Timilty has taken the anti-White tack, mostly because there's nothing in his record to talk about. Timilty's biggest selling point is his work as chairman of President Carter's National Commission on Neighborhoods. But his performance there, like his work in the state house, was less than stellar. Almost half the commission's 19 members dissented on the final report--and the other half quit or were fired. And Timilty has been stressing the "neighborhood" issue, whatever that means. Said one Commission member: "Joe's notion of leadership was you give everybody everything and then they owe you and they'll vote for you."
This notion has been taken to Boston's streets--particularly into the homes of the 58 per cent of voters who, as Timilty's latest ads tell us, "voted against Kevin White" in the preliminary. Back in September, there were four major candidates for the mayor's office, including Finnegan and State Rep. Melvin H. King. And if the campaign managers disagree on most points, they'll both readily admit that somebody will be elected mayor on November 6--and the key to the election is the King/Finnegan vote.
Timilty knows this. And so, in what many see as a desperation move, he's moderated his stance on rent control and taken several jabs at White's handling of the racial issue. Timilty's campaign aides won't deny their motives. "The people who voted for Mel King are looking for some kind of a statement they can hang onto," one said after the candidate found a new urge to support rent control. "We're giving them one." White, through a series of obnoxious "Breakfast at the Bixbys" radio commercials, has attacked Timilty for waffling--something which the mayor is also pretty skilled at.
In order to pull off a minor miracle on November 6--the latest poll gave White a 14 per cent victory margin--Timilty needs endorsements from the King and Finnegan camps. And he just hasn't gotten them. King, who supported Timilty in 1975, agreed with the Black Political Task Force's assessment of this year's race: vote against White, but don't endorse Timilty. The city's other leading liberal--State Rep. Barney Frank '62--gave his support to Timilty. But with the major papers lined up against him, it all seems too little and too late. The Finnegan people, meanwhile, are keeping pretty quiet. While Bill Ezekial, the man who ran Finnegan's preliminary campaign, has switched to the Timilty camp, the candidate says he just "doesn't feel motivated toward involvement."
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Joe Timilty is turning red and blue and yellow. He's standing on the ground floor of the Footlight Club and there are "Timilty for Mayor" signs in front of the discolights. The music is very loud--as are the costumes. And as he stands next to some huge guy in a massive sombrero. Timilty looks decidedly uncomfortable. A young woman dressed up as Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live screeches up to the candidate and asks to take his picture. Her friend, in a President Carter costume, stands next to Timilty and the mask grins like an idiot. Timilty grins, too--but he just doesn't look that happy