CAPTION: Pictured, left to right, are Candidates Night moderator Adrian Walker with Boston City Council at-Large candidates Felix Arroyo, John Connolly, Michael Flaherty, Matt Geary, Marty Hogan, Stephen Murphy, David James Wyatt and Sam Yoon.

The eight candidates vying for four City Councilor at-Large seats who took part in last week’s open community forum at the USS Constitution Museum in the Navy Yard included seasoned incumbents, as well as several newcomers to the political arena with very unique visions for the future of Boston.
The incumbents were three-term City Councilor at-Large Felix Arroyo, four-term Councilor at-Large and two-term Council President Michael Flaherty, five-term Councilor at-Large Stephen Murphy and one-term Councilor at-Large Sam Yoon. Other candidates included John Connolly, a local attorney who narrowly lost out on a Council at-Large seat in 2005; Matt Geary, a 22-year-old U-Mass Boston student and self-described “candidate of the Socialist Alternative”; Dorchester community activist Marty Hogan; and David James Wyatt, grassroots republican and Roxbury resident.
Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker served as the moderator for the candidates night sponsored by Friends of the Charlestown Navy Yard. During the open forum, the candidates fielded questions posed by FCNY, the Charlestown Mothers Association and Charlestown Against Drugs, as well as from the approximately 40 attendees.
In response to a question regarding the long-term effectiveness of the $19 million in renovations planned for the Bunker Hill housing development, Connolly described it as a “hollow beautification project” with no lasting results.
“I want townhouse-style architecture [in the housing developments], so people have pride in their housing,” Connolly said, adding that helping people find affordable housing in the city would be his top priority as city councilor.
Flaherty, meanwhile, asserted that the resources would be better spent on increasing the presence of Boston Housing Authority police in the developments and expediting the eviction process for tenants involved in criminal activity, including drug dealing and prostitution.
“The quality of life in public housing is an outrage,” Flaherty said. “We should really start with public safety in public housing.”
Geary said residents should take a more proactive approach in addressing the shortcomings of the public housing system. “We should utilize the powers of public protest or a public rally to let them know we mean business,” he said.
On the topic of combating drug abuse in Charlestown, Flaherty suggested that money seized from drug dealers be divided between law enforcement, public health agencies and the court system to help fund more treatment and recovery programs.
“This neighborhood more than any other has been devastated by overdoses and substance abuse,” Flaherty said.
Geary said treatment should be made available to everyone in need but that those who benefit from it should also be required to work as mentors or counselors after they recover.
Another advocate for the widespread treatment options, Yoon said that drug addiction should be treated with the same the sense of “urgency” as any other serious illness.
“If you had a life-threatening disease, your doctor wouldn’t say ‘there just aren’t enough beds,” he said.
Street crime was also on minds of candidates, although none of them could provide an easy solution to the problem.
Yoon suggested that money derived from the sale of taxable items in the City of Boston could raise $35 million in a single year to create a fund that would enable police and the community to work together to address the issue.
Arroyo said intervention that addressed both substance abuse and truancy was the best deterrent to crime in the city.
“When we talk about the issue of crime, we need to do more intervention,” Arroyo said. “Both of these are part of the same issue.”
Wyatt suggested that some youth turned to drug dealing and other crime when they were unable to pass the MCAS exams and subsequently dropped out of school. “I think we need to look at eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement,” he said.
Hogan, who described education as the cornerstone of his campaign, pointed to the lack or resources being directed to the city’s underperforming schools and proposed a citywide tutoring program.
“It’s a shame when we have the best colleges in the world and we can’t provide resources for every child to get an education in the city,” Hogan said.
On a different note, candidates were also asked whether, in light of the Boston Redevelopment Authority's perceived inherent conflict of interest as both a developer and a city planner, the BRA should be abolished.
In response to this question, Murphy detailed how the BRA was created in 1957 through state legislature to handle the redevelopment of Government Center.
“The only way you’re going to change the BRA is through state statute, but I do think the question should be vetted to the public,” he said.
Flaherty said that abolishing the BRA was extreme but that the agency needed to be more open to community discussion.
“When was the last time the BRA called for your thoughts and concerns?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Connolly pointed to the redevelopment of the Navy Yard as an example of the agency’s shortcomings, saying that it was an area that had been developed one parcel at a time with “no thoughtful process.”
And while Connolly said that doing way with the BRA was unrealistic, he proposed the creation of a Web site that would list its developments ahead of time to allow the community more input.
“I will be a voice of real planning and strong planning so your voice is heard,” Connolly said.
The election for the four Boston City Council at-Large seats takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Local youth were left standing on the sidelines this fall after the Pop Warner football league was forced to cancel its season for the first time since the national program came to Charlestown in the early ‘70s.
In late June, Jad Leavitt, then the vice president of Charlestown Pop Warner, learned that the program’s president, Donna Passamonti, was stepping down for personal reasons. Leavitt then took over the program and was left with the arduous task of registering players in time to weigh in in August.
Leavitt found 80 interested players between the ages of 5 and 17 — enough players to fill four teams — but getting parents to fill out the registration materials wasn’t so easy. He sent the youths home with notices urging parents to complete the paperwork, and coaches called them directly to ask for their cooperation. Officials from Pop Warner of Eastern Massachusetts even agreed to extend the weigh-in date by two weeks on the condition that the teams would forfeit the first two games of the season. Still, Leavitt couldn’t get the completed paperwork in on time, and Charlestown Pop Warner was forced to cancel its season.
The fate of Pop Warner this year is particularly disconcerting to Mike Charbonnier, who played Pop Warner football as a youth in the mid ‘70s and has coached in the league for the past seven seasons.
As a player, Charbonnier remembers the commitment of his coach, Bob Collier, who juggled coaching duties and running the concession stand at games to make the fledgling Pop Warner program a success in Charlestown. “I wish there were 20 Bob Colliers today,” Charbonnier said.
And the tradition continued with Jack Schievink, who ran the program for more than the decade until two seasons ago.
“Jack did a great job…but again, he always seemed to be overwhelmed,” Charbonnier said. “He just had too many tasks for one person to handle.”
Charbonnier is quick to point out the decision to cancel the season is the fault of no one individual. Besides the ongoing challenge of recruiting players, the program faced another setback this year when the new state-of-the art Charlestown High athletic field fell prey to vandals, leaving Pop Warner without a place to practice.
If the program is going to enjoy success in 2008, however, Charbonnier said parents must do their part.
“Instead of dropping kids off at the athletic field for two hours, parents should ask the coaches if they need help or ask the board of directors what can be done, or you can help with paperwork, such as retrieving [players’] birth certificates and scheduling physicals with their physicians,” Charbonnier said.
Charbonnier added that Pop Warner is a year-round commitment and that recruitment needs to start long before school breaks for the summer to make the program a success.
“If Pop Warner is going to survive, everything has to be in place before school breaks in June because the summer months create issues with vacations,” Charbonnier said.
Like Charbonnier, Leavitt also believes an early start is the key to a successful season next year. He has agreed to serve as Pop Warner president again next season and said will begin recruiting new players when the ice hockey season winds down in February of March.
But as Charbonnier knows, Leavitt can’t do it alone.
“I truly believe Charlestown can have a successful Pop Warner program, but more people need to get involved,” Charbonnier said. “You don’t have to be [New England Patriots head coach] Bill Belichik to assist Pop Warner.”
Pop Warner volunteer applications are available at the Charlestown Lacrosse & Learning Center, 14 Green St.; the monthly Charlestown Against Drugs meetings, which take place on the first Monday of each month at the MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center, 73 High St.; or by calling Mike Charbonnier at the Boston Police Department Area A-1 Community Service office at 617-343-4627.

Traffic is seen streaming by the Schraft’s Center just after dark.

Cdr. William A. Bullard III, the 70th commanding officer of the USS Constitution, was introduced to the community at last week’s Charlestown Neighborhood Council meeting.
“The USS Constitution is beloved by the city and a national and naval icon,” Cdr. Bullard said. “I want to teach people about sea power, particularly naval power.”
Born in Fall River, Cdr. Bullard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and received an NROTC commission from Worcester’s College of the Holy Cross in 1990. Following commissioning, he attended the Surface Warfare Officer’s School in Coronado, Calif.
During his career in the U.S. Navy, Cdr. Bullard served at sea aboard the USS Cayuga as Communications Officer, Electronic Material Officer and Main Propulsion Officer. He was deployed during this assignment to the Arabian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm and to Somalia for Operation Continue Hope. He then served at sea aboard USS Jarrett as Operations Officer and was deployed to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch and Maritime Interception Operations.
Cdr. Bullard was also Operations Officer for Commander, Destroyer Squadron FIFTY in Manama, Bahrain. During this assignment, he served as Sea Combat Commander Operations Officer. At this time, Cdr. Bullard supported United Nations sanctions against Iraq for five Carrier Strike Groups and was deployed to Aden.
The awards he has received for his military service include the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (two awards), Navy Achievement Medal (two awards) and various unit, campaign and service ribbons.
Cdr. Bullard is married with four children, ranging in age from a 7-year-old to an infant.

With its residents survey on the horizon, the Charlestown Business Climate Committee presented its finings at last week’s Neighborhood Council meeting, which detailed ways to make the local market once again vibrant.
Since the ad-hoc organization was launched last spring through a partnership between the Charlestown Business Association and the CNC, the Business Climate Committee has completed a survey of local businesses in cooperation of the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development. At the meeting, the group’s chair Lynne Levesque and steering committee member Rob Lockhart examined market opportunities and the current business mix in town, as well as an overview of the demographics of Charlestown residents.
The findings identified a low level of retail in the business district, which consists of 85 retail and service establishments located in the areas of Main and Bunker Hill streets between Sullivan and City squares. While the study pointed to easy access and a compact, pedestrian-scale walking district as neighborhood assets, it stated that the business district suffered from limited parking and the design of the Bunker Hill Mall that disrupts the continuity of Main Street.
Levesque also said Charlestown’s business district also lacked a specific “brand.” Unlike Newbury or Charles streets, there wasn’t a common theme that unified neighborhood businesses and attracted new ones, she said.
Perhaps as a result of this, Charlestown residents, who are describes as largely single, educated and professional, spend $171 million annually outside of the 02129 zip code, according to the study. Of this so-called “leakage,” most of the money leaving the community was spent at grocery stores, restaurants, clothing stores, home furnishing stores and on other general merchandise.
As for what Charlestown residents would like to see in their neighborhood, the study cited the need for an independent bookstore with events; a hardware store; more restaurants, specialty foods and prepared foods; home furnishings and accessories; and souvenirs, gifts and jewelry.
Recommendations to attract new businesses and customers to Charlestown include the development of a positive image campaign, as well reading materials to attract new businesses and a visitors’ map.