The boss system

My wife pointed out an NPR piece to me that mentioned Uncle Frank, or Frank Chin, and how he had thrown his support behind Dan Conley (my old boss) for Mayoral Candidate. It gave a brief history of Uncle Frank (whom I also happen to know from working with Crime Watch, Kwong Kow, and just having a leadership role in a Kung Fu school in Chinatown.) The piece ended talking about the Chinese Progressive Association and Lydia Lowe, and pretty much how the boss "deliver the vote" system in Chinatown is now done with because of Social Media. The CPA threw it's support behind John Barros. We all know now that the run-off will be between John Connolly and Marty Walsh.
I personally voted for Dan Conley but not because of of Uncle Frank. In fact, when I saw that Dan Conley was working with Uncle Frank I immediately thought, "Is he trying to get votes or money?" As far as I know, most of the voters in Chinatown, today, don't really look at who Uncle Frank is endorsing. Uncle Frank's loyal followers tend to not live in Boston I think. Maybe a group of old people. And it is true that Old people vote more consistently than young people.
The young  people that vote, speak English, and can make a decision for themselves.Right?
Sort of. I voted for Dan Conley because he had helped me get a job at the DA's office. If I had not had that job, at that point in my life, based on later events, I realized that my life might have taken a really bad turn. Plus the Stonehill breakfast where I met Dan Conley more than 5 years ago, Dan Conley was talking about a need for early education back then. And that was one of the reasons I wanted to work for him. Because I was all into moral integrity and filial oaths back then. So in essence, my vote for Dan Conley started 5 years ago. And I even remember a conversation with Uncle Frank where he tried to ask me who the secretary to the DA was. I said I didn't know. Mainly because. I saw Dan Conley as someone with integrity. I saw Uncle Frank as a man to be respected, a man who made moves in Chinatown, a man who did a lot of good in leading Crime Watch and various other amazing deeds for Chinatown, some listed in the NPR piece, put whose integrity was questionable. I'm not saying he's bad or good. I'm saying like any human being, like any boss he is complicated. There is no question that James Michael Curley was corrupt. But we have a statue to him and in many ways he is seen almost as a god or saint, despite or in some ways because of his corruption.
I remember studying Boston's Bosses at Groton, and the teacher saying that this system has been gone for a long time. Maybe the fact that Uncle Frank is a boss and is still alive, is the reason why NPR even bothered having a piece about the Mayoral Candidacy be covered from the eyes of the Chinatown Community.

Lydia Lowe is sort of right that people are more likely nowadays to be able to find out the candidate that fits them through social media. But this doesn't mean the end of Bosses or fixers, or people whose endorsements are important. It just means that a young person can become such an endorser if they have a following on twitter, or facebook. It means more bosses with less control. In the NPR piece Lydia Lowe mentioned that the CPA is more about presenting the candidates to the people and getting the people to vote for themselves instead of telling them who to vote for.
That being said, as I was passing the voting polls, Henry Yee asked me in Chinese, "You know who to vote for right?" (I know Henry Yee from the Kung Fu Federation.) And Tony Yee asked me, "Are you going in to vote?" (I know Tony Yee from Main Street and the CCBA) My answer to both questions was, "I voted already." Because I vote in JP now, not Chinatown. I'm actually not sure who these two community leaders were endorsing because my "already voted" status stopped the conversation. I then signed a petition for some friends of mine for Higher minimum wage and sick days etc. A petition I believe in 70%. Okay maybe 80% It was the fact that I knew them that pushed my signature onto the paper with ease. My point is these endorsements still matter. Uncle Frank still matters. It's just that there are more players on the field now.

Now that the race is between Walsh and Connolly I have to say that the fact that an old school buddy of mine has been constantly posting Facebook stuff about Walsh, will influence my decision. (Influence but not decide.)

As for the Boss system. The new system sounds more democratic and better for the masses and the people and all that. But I do remember one summer, when working at Kwong Kow and the principal said she would ask Unlce Frank if, for a field trip, we could possibly get day passes for the students. Uncle Frank made sure a freakin city Bus showed up, just for our use. Say what you will that should or should not be. But there is no question that That is bad ass.

Me and Uncle Frank aren't friends. I've felt is power both negatively and positively. But he does have real power and he knows how to play the game, down to giving me a handshake and a thank you when I helped out some community event or organization by teaching or performing Kung Fu. In other words, even when I've been on the opposing side or simply not on his side, at least he knows how to play the game.

The main point is, the whole community is more powerful when it votes.

If that whole group of people can vote consistently and even stick together behind one leader, than the community has more leverage on the candidate who they are trying to influence. For instance in the NPR piece, Uncle Frank recalls sending someone to propose fixing the Chinatown gate or some such thing to Kevin White, who does not even look at the proposal and  simply asks, "How many votes do you have?"
Chin's response was 3600 and it was done.

If you are looking for the way democracy works according to the fairy tale you learned in school.. you know to choose the next leader and the best leader for the people. Then yes, voters should just vote for the candidate they like best based on the debates and the issues and the character of the candidate. The only issue is, the candidate running for office usually will end up being different than the person governing. Not that all politicians are corrupt. That's just how it is. Saying you can do something from the outside looking in and then actually doing it as leader are two different things.

You might say you will help ALL neighborhoods but somehow, some neighborhoods will get more attention than others. And what that comes down to is who votes. And what "getting things done" comes down to, is knowing or deciding very specific and realistic things to get done that will most benefit your community. This is where a Boss can be useful. As a representative to speak for the community. But then who elects the boss? And what if the boss is not acting in the interest of the community? And of course, why should one community benefit at the loss of another? Don't we want a Mayor that is good for all of Boston?

No system is perfect. And no Mayor is perfect. Even for everything people have to say good about Menino there are weird little things like those tiny $25,000.00 "parks" that are a waste of funds and yet none of the candidates wanted to just come out and say they are stupid. The one thing that we can take away from all of this, is no matter if you like the candidates or not. Or whether you like both candidates equally. Whether you believe in the patronage system, or in a more liberal power to the people system....

You should vote, because you can, and because it does indeed matter, just not necessarily in the way you think it is supposed to.