ADDING AN EXPLOSIVE new chapter to the leadership crisis in the Boston Police Department, embattled Commissioner Dennis White said in a videotaped affidavit that he told then-Mayor Marty Walsh about the 1999 restraining order his then-wife took out against him as part of ongoing conversations he had with Walsh in the years prior to being […]
Marty Walsh
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Judge sounds skeptical of call to block Boston police commissioner firing
EMBATTLED BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER Dennis White went to court on Thursday seeking to block his dismissal by Acting Mayor Kim Janey, but a Suffolk Superior Court judge indicated she was wary of weighing in on the case at this stage. Nicholas Carter, the lawyer for White, asked Judge Heidi Brieger to stop a “rush to judgment.” […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Why did Walsh look to cut short police commissioner probe?
WHY DID MARTY WALSH, who was pilloried for the hasty appointment of Police Commissioner Dennis White with no vetting or even an interview when it was revealed that White was the subject of a domestic abuse allegation two decades ago, then look to short-circuit the investigation he ordered as a result? That is among the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Janey says White must go, decries ‘blue wall of silence’
ACTING MAYOR KIM JANEY released a devastating report Friday on Police Commissioner Dennis White, who was put on leave just two days after his appointment in early February amid reports of an earlier domestic violence allegation. The investigation not only reveals serious allegations of physical and mental abuse against White but also paints a picture […]
Posted inPolitics
Janey preparing to step into office — and history
FOR SOME, the Presidents’ Day holiday was a chance to unwind over a three-day weekend. Asked whether that was the case for her, Boston City Council president Kim Janey answered with a question of her own. “What’s a weekend?” she said. “The work doesn’t end.” Janey is likely just days away from assuming the role […]
Posted inPolitics
Some advice for Boston mayoral campaigns
AN OPEN BOSTON mayoral campaign is often called a once-in-a-generation event. In fact, we had such a race only eight years ago, when Tom Menino retired after a record-setting 20 years in office. In 2013, a crowded field of 12 candidates vied in the September preliminary election, with the two top finishers, John Connolly and […]
Posted inPolitics
Walsh gets COVID-19 vaccine as cabinet nominee
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH has yet to be confirmed as President Biden’s labor secretary, but he has already been accorded one privilege of his cabinet nomination: vaccination against COVID-19. Walsh’s office confirmed late Thursday that the mayor was vaccinated this week. On Tuesday, the office of Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, who has been nominated […]
Posted inPolitics
Debate over special elections heated — and complicated
WITH THE SUDDEN EXIT of the mayor of Lawrence and imminent expected departure of Boston’s mayor, officials in both communities have scrambled to head off special elections that are called for in their city charters and instead have a new mayor chosen in the regularly scheduled municipal election in November. They have cited everything from the […]
Posted inPolitics
Walsh evolution in confronting racism takes center stage
THE BOOKENDS TO Marty Walsh’s seven-year run as mayor are all you need to look at to understand how the issue of race has gone from long-simmering, but often backburner, issue to a central subject of the day in Boston. As part of a sprawling 12-candidate field for the open mayor’s seat in 2013, Walsh […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Gross would face hurdles, opportunity in mayoral run
IF WILLIAM GROSS jumps into the race for mayor of Boston, one thing is clear: He’ll do so at a time when issues he oversees as the city’s top police official are receiving tremendous attention and scrutiny. Whether that would play more to his benefit or detriment is the big question he may be weighing. […]