“Only East Boston residents would be affected by a casino,’’ Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce told me yesterday. “Their voice would be diluted by allowing the entire city to vote on it.’’
City Hall, of course, routinely makes decisions that primarily affect a single neighborhood. But never in memory has the mayor taken the stance that no one else’s opinion matters, as if the rest of us don’t pay for the police, fire, and other municipal services that the place will certainly require.
The rationale here isn’t hard to piece together. A neighborhood campaign is a lot easier to run and win than a citywide initiative, especially in an area Menino has politically dominated for nearly 20 years. There’s no reason to dilute his authority by allowing the city to vote on the deal; they might, after all, vote against it.
The City Council - as usual, terrified of offending the mayor - has only belatedly sprung into semi-action, appointing a committee to look into the Suffolk Downs issue. I say “semi-action’’ because the committee chairman is Salvatore LaMattina of East Boston, a worthy fellow, but one who made it clear that the council has no desire to give the rest of the city a voice on whether Suffolk Downs gets its casino.
What they are interested in is “mitigation,’’ the price the eventual developers will have to pay to the neighborhood and the city in order to get their deal. The notion that many Bostonians might not want a casino at all doesn’t seem to be on the radar.
“I’m not looking to unduly delay what should be an important decision,’’ said Councilor Michael Ross. “I’m a guy who represents Fenway Park. A lot of things only involve the Fenway.’’
