438 city workers back Menino
Records indicate 2 for Hennigan
The City of Boston employs more than 16,000 people. But just two of them have been willing to go on the record as contributors to the mayoral campaign of Councilor at Large Maura A. Hennigan, campaign finance records show.
In stark contrast, hundreds of city workers have lined up to help the campaign war chest of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, already bulging with more than $1 million, much of it from downtown lawyers and developers.
So far, 438 people identifying themselves as city workers have donated $33,195 to Menino, according to a Globe analysis of campaign finance records filed with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Just two self-identified city employees, a police officer and a firefighter, gave a total of $400 to Hennigan, a city councilor for 24 years.
Hennigan has shelled out at least $425,000 in money she borrowed against her Jamaica Plain home. The mayor has spent none of his own money on his campaign. Jacque Goddard, the mayor's campaign spokeswoman, said the mayor did not feel he had to spend his own funds.
The Globe analysis may not include city workers who contributed to the campaigns, but did not identify their employer for campaign finance records. It also did not include donations of less than $50, which candidates are not required to report.
Hennigan, who portrays the mayor as a king in a recent mailer, said many city workers feared they would be penalized for contributing to her campaign. Some, she said, sent checks for less than $50 in order to remain anonymous.
The paltry financial support from city workers, she added, does not reflect their political support for her.
''I was standing outside of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission today, and people were coming up to me, shaking my hand, and telling me they'd be voting for me," she said. ''What I do know is in City Hall and city government, there is a huge disenfranchisement. I also do know some people feel they do have some obligation [to contribute to the mayor] and feel that may be tied to promotions and pay raises."
One of the two workers who went on the record backing Hennigan is Richard Walsh, a firefighter from West Roxbury. In a phone interview this week, he said he likes Menino, has contributed to him in the past, and has ''no idea" if Hennigan would be a better mayor. He decided to support Hennigan this year because she is an old family friend; he used to play tennis with her brother.
Walsh said he is not worried about going public as a Hennigan contributor.
''I've got a big sign on my fence; everybody knows," he said. He added, with a laugh, ''I'm close to retirement, so it doesn't bother me."
Menino said donations from city workers to his campaign reflected their enthusiasm about ''the progress we're making in Boston" under his leadership. He dismissed his opponent's assertion that city workers feel obligated to support him, adding that he pays no attention to who gives him money.
''It's not interesting to me," he said. ''Everyone thinks I go over those lists with a fine-tooth comb. I do not. I haven't looked at a finance list in 10 years."
Gloria Pizzarella, a data processing systems analyst for the city, was surprised to learn she was one of a handful of city employees who gave the mayor the maximum allowed under the law, $500.
''I figured that is what you are supposed to give," she said. If she'd realized most city workers contributed far less -- $25 to $100 being the most common -- ''at that point I would have just given a check for a couple of hundred," she said.
Some of the mayor's top advisers did not donate to their boss this year, though. Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole said she does not donate to political candidates because of her position as the city's top public safety official. School Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant said he has contributed to Menino in the past, but usually does not donate just before an election.
Daniel F. Pokaski, Licensing Board chairman and an appointee of the governor, did not donate to Menino's campaign this year, either. He said it had not occurred to him, possibly because he believes that Menino is not at risk of losing his seat.
But it certainly occurred to most of the staff who work directly under the mayor. Michael Kineavy, Menino's chief policy adviser, works 12-hour weekdays, spends Saturdays touring the city with Menino, and often puts in time on Sundays, too.
Still, he did not think twice about giving $500 to the campaign, and he insisted he felt no pressure to do so.
''I just feel very loyal to Tom Menino, and therefore I want to be in for all of it," he said. ''One of those Greek guys said that loyalty is the holiest good in the human heart, and I believe that."
Does he mind that his boss did not chip in? Not at all.
''He's given his life in service to the city," Kineavy said. ''He works more than me." 