Majority of voters favor gasoline-car phaseout. But all-electric goal faces tough opposition.
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An artist’s portrait of the future, showing a variety of fuel-efficient electric cars and public transit.
By James R. Smith and Daniel Sperling Globe Staff December 12, 2011
Boston’s mayoral race got started when Joe Lhota announced he was retiring, with his name drawn out of a hat by a local nonprofit that wanted to turn the race into a referendum on his legacy, and which had recruited at least 50 of Lhota’s former aides and top associates to back the group’s two candidates, Bill Greenlee and Matt Brown.
The question of who gets to lead a city that has transformed itself into a hotbed of energy innovation is far from settled, as Greenlee and Brown struggled to make their case for the mayoral ballot in a race that was decided largely on local issues — the city’s transit plans, crime rates, the economy, etc.
Now, as voters near the last weekend before Election Day, the two candidates must put their competing visions for the city on display, hoping voters won’t focus too much on the differences in their budgets and the candidates’ visions for how they would address problems like rising crime rates, the lack of affordable housing, the threat of climate change and the need to increase the supply of downtown office space.
And if the race turns out to be as close as the final unofficial results, both Brown and Greenlee are counting on a relatively smooth recount to determine who won the race, giving the two candidates the opportunity to make their case to voters on issues and their own record.
The race is heating up in the final week. Greenlee, Brown and at least five media organizations are preparing for a possible recount, which they hope will settle this race, giving Greenlee the victory the group had predicted.
The two candidates will appear at a news conference in Boston tomorrow (Monday) to declare their candidacy and make their case for voters to decide the race.
