Statement from Sam Yoon Calling for Investigation of Menino Administration
September 14, 2009
BOSTON – City Councilor at Large and mayoral candidate Sam Yoon held a joint press release with fellow candidates Michael Flaherty and Kevin McCrea to call for the investigation of reported violations of public records laws by a top Menino staffer. Yoon made the following remarks (as prepared for delivery):
“Boston city government has a problem. And the problem is not our e-mail system. The problem is our system of government.
“We have an extreme version of the ’strong mayor’ system, which gives one person control over all the functions of city government, with no checks or balances. In our system, the mayor controls the resources, controls nearly all the governing boards and commissions, and maintains near-absolute control over information. Information is power. And the greater the power, the greater the potential for abuse.
“Mayor Menino issued a statement yesterday that said ‘there has been no evidence of any wrongdoing of anyone in the administration.’ That’s exactly the point. Mr. Mayor, the point is, the evidence been deleted.
“We need a system of government where there is a balance of power. The mayor needs to share power with the city council and the public. Because the people of Boston need to be assured every day that their government is doing business in the open and in their best interest. And this is accomplished when information is made available to everyone, conveniently and affordably.
“City government must obey public-records and open-meeting laws. It must obey both the letter and the spirit of these laws.
“City contracts, bids, applications and awards of every size should be made available online. The liquor licensing board, the zoning commission, and all other boards and commissions should fully disclose their membership and post their agendas and minutes online. In fact, all electronic documents and data should be indexed and searchable through an ordinary web browser. We’re in the digital age. There is a new standard for transparency in government being adopted everywhere but Boston. Boston is still stuck in the dark ages.
“We are in dire need of modernization and reform. We need to enact term limits and we need to enact campaign finance reform. Under our current system, incumbent mayors have all the tools they need to stay in office until they decide to retire. This breeds complacency and a degree of comfort that over time impairs one’s judgment and even one’s honesty.
“I join Councilor Flaherty and Kevin McCrea in urging a complete and thorough investigation of this incident. However, this to me is only symptom of a larger, systemic problem. We must move beyond the strong-mayor system of government. It is time to bring Boston into the 21st century, restore checks and balances to government, and bring our standards of openness and transparency in line with the digital age.
