Page 21 - Michael Flaherty News Today

As Gov. Maura Healey swore in her seven new appointees to the board of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority on Tuesday, they were joined by another new member who had already been quietly appointed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu nullified a budget override vote the City Council took last month that included raises for a municipal labor union, saying that the body violated the city charter by inserting itself into collective bargaining negotiations.

Embattled District 6 Councilor Kendra Lara’s vote to support a budget that would have slashed millions from essential city services cost her the endorsement of a union that represents roughly 1,700 city workers.

Michael Flaherty, the 54-year-old son of a state representative, has had a front row seat to Boston politics from the time he was born. He blew up campaign balloons and helped with mailings as his father, Michael Flaherty Sr., kept running for reelection, serving for more than two decades before he became a judge. Governors, including Ed King and Michael Dukakis, visited their

Boston City Council has already had a tumultuous year, and the preliminary municipal election is still more than two months away.

The announcement was a surprise — Flaherty had filed papers to run for his at-large seat for an eleventh term, but now he’s withdrawing from the race against the backdrop of a body plagued by political infighting and personal attacks.

Flaherty said it's been "disappointing" and "disgusting" on the council.

The fractured Boston City Council is breaking out into open warfare as the liberals and conservatives fight for power of the out of control institution.

Michael Flaherty has been a member of the Boston City Council off and on for about 20 years

It was the latest broadside in an ongoing conflict on the legislative body that has pitted some progressive councilors of color against some of their more conservative white colleagues.