race, the countdown to the mayor's race in 2009 would begin," he said. "Why come out with any earth-shattering proposals in the midst of a presidential race that had just unprecedented interest? Anything you did would just get lost."

Menino, who has not announced whether he will seek a fifth term next year, did not take a position on the proposals floated by Flaherty and Yoon.

"The mayor continues to make illegal handguns and loopholes around illegal guns a priority and has been very in front on that issue for the last three years, teaming up with national leaders to do that," said his spokeswoman Dorothy Joyce.

Menino, who had a 72 percent approval rating in a Globe poll earlier this year, continues to be a favorite for reelection should he run. He commands a $325,000 campaign war chest, compared with $85,000 for Flaherty and $26,000 for Yoon, according to campaign finance reports for the end of October.

Flaherty is waging a two-pronged assault today on illegal handguns, pointing to continuing gun violence in Boston's neighborhoods. Boston police statistics show there had been 283 shootings in Boston through Sunday, of which 40 were fatal. By the same time last year, the pace of violence was slightly higher: 300 shootings overall, 48 fatal.

"Those figures demand that we implement proactive solutions to get illegal guns and armor-piercing ammunition off of our streets and out of homes," Flaherty said in a telephone interview.

Both of his proposals would require approval by the City Council, Menino, and the Legislature.

The first proposed law would make it a crime in Boston to possess armor-piercing ammunition. Violators could be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned for up to 10 years for a first offense; subsequent offenses would carry stiffer penalties. State Representative Martin Walsh has signed on as a sponsor at the State House.

"This type of ammunition serves no legitimate sporting purpose whatsoever and poses an unacceptable threat to the health, safety, and security of Boston residents and Boston police officers who are safeguarding our streets," Flaherty said.

His second proposal would boost prison time for possession of an unlicensed gun in a home or a business, making it the same as having an illegal gun in the street - a minimum of 18 months in jail. Under current law, a person with an unlicensed gun in the home or workplace is subject to up to $500 in fines and two years in jail, but there is no minimum penalty.

"Closure of the gun loophole would send a strong message that illegal guns, no matter where they're found, will not be tolerated in Boston," Flaherty said.

Yoon said yesterday that he will try to find a solution on police details - a volatile issue that could generate anger among police union officials. Police unions have long guarded contract provisions that require the lucrative overtime assignments, saying the use of lower-cost flaggers at construction sites diminishes public safety.

Governor Deval Patrick began allowing civilian flaggers to direct traffic this year on many state-supervised work sites, even in communities where ordinances or union rules require police details. Boston has mandatory police details in both contract and ordinance, and neither the City Council nor the mayor has embraced the governor's new rules.

"I realize this is controversial, but in my experience doing community organizing, but also doing work as a city councilor, I am convinced that there is no way to solve problems unless you get people in a room to talk about it," Yoon said.

The hearing before the Post Audit and Oversight Committee, which Yoon chairs, will address three questions: what police details cost utilities and how much of that cost is passed on to ratepayers; whether the presence of police details increases safety for work crews and neighborhoods; and whether there is a method of ensuring that details are completed and do not interfere with other police duties.

John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com.