91-400: The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts , United States. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms, and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve. Boston uses a strong-mayor form of government in which the city council acts as
182-437: A public housing project, pledging that he would be a "people's mayor". He was viewed as an underdog at the start of his campaign, due to a lack of funding, a political organization, or connections to the business or media establishments. Flynn and King had both shaped the narrative of the debate during the hotly-contested primary, successfully creating a "downtown versus the neighborhoods" narrative, with Flynn and King taking
273-418: A quorum . Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are usually delegated to committees made up of a few of the members of the chamber(s). The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties ; the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs. Legislatures vary widely in
364-731: A Common Council made up of three representatives from each of the 25 wards in the city. When the Boston City Charter was rewritten in 1909, the Board of Aldermen and the Common Council were replaced by a nine-member unicameral City Council. All nine councillors were elected at-large for terms lasting two years. The new charter also gave the Mayor the power to veto all acts of the City Council. The first council meeting as
455-542: A Republican. When the Mayor of Boston is absent from the city, or vacates the office, the City Council president serves as acting mayor. The city charter places some restrictions on an acting mayor's authority: an acting mayor "shall possess the powers of mayor only in matters not admitting of delay, but shall have no power to make permanent appointments." Three presidents of the Boston City Council have served as acting mayors of Boston for extended periods after
546-420: A check against the power of the executive branch, the mayor . The council is responsible for approving the city budget ; monitoring, creating, and abolishing city agencies ; making land use decisions; and approving, amending, or rejecting other legislative proposals. The leader of the City Council is the president and is elected each term by the council. A majority of seven or more votes is necessary to elect
637-617: A city councilor, Flynn opposed rate increases by utility companies . He was viewed as an ally of trade unions, welfare recipients, and working women. Flynn regularly proposed tenants' rights ordinances on the Boston City Council, which were defeated. Flynn believed that his city council colleagues were influenced by sizable donations from the real estate lobby , especially faulting the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. In 1983, Dudley Clendinen of The New York Times wrote of Flynn's politics, Councilman Flynn,
728-491: A councillor as president. When the mayor of Boston is absent from the city, or vacates the office, the City Council president serves as acting mayor. The president leads Council meetings and appoints councillors to committees. Any person seeking to become a City Councillor in Boston must meet the following requirements: Prior to 1909, Boston's legislative body was bicameral , with an eight-member Board of Aldermen as well as
819-664: A legislature: One of the major functions of a legislature is to discuss and debate issues of major importance to society. This activity can take place in two forms. In debating legislatures, such as the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the floor of the legislature frequently sees lively debate. In contrast, in committee-based legislatures like the United States Congress , deliberation takes place in closed committees. While legislatures have nominally
910-418: A linkage policy and the creation of neighborhood councils. Both referendums had been supported by the group Massachusetts Fair Share . Flynn and King were the only two candidates that imposing linkage fees. During the primary, the city's progressive activists were largely sharply divided between Flynn and King's candidacies. Flynn benefited from grassroots support. In the general election, Flynn received
1001-704: A national reputation as an advocate for the homeless and a local reputation as a hands-on politician who showed up at every fire or police emergency." At the time that Flynn was preparing to leave office, in an article published in The Christian Science Monitor , George B. Merry described Flynn as a mayor whose "hands-on" approach had made him, "one of the most visible mayors in Boston history." He considered Flynn's leadership to have delivered mixed results. Merry described Flynn's leadership-style as being heavily focused on neighborhood-level quality of life issues, writing, NO Boston mayor in
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#17327724776611092-786: A north and a south district or an east and a west district. An east district would be largely White (75% or greater) and a west district would be largely African-American. North and south districts would have less extreme majorities. Many residents were opposed to both divisions, stating that they would increase racial segregation in Dorchester and continue the political powerlessness of minorities. A more complicated split taking into account areas with large minority populations would create one predominantly minority district and one predominantly white district but treat Dorchester as several smaller neighborhoods to be divvied up among surrounding neighborhoods rather than as one community. In various proposals,
1183-581: A percentage of money to affordable housing. He also directed his attention to matters such as aircraft noise pollution and homelessness . In October 1979, Flynn, together with Joseph F. Timilty , rescued a Black man from a threatening encounter with a White mob on the Boston Common . In April 1983, Flynn announced his candidacy for mayor of Boston. In the October nonpartisan primary election , Flynn and State Representative Mel King placed atop
1274-402: A plan to issue a regular city-sponsored "report card" on bank practices. He also adopted a "linked deposit" policy to have the city then withdraw funds from banks that received poor track records on these "report cards" to expand its deposits in banks which worked to meet the needs of the city's neighborhoods. As a consequence, the banks reached a $ 400 million community reinvestment agreement with
1365-442: A resident of South Boston, opposed busing in the early days of desegregation . But he has evolved through the years into more of a populist , concerned with problems of housing, police protection in the face of rising crime and other needs of the elderly and poor. Flynn supported the potential adoption of rent control . He supported the idea of implementing linkage fees that would require those developing large projects to provide
1456-403: A second-tier school system, all while wealthy suburbanites sent their students to well-funded schools. Flynn refused to join the militant anti-busers, Louise Day Hicks and William Bulger when they released a statement of resistance that was seen as having racist overtones. Flynn urged against violent actions that were being taken by some in protest of busing. As a result of his refusal to join
1547-526: A single unit is unicameral , one divided into two chambers is bicameral , and one divided into three chambers is tricameral . In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is usually considered the upper house , while the other is considered the lower house . The two types are not rigidly different, but members of upper houses tend to be indirectly elected or appointed rather than directly elected, tend to be allocated by administrative divisions rather than by population, and tend to have longer terms than members of
1638-646: A specific political party. However, most city councillors have been members of the Democratic Party . John W. Sears was the first Republican elected to the Boston City Council, in 1980. Chuck Turner , who served during 1999–2010, was a member of the Green-Rainbow Party . Althea Garrison , who served during 2019, has identified as an independent since 2012, but formerly served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as
1729-492: A state representative, Flynn was generally representative of the views of his South Boston district's constituency. He was pro-trade unions, for affordable housing and tenants rights, opposed to redlining , opposed to expansion at Logan Airport , and opposed cutting welfare programs. Peter Dreier would later describe his positions as a state representative as having, largely, been a "parochial South Boston pol with progressive leanings." South Boston, which Flynn represented,
1820-530: A unicameral body occurred on February 7, 1910. The procedure for electing city councillors was changed by Chapter 479 of the Acts of 1924, which provided for the election of 22 city councillors, one from each ward, beginning with the biennial election in 1925. The procedure was changed again by Chapter 356 of the Acts of 1951, which provided for the election of nine city councillors, all at large, for two-year terms. In November 1981, Boston voters approved again changing
1911-435: Is indirectly elected within the context of a one-party state . Legislature size is a trade off between efficiency and representation; the smaller the legislature, the more efficiently it can operate, but the larger the legislature, the better it can represent the political diversity of its constituents. Comparative analysis of national legislatures has found that size of a country's lower house tends to be proportional to
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#17327724776612002-554: Is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country , nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government . Legislatures can exist at different levels of government–national, state/provincial/regional, local, even supranational (such as the European Parliament ). Countries differ as to what extent they grant deliberative assemblies at
2093-664: The Americas have more independence in drafting and amending bills. The origins of the power of the purse which legislatures typically have in passing or denying government budgets goes back to the European assemblies of nobility which the monarchs would have to consult before raising taxes. For this power to be actually effective, the legislature should be able to amend the budget, have an effective committee system, enough time for consideration, as well as access to relevant background information. There are several ways in which
2184-652: The Boston City Council . He would lose his race for city council that November, falling a mere 1,467 votes shy of election. Flynn was elected to the Boston City Council in November 1977 . Flynn would be reelected in 1979 and 1981 . In 1981, Flynn was the top vote-getter by a large margin. On the council, Flynn served as chairman of the Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Development, Committee on Government Relations and Government Finance, as well as
2275-714: The European Union . The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments – as in the European Union and in Germany and, before 1913, in the United States – or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the United States since 1913. Tricameral legislatures are rare;
2366-497: The Federal Parliament of Somalia ) tied for least powerful. Some political systems follows the principle of legislative supremacy , which holds that the legislature is the supreme branch of government and cannot be bound by other institutions, such as the judicial branch or a written constitution . Such a system renders the legislature more powerful. In parliamentary and semi-presidential systems of government ,
2457-673: The Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of White-minority rule in South Africa . Tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. The only legislature with a number of chambers bigger than four was the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia ; initially established as a Pentacameral body in 1963, it
2548-521: The Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1971 to 1979, representing the South Boston neighborhood during the turbulent Boston desegregation busing crisis of the early 1970s. Flynn opposed federally-mandated school busing. Throughout his political career, Flynn held a strong anti- abortion position. Flynn was As a state legislator, Flynn co-authored the "Flynn–Doyle amendment" to ban government funding of abortions covered by Medicaid . This
2639-890: The NBA draft . The Nationals relocated to Philadelphia to become the 76ers, but Flynn did not play for them, as he spent part of the 1963–64 season with the Wilmington Blue Bombers of the Eastern Professional Basketball League . Philadelphia traded his NBA rights to the Boston Celtics in September 1964, and in October he was the last player cut from the Celtics roster. Flynn enlisted in the United States Army and
2730-533: The United States Conference of Mayors from 1991 to 1992. Flynn resigned as mayor in 1993 in order to accept an appointment by President Bill Clinton as ambassador to the Holy See. He expanded the position's mission to involve participation in addressing problem areas around the world. During his tenure as ambassador, he also encountered some controversy. In 1998, Flynn unsuccessfully ran for
2821-714: The United States Conference of Mayors ' Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness, Flynn advocated for the passage of the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act . Flynn served as president of the United States Conference of Mayors during 1991–92. In this role, Flynn challenged the theories of some pundits that cities were becoming economically obsolete due to the rise of " edge city " suburbanization, by arguing that "as cities go, so goes America." Flynn visited South Africa several times to see anti- apartheid figure Nelson Mandela when he
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2912-469: The United States House of Representatives . Flynn later served as president of Catholic Alliance, a nonpartisan Catholic advocacy group . Flynn was born July 22, 1939, the son of Stephen Flynn and Lillian Flynn ( née Kirby ). He grew up in South Boston , where he has spent most of his life living. Flynn is Irish-American . His father was a union longshoreman , and his mother
3003-497: The cube root of its population ; that is, the size of the lower house tends to increase along with population, but much more slowly. Raymond Flynn Raymond Leo Flynn (born July 22, 1939) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts , from 1984 until 1993. He also served as United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 1993 to 1997. Flynn was an All-American college basketball player at Providence College . During his senior year, Flynn
3094-401: The executive is responsible to the legislature, which may remove it with a vote of no confidence . On the other hand, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature in a presidential system is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary and the executive. Nevertheless, many presidential systems provide for the impeachment of
3185-399: The political endorsement of The Boston Globe ' s editorial board . Among the groups endorsing Flynn were low-income tenant organizations, elderly organizations, and a number of labor unions. In the election, both Flynn and King worked to build progressive coalitions, and both pledged to dedicate themselves to working across ethnic divides in the city. In the five weeks leading up to
3276-594: The Boston City Council. The law was undercut in 1981, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that women with Medicaid eligibility had a constitutionally-protected entitlement to receive funding through the program for their abortions. In March 1975, Flynn announced himself as a candidate for the 1975 Boston mayoral election . However, he withdrew in June after struggling to fundraise and instead launched his candidacy for
3367-554: The City Council has the following committees: The salary for councillors is half of the mayor's salary. Every four years, the Council votes on whether or not to raise the mayor's salary, thereby also raising its own salaries or not. In June 2018, the Council voted to increase the salary of the mayor from $ 199,000 to $ 207,000, effective after the mayoral election of November 2021 (term starting in January 2022); this increased
3458-512: The Flynn and King campaigns had low expenditures compared to the nearly $ 2 million campaign that outgoing mayor Kevin White and the political machine supporting him had spent on his candidacies in the 1975 and 1979 mayoral elections. Flynn's campaign spent roughly $ 400,000, while King's spent less than $ 350,000. Dudley Clendinen wrote that Flynn had worked to establish himself as a champion of
3549-419: The Mayor vacated the office: In June 2021, the city council granted itself the authority to remove its president by a two-thirds majority vote. Should that action occur while a council president is serving as acting mayor, the role of acting mayor would be assigned to the new council president who would be elected by a simple majority of the city council. In 2022, the rule was removed. As of January 2020,
3640-573: The South End and South Boston forming one district, and Dorchester roughly split into an east and a west district. The Council faced more challenges after finalizing the new districts, such as whether or not district councillors should receive a lower salary than at-large councillors and where office space for four additional councillors could be found in City Hall . By law, Boston municipal elections are nonpartisan in that candidates do not represent
3731-570: The South End, due to its location, was grouped with either South Boston or Back Bay/Beacon Hill by advocates of neighborhood unity, or Roxbury by advocates of minority-dominated districts. Two days before the 90-day deadline, freshman councillor Terrence McDermott, who had been appointed as Sansone's replacement for chair of the districting committee, presented a plan to the Council which was approved 7–2 (the dissenting votes came from Raymond Flynn and Bruce Bolling ). Today's district boundaries are only slightly different from those adopted in 1982, with
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3822-518: The Special Committee on School Matters. Peter Dreier would later describe Flynn as having transitioned as a city councilor, "from a parochial neighborhood politician with progressive leanings to a crusader with citywide appeal." while on the Boston City Council. Drier would describe Flynn as having been an "18-hour-a-day workaholic", and the "hardest working City Councilor". He had a reputation for regularly attending public meetings. As
3913-702: The amount of political power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries , militaries , and executives . In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary powers index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures. The German Bundestag , the Italian Parliament , and the Mongolian State Great Khural tied for most powerful, while Myanmar's House of Representatives and Somalia's Transitional Federal Assembly (since replaced by
4004-424: The city to raise new local taxes. In 1985, a revenue package was passed and signed into law by Governor Dukakis. In response to discriminatory practices studies found banks to be practicing in Boston, Flynn took actions which persuaded banks to reach a $ 400 million community reinvestment agreement with the city. Flynn succeeded in getting legislation passed to replace the city's publicly elected school board with
4095-425: The city's blue-collar workers . Flynn's 1991 campaign for a third term came despite a 1981 campaign promise to only serve two terms. In his 1991 campaign, he ran a low-profile campaign that he touted as being "grassroots", and ran no television or radio advertisements. He centered his candidacy on ties to the city's neighborhoods and his successes in balancing the city's budget . Flynn was an outspoken critic of
4186-515: The city's racial divides. Flynn's mayoral administration granted neighborhood groups more of a voice in the use of the city's development and planning authorities in their neighborhoods. This included innovative move of granting the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative powers of eminent domain . Flynn successfully fought to enact rent control laws and strong tenants' rights laws. Flynn also served as president of
4277-399: The city, in which the banks promised to open new branches, change lending and hiring practices, and to collaborate more closely with community development corporations and community groups. When Flynn took office, the city had a $ 40 million deficit. Flynn was able to balance the city's budget each year he was in office and improved the fiscal controls of the city. Flynn was able to improve
4368-503: The composition of the council, to 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. The 1981 referendum establishing the current 13-member composition of the Council did not indicate how the district lines would be drawn, only that the districts be of approximately equal population and district lines not cut across city precincts . The Council created a districting committee to propose several different possible district maps and hold public hearings before presenting one plan to
4459-520: The construction and renovation of affordable housing. In 1989, two studies, including one by the Boston Redevelopment Authority , found the city's major banks to be discriminating in practices regarding mortgage lending, personnel hiring, and where they located their branches. In collaboration with community activists, Flynn raised a more than year-long campaign to pressure banks to change their practices. He also announced
4550-561: The council before the end of the year. Public hearings over possible district boundaries were full of heated debate between advocates of drawing lines to protect neighborhood unity and advocates of drawing lines to create two predominantly minority districts and give minorities a voice in local government. Contention centered around Dorchester and the South End . Dorchester, Boston's largest neighborhood, needed to be split into at least two districts. A simple split in half would create either
4641-446: The council to approve. State law required the City Council to make a final decision on the districts within 90 days of being notified that the referendum had officially passed, meaning that the Council voting on the districts would be the 1982 Council, not the 1981 Council creating them. Then-president Patrick McDonough, who opposed district representation, appointed Rosemarie Sansone, a major advocate of district representation, as chair of
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#17327724776614732-835: The country. Among the earliest recognised formal legislatures was the Athenian Ecclesia . In the Middle Ages , European monarchs would host assemblies of the nobility, which would later develop into predecessors of modern legislatures. These were often named the Estates . The oldest surviving legislature is the Icelandic Althing , founded in 930 CE. Democratic legislatures have six major functions: representation, deliberation, legislation, authorizing expenditure, making governments, and oversight. There exist five ways that representation can be achieved in
4823-450: The cuts that President Ronald Reagan championed making to federal revenue sharing, urban development grants, and housing and job assistance programs. Flynn considered running in the 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election , but, due to police controversies, his struggling relationship with the minority community, and his anti-abortion stance, he ruled out a run. Flynn became a national leader on urban matters. In 1987, as chair of
4914-401: The districting committee, but chose Frederick C. Langone , Dapper O'Neil , and John W. Sears as the other three members, all of whom opposed district representation. Both Langone and O'Neil would be returning to the Council in 1982, but Sansone did not run for re-election in 1981 and would not be able to vote on the district boundaries if the committee did not work quickly to present a plan to
5005-403: The duration of their entire term, or for just those related to their legislative duties. A legislature may debate and vote upon bills as a single unit, or it may be composed of multiple separate assemblies , called by various names including legislative chambers , debate chambers , and houses , which debate and vote separately and have distinct powers. A legislature which operates as
5096-442: The endorsements of organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities , National Low-Income Housing Coalition. The bill was ultimately incorporated into the broader Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act , which was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in October 1990. The act provided federal funding to community-based organizations to assist them in
5187-421: The executive are also used, particularly for bicameral legislatures featuring an upper house . The name used to refer to a legislative body varies by country. Common names include: By names: By languages: Though the specific roles for each legislature differ by location, they all aim to serve the same purpose of appointing officials to represent their citizens to determine appropriate legislation for
5278-406: The executive for criminal or unconstitutional behaviour. Legislatures will sometimes delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies . Legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators , who vote on proposed laws. A legislature usually contains a fixed number of legislators; because legislatures usually meet in a specific room filled with seats for
5369-413: The general election, the two candidates held more than fifty local neighborhood debates . The campaign was peaceful, and only a handful of isolated racial violence incidents occurred during it. After his election, his mayoral transition effort was headed by John F. Bok . Flynn served as mayor from his inauguration on January 2, 1984 until his resignation on July 12, 1993. During his tenure, Flynn
5460-446: The legislators, this is often described as the number of "seats" it contains. For example, a legislature that has 100 "seats" has 100 members. By extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a "seat", as, for example, in the phrases " safe seat " and " marginal seat ". After election, the members may be protected by parliamentary immunity or parliamentary privilege , either for all actions
5551-436: The legislature can hold the executive branch (the administration or government) accountable. This can be done through hearings, questioning , interpellations , votes of confidence , the formation of committees. Parliaments are usually ensured with upholding the rule of law, verifying that public funds are used accountably and efficiently as well as make government processes transparent and actions so that they can be debated by
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#17327724776615642-406: The lower house. In some systems, particularly parliamentary systems , the upper house has less power and tends to have a more advisory role, but in others, particularly federal presidential systems , the upper house has equal or even greater power. In federations , the upper house typically represents the federation's component states. This is also the case with the supranational legislature of
5733-403: The more militant factions of resistance to busing, Flynn alienated himself from the more extremist factions of his community. His car was firebombed , and his family received death threats through telephone calls . In 1974, Flynn filed legislation to repeal a state law which required that children attend school. During his 1983 mayoral campaign, he came to call this proposal a mistake. Flynn
5824-497: The nation's states. Despite opposition to gun control measures earlier in his political career, as mayor Flynn supported such policy, heavily campaigning in support of the passage of the Brady Bill . In the late-1980s, Flynn partnered with community housing organizations to draft the federal Community Housing Partnership Act. This was then sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg and Congressman Joseph Kennedy , and received
5915-492: The new Boston School Committee , members of which are appointed by the city's mayor . Flynn would quickly come to express his regret about this change. In 1990, Flynn saw strong criticism from Black leaders over the Boston Police Department 's handling of the investigation into the murder of Carol Stuart . As mayor, Flynn advanced plans to desegregate the city's public housing , and made efforts to heal
6006-479: The past half-century has been more neighborhood-oriented than Raymond Flynn. In his 9-1/2 years at City Hall he has directed his attention and the city's resources toward improving life for its citizens. Unlike predecessors John Hynes , John Collins , and Kevin White , who concentrated on changing the physical face of Boston with new buildings, Mayor Flynn has focused on improving municipal services and on people things like street lighting and playgrounds . Flynn
6097-399: The poor and elderly and to appeal across ethnic lines to ethnic minority voters. While Flynn had earlier in his political career opposed gay rights issues, by the time of his mayoral campaign he was making an active effort to court the gay vote. At the time, gay communities across the United States were becoming more politically organized. Flynn first announced his candidacy in front of
6188-490: The presidential election. It took Flynn a while to grow warm to the Democratic Party's ultimate presidential nominee, Bill Clinton . He endorsed Clinton in late June 1992. Flynn, a lifelong anti-abortion activist, played a role in drawing the anti-abortion ("pro-life") Catholic vote to pro-abortion rights Bill Clinton in the general election. Flynn physically campaigned on Clinton's behalf in roughly half of
6279-488: The public and its representatives. Agora notes that parliamentary systems or political parties in which political leaders can influence or decide which members receive top jobs can lead to passivity amongst members of the party and less challenging of leadership. Agora notes that this phenomenon is acute if the election of a member is dependant on the support of political leadership. In contrast to democratic systems, legislatures under authoritarianism are used to ensure
6370-422: The results, advancing to the general election . King was the first African American to be a candidate in a Boston mayoral general election. Both Flynn and King had originally been viewed as underdogs in the primary election. Flynn defeated King in the general election. Flynn and King had known each other since childhood, meeting through both playing basketball, and had both served as state representatives at
6461-821: The salary of councillors to $ 103,500, effective after the council elections of November 2019 (terms starting in January 2020). (#) denotes different instances of a councillor serving as president District 1 Gabriela Coletta District 6 Benjamin Weber District 2 Edward Flynn District 7 Tania Fernandes Anderson District 3 John FitzGerald District 8 Sharon Durkan District 4 Brian Worrell District 9 Liz Breadon District 5 Enrique Pepén At-large Ruthzee Louijeune Julia Mejia Erin Murphy Henry Santana Legislative A legislature
6552-419: The same time and worked together there on legislation. They would ultimately have a lifelong friendship, despite having run against each other for mayor. Flynn's campaign received no significant financial support from major sectors of the city's business community. Flynn outright refused to accept campaign donations from developers with projects pending before city agencies, or lawyers of such developers. Both
6643-400: The side of being in support of the city's neighborhoods. A major item of debate was linkage, a fee that would be placed on downtown developers to raise funds for affordable housing. Flynn and King placed in the primary above candidates who were perceived as more representative of "downtown" interests. Coinciding with the primary, voters also strongly approved non-binding referendums in favor of
6734-411: The sole power to create laws, the substantive extent of this power depends on details of the political system. In Westminster-style legislatures the executive (composed of the cabinet) can essentially pass any laws it wants, as it usually has a majority of legislators behind it, kept in check by the party whip, while committee-based legislatures in continental Europe and those in presidential systems of
6825-400: The stability of the power structure by co-opting potential competing interests within the elites, which they achieve by: Each chamber of the legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a certain number of legislators present to carry out these activities; this is called
6916-442: The subnational law-making power, as opposed to purely administrative responsibilities. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as primary legislation. In addition, legislatures may observe and steer governing actions, with authority to amend the budget involved. The members of a legislature are called legislators. In a democracy, legislators are most commonly popularly elected , although indirect election and appointment by
7007-412: The time of his reelection, Flynn had attained an image of being un- corrupt , with political consultant Michael Goldman remarking at the time, "The most important thing Flynn has done is to have been someone who could govern without corruption. Even those who are not satisfied with Flynn feel he has been honest." Goldman also noted that Flynn had also maintained an image of being a populist well-connected to
7098-601: Was a cleaning lady . Flynn's father was an immigrant to the United States. Flynn grew up a member of the Gate of Heaven Parish in South Boston. As a kid, Flynn worked as a "ball boy" for the Boston Celtics basketball team during their home games at Boston Garden . He was a three-sport star athlete at South Boston High School . Flynn attended Providence College on a basketball sports scholarship . Flynn
7189-481: Was a confidante and political supporter of U.S. House Speaker John W. McCormack , who was also a resident of South Boston. Flynn worked as a personal family assistant to Vice President Hubert Humphrey during Humphrey's campaign in the 1968 presidential election . Capitalizing on his local sports hero celebrity, Flynn won election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in November 1970. As
7280-494: Was a supporter of providing more state funding to special needs students in schools. Flynn co-authored a bill to end government funding of abortions covered by Medicaid . The bill, co-authored with State Representative Charles R. Doyle . Public opponents of the bill founded of the Abortion Action Coalition advocacy organization, a short-lived organization which supported access to abortion. The bill
7371-484: Was an All-American college basketball player at Providence College, and during his senior year was selected as the " most valuable player " in the 1963 National Invitation Tournament . Later in life, while a Boston city councilor, Flynn would receive a master's degree in education from Harvard University in 1981. In April 1963, he was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the fourth round of
7462-443: Was in prison. In June 1990, four months after Mandela's release from prison, Flynn welcomed him to Boston on a trip Mandela took visiting many cities in the United States. Ahead of the 1992 United States presidential election , there was some talk about whether Flynn could be a prospective vice presidential running mate on a Democratic ticket. In February 1992, Flynn unsuccessfully urged New York Governor Mario Cuomo to run in
7553-418: Was initially successfully vetoed by Governor Michael Dukakis . However a version of the amendment was passed over Dukakis's veto in 1978. Flynn served on the Boston City Council from 1978 to 1984. As a city councilor, Flynn stood in opposition to rate increases by utility companies and regularly proposed tenants' rights ordinances. Flynn was elected mayor of Boston in 1983 and took office in 1984. Flynn
7644-511: Was passed by the state legislature, but was successfully vetoed by Governor Michael Dukakis . Flynn and Doyle then, later that year, attached the bill as a rider to a state pay-raise bill which was passed by the Massachusetts State Legislature. This was again vetoed by Dukakis. The "Flynn-Doyle amendment" was successfully passed over Dukakis' veto in 1978, after Flynn had already left the legislature to serve on
7735-482: Was reelected in 1987 and 1991 . Polls showed Flynn to enjoy strong approval from Bostonians during his mayoralty. As mayor, Flynn balanced the city's budget , eliminating a large budget deficit . To address the deficit, Flynn lobbied heavily for the passage of a revenue package for the city in the Massachusetts Legislature to provide additional state aid to the city and the authorization for
7826-525: Was reelected mayor in 1987 and 1991, winning more than two-thirds of the vote each time. In his reelections, he won a higher vote share in Black and Hispanic areas of the city than he did in White areas. In 1987, Flynn carried every ward of the city except for in his native South Boston. His failure to carry South Boston was perhaps due to his promise weeks before the election to desegregate all-white Boston Housing Authority developments in South Boston. At
7917-530: Was regarded to be a popular mayor, which was reflected in high approval ratings . In 1992, Fox Butterfield of The New York Times called Flynn "one of the most popular mayors in [Boston]'s history". As mayor, Flynn maintained a prominent public profile. In 1984, journalist Colman McCarthy described Flynn as having a "blazonry of political zeal that makes him one of the nation's most attractive Democrats." In 1998, Jack W. Germond and Jules Witcover of The Baltimore Sun wrote that, as mayor, Flynn had, "built
8008-491: Was regarded to be relatively politically conservative . Flynn was an opponent of court ordered desegregation busing . In 1973, he worked against implementing the city of Boston's desegregation school busing plan even filing a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Board of Education over the matter. Flynn argued that desegregation busing would pit poor Black and poor White families against one another within
8099-412: Was selected the " Most Valuable Player " in the 1963 National Invitation Tournament . After a brief professional basketball career, Flynn worked in several fields, including as a high school teacher and a probation officer , before entering politics. As a politician, Flynn was regarded to be a economic liberal and a cultural conservative . Flynn began his political career as a Democratic member of
8190-670: Was stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and Fort Dix in New Jersey . Before his political career, he worked as a youth worker, high school teacher, a probation officer , and a longshoreman. While working as a probation officer for the Suffolk County Superior Court from 1965 through 1970, he investigated criminal cases. In his early political involvement, Flynn
8281-519: Was turned into a hexacameral body in 1967. Legislatures vary widely in their size. Among national legislatures , China's National People's Congress is the largest with 2,980 members, while Vatican City 's Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7. Neither legislature is democratically elected: The Pontifical Commission members are appointed by the Pope and the National People's Congress
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