A Seismic Shift

I felt a great disturbance in the Force...as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.
-Obi Wan

Funny, I didn't know why until this morning but I had a similar feeling on Wednesday night, except the millions were more like dozens of open waterfront supporters clinging to the Old Hope that erecting an open park on the NRA's waterfront lots is fait accompli.

I've only lived in the city for five years (and worked in it four more back in the 90s) but that's long enough to know that only fools pretend to know what's going to happen on those lots.

But Wednesday night's NRA meeting introduced a seismic shift in the city's political fault lines. The Daily News report on the meeting centered on the NRA's attempt to link with MassDevelopment in a bid to move the project forward.

For me, however, the real news could be found at the bottom of the article.

Mayor Donna Holaday, attending as an observer, said that the days are over when residents of the city are opposed to any kind of development on the waterfront.

"This is a different community than it was 10 years ago; residents and boards in the city are ready to work together," Holaday said.

"Many people were initially against paid parking, but we worked together, and now, we have a system that is in operation."

That's a remarkable statement coming from the one-time candidate who'd been declared the champion of open waterfront types. In fact, Holaday's waterfront stance was really the primary political difference between herself and her opponent, James Shanely, who favors some development.

Days after the election, Holaday openly declared that she'd fight for the open waterfront, which was something she felt the people wanted.

Something changed between then and now. Perhaps as mayor she's getting a sense of the broader electorate and seeing the softness of the open waterfront support. Or maybe it's just pragmatism. She's done an excellent job taking very reasonable steps to broaden the city's revenue base. She may just see that development on the waterfront lot as a means to that same end.

Whatever the reason, I applaud her. She's running unopposed but she'll get my vote in November.