Progressive darling Michelle Wu, who promised transparency and honesty when she was elected mayor, is emerging as the least transparent mayor in recent Boston history.
She’s got nothing on Marty Walsh and Tom Menino, both old-school mayors who may have had flaws but at least followed public records laws. The late Menino was probably Boston’s most accessible mayor ever.
The latest evidence of Wu’s shady relation to the truth is her reaction to the disturbing news that a 32-year-old woman posed as a Boston high school student while enrolled in at least three schools.
“We don’t have any evidence at this point of any harm or risk to the young people. Thank goodness,” the ever-smiling Wu said.
Really? A woman in her 30s with possible criminal intent enrolls as a student and there’s no “risk” to the kids?
How could Wu possibly determine that? Did you ask alarmed parents for their input? The incident clearly raised concerns about the safety and security of students and teachers in Boston Public Schools.
Even her own schools superintendent, Mary Skipper, issued a statement saying she was “deeply troubled that an adult would breach the trust of our school communities” by posing as a student.
“This appears to be a case of extremely sophisticated fraud,” Skipper added.
But what-me-worry Wu isn’t apparently that concerned.
Then there’s Wu’s flip flop on the highly publicized traffic accident her Boston police vehicle was involved in.
Wu’s SUV was hit by another car in a Roslindale intersection where the police officer driving her used its lights and siren to get through a red light.
After initially saying she wasn’t aware of department policy on her car using lights and siren to get through traffic, she now proclaims that it’s “standard practice” for emergency lights and sirens to be activated when transporting officials and dignitaries through dense Boston traffic.
“Everyone else is stuck in traffic and that is something that is unusual and I think should and is used sparingly, but the reality of being mayor and one of the unique parts of this job is I do have to get all around the city in all different locations on my calendar,” Wu said in her regularly scheduled appearance on WGBH radio, adding that “sometimes when there is an important commitment to get to those lights and sirens go on.”
This is classic Wu-speak, something she has perfected as mayor. And she’s also perfected finding her “safe spaces” to speak – like public radio interviews – rather than face hostile media.
Keep in mind that Wu said two weeks ago right after the accident she wasn’t even aware the lights and siren had been turned on because she was doing work on her phone. She also said during the GBH interview that she had viewed several different traffic cam views of the accident.
The city has refused or just ignored media requests for traffic camera footage of the accident. In fact the Wu administration frequently flouts public records law by delaying or refusing to release requested documents or camera footage.
This despite promises during her campaign to “make government as accessible and transparent as possible.”
But when Wu prepared to announce a controversial decision to move the O’Bryant School of Math and Science from Roxbury to largely white West Roxbury, she hardly was transparent.
The mayor sprang the news at a press conference this month after issuing an “embargoed” press release that the media was barred from releasing for a day – a tactic Wu uses often to shore up support and suppress opposition for a controversial announcement.
