Boston may be on the right track, but is Michelle Wu?
With a downtown ghost town, traffic jams, Millennials fleeing to the suburbs due to the high cost of living, broken sidewalks, needles in parks, random violence, and rodent-infested streets, Wu’s city appears to be on the verge of a gradual, downward spiral.
The polls presently indicate that if the mayor is mandated, all these unquestionably negative trends could beyond her second term.
However, her reelection won’t cause her to alter her dictatorial manner; rather, it will just give her more confidence and reduce her accountability.
She portrays herself as the city’s defender while denying any accountability for these alarming patterns.
Is downtown empty? Put the blame on COVID-19. A rat problem? Climate change is to blame. Cass and Mass? Addiction is the issue.
Wu is never to blame.
Whether it’s the economy or Donald Trump’s fault, she has a talent for evading responsibility. The voices of her detractors are a voice in the desert.
She might also pass the blame for the city’s deterioration in November, which would be the ultimate political victory. Mayors of large cities are typically held accountable for any of these issues. Not Wu.
As Boston teeters on the brink, a resolute Wu smiles broadly and moves forward. People outside the city think it’s dangerous, dirty, and tough to park or move around. This explains why big restaurant businesses are moving outside of Boston.
With soaring vacancy rates and corporations no longer needing office space, one of the largest impending issues is the death of downtown. There are other options besides turning the workplaces into affordable homes. Have abandoned office skyscrapers been taken up by the Boston Housing Authority?
People no longer desire to visit Boston, and the reasons for this are not limited to economic factors beyond of Wu’s control.
Downtown is struggling for other reasons as well, but the post-Covid shift to remote labor didn’t help. Once the beating center of the city, Downtown Crossing is experiencing its greatest level of violent crime in seven years.
The loss of a corporate anchor marks the start of a major city’s decline. The city’s business district feeds the surrounding communities and generates jobs. Former Mayor Kevin White came to the realization that it is what makes a city function.
The city’s tourism industry and surrounding areas are impacted when downtown collapses.
However, Wu has disregarded or alienated the business sector, and she has refused to implement significant reforms like increased law enforcement in neighboring neighborhoods like the South End, which are beset by widespread drug use and crime that spills over from Mass and Cass.
Wu is not the urban mechanic; he is the feel-good mayor. Ray Flynn and other areas were championed by Tom Menino. Her I Know Best style doesn’t fit with Wutopia’s slide.
Unless Josh Kraft pulls off an unexpected victory, Wu will no longer be held accountable after November.
However, if she wins a second term, she will face all of these issues if she stays, which is not a given.
