There were times Sunday — during Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination — that it was almost possible to forget who was endorsing whom. Yes, Walsh was glowing in his praise of Clinton, calling her (among other things) a “battle tested” champion” with “heart” and “grit.”
But Clinton was almost as complimentary of Walsh, lauding him as an innovative policymaker with a compelling personal storyline. “Here’s what’s really important about this mayor,” the former Secretary of State said at one point, apparently in reference to Walsh’s well-documented recovery from alcoholism. “Marty Walsh gets it. He knows what it’s like to get knocked down, but he refused to be knocked out.”
Throw in an even more enthusiastic tribute from Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, who called Walsh the “best damned mayor in the United States of America,” and it may have been Walsh’s headiest day since he beat John Connolly two years ago.
Which is exactly why Walsh’s endorsement of Clinton is so important — not for her, but for him.
If you know Boston politics, you’re aware that Walsh is extremely popular, boasting poll numbers that would be the envy of most politicians. But you also know that, two years into his first term, he hasn’t always been the most surefooted of politicians.
The 2024 Summer Olympics bid died despite Walsh’s enthusiastic advocacy. The back and forth over the Grand Prix of Boston may be subsiding, but it’s reinforced suspicions that Walsh has a tendency to make big commitments first and seek community engagement later.
Remember, too, that Walsh’s preferred gubernatorial candidate lost, as did his choice for Attorney General. What’s more, the mayor has shown a tendency to make provocative, potentially damaging statements that subsequently need to be walked back—see, for example, his recent agreement with Governor Charlie Baker’s wary take on Syrian refugees resettling in Massachusetts.
Add it all up, and it’s no wonder that, hard as it is to unseat an incumbent mayor in Boston nowadays, there’s still speculation that a strong challenger (Ayanna Pressley? Tito Jackson?) could make Walsh sweat when he seeks re-election, and maybe take the job from him outright.
Now, though, Walsh has a choice opportunity to play kingmaker on a national scale. Hillary Clinton’s been gaining strength in New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary contest, but the race is still far closer than the Clinton campaign would like. If Walsh emerges as the de facto head of “Hard Hats for Hillary” — the concerted push to shore up Clinton’s union support that was, perhaps not coincidentally, launched at the same event where Walsh delivered his endorsement — he could be instrumental in changing that.
To make Sanders go away, Clinton needs not just to win New Hampshire, but to win big. (Given the media’s penchant for drama, and history with Hillary, a close win will almost certainly be spun as a de facto loss.) If Walsh can play a substantive, visible role in Clinton’s Hampshire campaign — touting her blue-collar bona fides on the campaign trail, say, while guiding the effective deployment of local union activists behind the scenes — he’ll get plenty of credit for a successful outcome. In fact, given the Boston media’s eagerness for Massachusetts storylines in the 2016 presidential race, he might even get more credit locally than he actually deserves.
Now fast forward just a bit more. If Clinton is the nominee, Walsh’s opportunities for political glory suddenly become much, much bigger. It’s tempting to imagine him working a battleground state or three in earnest for Clinton, his industrial-strength Boston-ness leavened by the unassuming affability that’s helped keep his poll numbers so high.
Don’t forget that Walsh has more than his union background to recommend him around the country. He also has his own battle with addiction — something the mayor noted, pointedly, when I asked him what specifically he plans to do for Clinton and her campaign in the coming months.
“I’ll do whatever needs to be done,” Walsh replied. “New Hampshire’s important, but also Iowa’s important. There’s a lot of people out in Iowa that I can connect with…. Organized labor, recovery community, whatever it takes.”
For the record, Walsh scoffed (affably) when I asked what his support of Clinton could do for his political brand.
“I don’t view this is political brand — this is something I believe in,” he said. “You guys can judge if I’m losing clout or gaining clout, however it goes. It doesn’t matter to me. I go with somebody because I believe in them, and I believe they can do the right job, and at this point Hillary Clinton is the right person for president of the United States of America.”
Noted. Still, a Clinton win wouldn’t just benefit Walsh’s union brethren, whose collective-bargaining rights Clinton vowed to protect Sunday. (She also promised a massive new push to improve U.S. infrastructure, which suggests that a Hillary Clinton administration would be a golden age for Walsh’s former colleagues in the building trades.) A Clinton victory would also be very, very good for the mayor himself.
If Walsh enters the crucible of a presidential election and makes a tangible difference — helping, in the process, to elect the first female president of the United States — he’ll achieve something his predecessor couldn’t. The missteps of the first half of his first term won’t be forgotten, but they’ll suddenly seem a lot less relevant. And those of us who like to daydream about a competitive mayoral race in 2017 will have to find another political parlor game to play. Because if that happens, Walsh won’t just be popular. He’ll be invulnerable.
