A mysterious “error” has led to the abrupt cancellation of Jimmy Kelly.
The conservative former City Council president’s name has been wiped off the South Boston bridge welcoming sign named after him — replaced by Mayor Michelle Wu’s name.
Instead of Kelly’s name, the sign now just says “Welcome to South Boston West Broadway Bridge” and Wu’s name underneath.
It’s a very fishy situation. Some Boston activists have been trying to get the Wu administration to rename the bridge because of the late Kelly’s anti-busing views and allegations of racism.
And now it’s done — at least temporarily.
What’s next, renaming the Moakley courthouse? Joe Moakley was vehemently anti-busing, too.
“This was an error on the part of our sign vendor,” Wu spokesman Ricardo Patron said in a statement to the Herald. “The old sign was to be updated but not changed, and the vendor accidentally included the location of the sign. The property management team is working to address this issue as soon as possible.”
Wu is now in the awkward position of having to right the faux pas and put Kelly’s name back on the bridge — something that might anger liberals.
The removal of Kelly’s name this week has outraged longtime South Boston activists who still revere him for standing up for their community while he was a councilor. Kelly also served as council president.
In a Facebook post to his South Boston neighbors, current Council President Ed Flynn says he’s also been assured the city “is moving forward with replacement (of the sign) as soon as possible.”
“Please note many of you have called my office upon noticing that City of Boston ‘Welcome to South Boston’ sign now incorrectly states the ‘West Broadway Bridge’ instead of the correct name — the James M. Kelly Bridge,” Flynn wrote. “I attended the bridge naming ceremony in 2007. In recent years, I have been on the record both with city officials and in several reports against renaming the bridge.”
The sign faux pas is the latest move by the Wu administration — whether intentional or not — that critics have called borderline dictatorial.
Just look at some classic Wu moves in the last few weeks.
She angered Roxbury neighborhood activists and some school activists by deciding to move the O’Bryant School of Mathematics from Roxbury to largely white West Roxbury. The decision was relayed by an embargoed press release Wu sent out to the media and a later press conference.
She declared there was “no risk” to Boston Public School students from a 32-year-old woman caught posing as a student in three different Boston high schools — even though the investigation is ongoing and her own superintendent called the situation alarming.
She has also downplayed the possible overdose death of a South Boston resident in a public housing complex where several children were present.
“I’ve seen the photos of the scene as part of the death investigation,” she said. “And it’s irresponsible to be fueling conspiracy theories at this moment when we are grieving a loss of life.”
It’s worth noting that the Wu administration has refused to release body cam footage from police who arrived at the scene of the death. It’s part of a pattern of non-transparency by the Wu administration regarding public records.
Wu is also refusing to release video of the accident her police vehicle was involved in several weeks ago, even though Wu herself has said she’s seen it.
She is also moving forward with plans to add bike lanes and reconfigure streets in two neighborhoods, the Back Bay and West Roxbury, despite heavy opposition from residents.
