With Mayor Menino out of the race, there is a chance for a Mission Hill mayor to be elected this fall.
Several local elected officials are potential candidates for the Mayor’s Office, and would be strong contenders. We are excited about that not just because it would be fun to see someone we all know get a great job.
It is because representing Mission Hill, and also Jamaica Plain, as all of the officials also do, means representing a microcosm of the real, modern Boston in all its struggles and successes. Mission Hill has remarkable ethnic and economic diversity, strengths in giant institutions and small businesses, and down-to-earth residents who won’t let their leaders fake it.
Just look at the contenders. City Councilor Mike Ross, one of the neighborhood’s biggest boosters, put his money where his mouth was by moving from Beacon Hill to Parker Hill several years ago and never looked back. State Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez grew up in the old Mission Main projects and is ever-present today, finding ways to offer more opportunities than he had as a kid.
State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz has restored honor to an office sullied by her corrupt predecessor. Another contender who has already announced a candidacy, Roxbury radio host Charles Clemons, was born in Mission Hill.
We’re not saying that other candidates, current and potential, could not be great mayors. It is simply a fact that representing Mission Hill is a great training ground for representing all of Boston. This neighborhood shines on any resume, and we look forward to hearing about it loud and often in this mayoral contest.