Ethan Jacobs of Bay Windows reports that two Boston mayoral candidates, Sam Yoon and Michael Flaherty, will march in South Boston’s St. Patrick’s parade this Sunday, despite the fact that parade organizers continue to ban gay and lesbian groups from marching. (Incumbent Mayor Tom Menino hasn’t marched in the parade since the courts upheld the exclusion of gay groups in 1995, and challenger Kevin McCrea is also boycotting the event.)
It’s hard to see this as a good political move for Yoon. Unless he has a secret plan to sweep more conservative neighborhoods like South Boston (against Menino and Flaherty?), he’d have to do well in liberal strongholds such as the South End and Jamaica Plain to even survive the preliminary election. But Yoon, who opposes the ban on gay groups, explains his participation by seeming to cast himself as another Barack Obama, willing to open up negotiations with Cuba and other hostile nations. (I guess that means Menino is George W. Bush.)
Yoon said Menino, who mingles with revelers along the sidelines of the parade route and attends other St. Patrick’s Day festivities, makes no major sacrifice to his LGBT constituents by boycotting the parade itself.
“I think it costs him very little politically. It’s very inexpensive to take that position, and how has he been hurt politically in South Boston by taking that position? I would suggest that he hasn’t,” said Yoon. “I have. I’ve had to walk past [parade organizer] Wacko Hurley and his son pretty much at the very end of the parade and have them shake my hand with that letter [protesting the ban on gay groups] in mind.”
Yoon presumably doesn’t plan to present Hurley (not pictured above) with an exploding cigar. But he does make a bold promise:
Yoon said if elected mayor he would continue to march in the parade but encourage his LGBT supporters to join his contingent and be visible.
“I will make this promise. When I’m elected mayor I will invite the GLBT community with rainbow flags to march behind me in my mayoral contingent, and we’ll see what happens,” said Yoon.
My guess is that “what happens” is another court case — hopefully, not one resulting from violence at the parade.
Yoon does plan to march in this year’s Gay Pride Parade in June. Menino’s campaign will want to be ready to post Yoon’s reception on YouTube.