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Bruce Carlton Bolling (April 29, 1945September 11, 2012) was a politician and businessman in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Boston City Council and served as the council's first Black people president in the mid-1980s. He unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Boston in 1993.
After graduating from Northeastern University, Bolling served in the United States Coast Guard, being discharged in 1969.
Bolling married Carol Ann Nicholson (who took his surname). His wife had originally been from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He continued to live in Roxbury during his adulthood. Later in his life, he remarried to Joyce Ferriabough-Bolling.
Despite promoting numerous progressive causes on the council and receiving support from liberal organizations, Bolling was widely considered a political moderate. Bolling was regarded to have occupied a role as a bridge between the local African American community and the city's predominantly white political establishment. He managed the balancing act of appealing both to the city's black electorate, as well as politically moderate working class white voters. He was considered to have been slow to join other black political leaders in calling out racial inequities, taking a relatively conciliatory tone on issues of race. This tone on issues of race earned him respect from many white voters, but also frustrated some in the city's black community. His overall approach to politics on the council was to work quietly at assembling consensus for his proposals, as opposed to taking a more confrontational approach. Bolling agreed with characterizations of himself as a compromise-seeking moderate, remarking in early 1992, "I've never seen myself as a down-the-line liberal. I try to look at what the impact of issues will be, one way or the other." The Bay State Banner described Bolling's image and political approach,
In his first term, Bolling was the chairman of the council's Committee On Planning, Development and Housing. In this position, he led the 1982 passage of an ordinance establishing the creation of the city's first Fair Housing Commission, which investigated discriminatory housing practices. When working to secure support from more conservative council members (necessary for the ordinance to pass), Bolling opted to privately persuade councilors in private by assuaging concerns and offering compromises, rather than publicly pressuring them to adopt his original proposal. This reflected Bolling's overall approach during his council tenure of working quietly to assemble consensus for his proposals.
Bolling spearheaded the establishment of the city's first-ever Arson Prevention Commission, in order to address the 1982 Boston arson spree (a significant epidemic of arson that the city was experiencing).
In 1982, Bolling and Raymond Flynn were the sole votes against the adoption of a map for the council's new district seats.
Bolling's father's return to the Massachusetts Legislature (being elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1982, and joining his two sons as incumbent elected officeholders) elevated the Bolling family's political stature. The Boston Globe described the Bolling family as having become "the most prominent black political family in Boston". The Globe noted that it marked the first instance in Boston's politics that three members of the same family had simultaneously held office. It also noted that the three Bolling men were nearly half of the city's entire roster of black incumbent elected officials, therefore playing a major role in government representation of the city's African American community (at the time, nearly 22% of the city's population).
In 1983 the city adopted the Bolling-sponsored the Boston Linkage Ordinance, which required that developers of projects constructed on downtown public land must fund development projects in the city's non-downtown neighborhoods. This police brought millions of dollars to those neighborhoods. The linkage policy became a major subject of the city's 1983 mayoral election, with Raymond Flynn and Mel King (ultimately, the winner and runner-up) being the only two candidates who supported imposing linkage fees. During the city's 1983 election, voters overwhelming supported a Massachusetts Fair Share-backed non-binding referendum in favor of linkage policies. Bolling's linkage package, which was included in comprehensive housing legislation that he was involved in crafting as chair of the relevant council committee, was controversial. It aimed to use funds collected from developers of downtown construction projects to invest in the construction of affordable housing in the city's residential neighborhoods.
The council also passed the Bolling-sponsored "Boston Jobs for Boston residents" policy, which mandated that construction projects receiving public funding in Boston must utilize a workforce that includes at least 50% Boston residents, 25% people of color, and 10% women.
In 1984, Democratic voters of the 2nd Suffolk district elected Bolling to represent the district on the Massachusetts Democratic Party's state committee. Bolling was unopposed for the position.
In October 1984, Bolling was of six councilors to vote against Mayor Raymond Flynn's 1984 rent control ordinance, thus defeating it. He also was one of five to vote against James M. Kelly's compromise rent control package, which was adopted. His opposition to rent control attracted criticism from tenant groups.
Bolling was council president in 1986 and 1987, being the first Black person to hold that position.
In 1986, the council and mayor adopted Bolling-sponsored legislation which created the Neighborhood Housing Trust Fund that developers pay into under the city's Inclusionary Zoning statute. The passed legislation was created as a compromise from an earlier proposal, and was written in collaboration with Councilman James M. Kelly. It expanded the city's linkage policy. By 2014, the policy was credited with creating in excess of 4,000 units of affordable housing in the city. By the end of Raymond Flynn's mayoralty in 1993, this fund had already received over $70 million, which helped in the city's creation of over 8,000 units of affordable housing.
Bolling was the sponsor of the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Ordinance. The ordinance, adopted in 1987, increased the availability of municipal contracts to businesses owned by people of color, women, as well as small local businesses.
Bolling fought against an effort to have some of the minority-majority areas of Boston secede and form a new city (Mandela, Massachusetts). This idea was floated by some African American activists as a more radical means of addressing racial tensions and underlying issues.
In November 1986, Bolling's brother lost his State House seat. This decreased the collective political stature of the Bolling family.
In 1987, Bolling introduced an ordinance which, if it had been adopted, would have required the city's police to arrest professional athletes who committed violent acts during game play at the city's professional sports arena (Boston Garden), exempting only boxing. The ordinance was proposed in an era in which NHL professional ice hockey was particularly violent. The ordinance was criticized by prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz as being too vague (about what acts of violence it was intended to over) to be enforced.
In 1987, Bolling offered Mayor Flynn praise for his leadership on addressing racial violence, but also asserted that further work on addressing racial matters was necessary.
During the 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Bolling was the chair of the state committee for Jesse Jackson's campaign. Contrarily, Bolling's father was a supporter of the campaign of Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.
In November 1988, Bolling's father lost his State Senate seat, leaving the younger Bolling the sole member of his family still in political office.
Bolling spearheaded the passage of the city's anti-redlining ordinance.
Bolling attempted to calm racial tensions in the aftermath of the murder of Carol Stuart. Bolling, however, also stated that the police department's handling of the investigation (initially believing, and making arrests according to, the false description of an African American assailant, before the investigation turned its focus to Stuart's white husband) had brought harm to the city's black communities.
In 1991, Bolling proposed an ordinance which, if adopted, would have allowed police to levy fines and jail times as punishment for parents whose children had been engaged in gang-related violence or illegal drug use. This proposal generated significant controversy.
Having lost re-election, Bolling initially took a job with the lobbying firm McDermott/O'Neill Associates.
In 1992, Yancey was challenged by fellow city council member Charles Yancey in the vote for the 2nd Suffolk Democratic state party committeeman position. Bolling defeated Yancey 58.2% to 41.8%.
In October 1992, Bolling and Councilors Yancey and Anthony Crayton held a joint press conference in Roxbury at a street corner where two murders had occurred within a single week, during which they urged for the city's police department to pursue community policing partnerships with residents.
Bolling sponsored an enacted ordinance which created the city's first-ever gun buyback program; a then-revolutionary program which was a major component of the city's early 1990s crime reduction efforts. Whether or not the program, was a successful in contributing to a reduction in crime has been a matter of debate.
During the early 1990s state legislative redistricting, Bolling testified before the State House to urge the creation of more opportunity districts in order to facilitate greater representation of racial minorities in the State Legislature.
This episode became a point of major discussion in Boston. Mayor Flynn declined to comment until after the police department reviewed the incident and whether it was a racial incident. Bolling expressed disappointment with the mayor for not publicly coming to his defense. Flynn also received criticism from some leaders in the black community for failing to immediately side with Bolling. Councilor Yancey criticized Flynn, arguing his failure to side with Bolling implied doubt of Bolling's credibility.
From 2000 until his death, Bolling was director of MassAlliance, a firm specializing in small business development. He died of prostate cancer on September 11, 2012. He was 67.
In 2015, the Ferdinand Building in then-Dudley Square (now Nubian Square) was renamed the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in his honor. This renaming had been recommended by Mayor Marty Walsh to the Boston Landmarks Commission, with the Boston City Council unanimously passing a resolution (authored by 7th district councilor Tito Jackson) to voice its support as well. The rededication ceremony was attended by his brother, Royal L. Bolling Jr., Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Mayor Walsh, and other Massachusetts politicians.
Early political and government career
Bolling believed his family upbringing had set him up to become a politician. In 1977, he unsuccessfully ran for the Boston City Council. He placed sixteenth, failing to win one of the nineteen seats for election. After being discharged from the Coast Guard, Bolling began working as a functionary in the administration of Mayor Kevin White. In the mayoral administration, he filled a variety of roles over the course of several year. This included holding positions in the Office of Public Safety and serving as the manager of a mayoral administration field office (a "Little City Hall") at Franklin Field.
City council
Bolling served on the Boston City Council between the years 1982 and 1994. He came to be considered the city's best-known black politician.
First term (1982–83)
In the 1981 Boston City Council election, Bolling was elected to the Boston City Council, in the final election when all seats were at-large. Bolling's candidacy had received the backing of the political machine of Mayor White. White had backed a slate of seven candidates for council that year, who got dubbed "Kevin's Seven". Of these seven, Bolling was the only to win election. Bolling was the first black councilor to be elected in ten years since.
Second term (1984–85)
In 1983, Bolling was elected the inaugural councilmember to represent the 7th district (situated in Roxbury). He would win re-election to three further 2-year terms representing the seat in the subsequent elections.
Third term and council presidency (1986–87)
Bolling was re-elected to his district 7 seat in 1985.
Fourth term (1988–89)
Bolling was re-elected to his district 7 seat in 1987.
Fifth term (1990–91)
Bolling was re-elected to his district 7 seat in 1989.
1991 campaign for an at-large seat
In 1991 Bolling sought an at-large position on the council instead of seeking to retain his 7th district seat. While a campaign for his district seat would have likely set him up for an easy re-election, he had ambitions of a future mayoral run and believed that the pursuit of an at-large seat would give him an opportunity to build a citywide campaign organization in advance of a future mayoral campaign. However, he placed fifth, failing to win one of the four seats contested in the election. As a result, he left the council at the end of its 1990–91 term.
Sixth term (1992–93)
After being off the council several months following his unsuccessful run for an at-large seat, Bolling returned to the council in September 1992, following the death of at-large member Christopher A. Iannella. Because Bolling had finished fifth in the election for four at-large seats.
Taxi incident
In late 1992, an incident occurred in which Bolling got into an argument which a taxi driver refused to drive Bolling to his home in Roxbury. Bolling informed the driver that he was a reputable member of the City Council, but was still refused a ride to his neighborhood. Per Bolling's account, in the ensuing episode, a second taxi driver (trying to aide in physically removing Bolling from the seat of the cab) called Bolling a "nigger" (a highly-profane ethnic slur). Bolling publicly shared his experience, noting that having been called the slur felt highly degrading. Bolling's decision to go so public, as well as deliver remarks that tied the incident to other incidents of racism in the city, surprised many of his colleagues considering his previous much more mild-manner approach towards discussing matters of race.
1993 mayoral campaign
Bolling ran for Mayor of Boston in 1993, finishing fifth in the Partisan primary.
Later years and legacy
Bolling continued to serve on the Massachusetts Democratic Party State Committee, being re-elected for a final four-year term as committeeman in 1996.
Electoral history
City Council elections
James Michael Connolly (incumbent) 22,212 5.92 37,479 7.97 Raymond Flynn 19,248 2.96 35,757 7.60 Christopher A. Iannella (incumbent) 21,577 6.64 35,682 7.59 Dapper O'Neil (incumbent) 20,875 6.42 35,543 7.56 Lawrence DiCara (incumbent) 19,048 5.86 32,232 6.85 Joseph M. Tierney (incumbent) 17,500 5.39 31,913 6.79 Rosemarie Sansone 12,954 3.99 30,531 6.49 Frederick C. Langone (incumbent) 15,156 4.66 30,268 6.44 Patrick F. McDonough (incumbent) 15,868 4.88 30,205 6.44 Louise Day Hicks (incumbent) 19,862 6.11 30,058 6.39 Gerald O'Leary 14,979 4.61 23,868 5.08 Gerard P. McHale 12,753 3.92 20,610 4.38 John J. Kerrigan (incumbent) 11,810 3.63 20,045 .4.26 Arnett L. Waters 10,589 3.26 18,109 3.85 Lawrence E. Blacke 9,801 3.02 16,899 3.59 Bruce Bolling 8,634 2.66 15,518 3.30 Stephen C. Farrell 8,505 2.62 13,980 2.97 Paul J. Ellison 7,919 2.22 11,542 2.45 William T. Donovan 7,198 2.22 Elizabeth Buckley 6,886 2.12 Robert Whitey McGrail 6,740 1.03 Harold L. O’Brien 5,869 1.81 James J. Tobin 4,907 1.51 Polly Jane Halfkenny 4,380 1.35 John T. Cuddy 4,288 1.32 Celia M. Sniffin 3,965 1.22 Diane Jacobs 3,827 1.18 Norma Walsh Gramer 3,559 1.10 Richard Hird 2,365 0.73 George R. Geller 1,675 0.52 scattering 1 0.00 4 0.00 Raymond Flynn (incumbent) 31,898 7.77 53,136 9.54 Christopher A. Iannella (incumbent) 25,462 6.20 44,621 8.01 Dapper O'Neil (incumbent) 24,240 5.91 40,474 7.27 Frederick C. Langone (incumbent) 23,000 5.60 39,780 7.14 Joseph M. Tierney (incumbent) 17,649 4.30 35,185 6.32 Michael J. McCormack 14,178 3.45 33,861 6.08 Terence P. McDermott 11,981 2.92 31,707 5.69 Maura Hennigan 14,325 3.49 31,637 5.68 Bruce Bolling 15,273 3.72 30,672 5.51 James M. Kelly 14,941 3.64 30,079 5.40 Patrick F. McDonough (incumbent) 17,165 4.18 29,591 5.31 Edmund McNamara 12,007 2.93 29,301 5.26 David Scondras 11,616 2.83 28,571 5.13 Charles Yancey 12,378 3.02 27,007 4.85 Francis X. Coppinger 11,034 2.69 21,675 3.89 Craig Lankhorst 10,301 2.51 20,769 3.73 Pamela J. Gilman 10,070 2.45 14,776 2.65 Gerard P. McHale 10,407 2.54 14,173 2.54 Joseph W. Casper 9,906 2.41 Frederick T. Scopa 9,444 2.30 John F. Melia 8,788 2.14 Stephen G. Michaels 8,325 2.03 Brian Hickey 8,222 2.00 John P. Grady 7,855 1.91 Richard B. Hogan 7,794 1.90 Edward M. McCormack 7,610 1.85 William G. Broderick 7,134 1.74 Joseph E. Maher 6,269 1.53 Maureen Craven Slade 5,759 1.40 Althea Garrison 5,442 1.33 Joseph T. Fitzpatrick 3,947 0.96 David F. Burnes 3,784 0.92 David Alan Mittell Jr. 3,660 0.89 Francis X. Goode 3,227 0.79 Thomas P. Casserly 3,005 0.73 Warren I. Brown 3,001 0.73 John S. MacDonald 2,881 0.70 Edward J. DeSantis 2,688 0.65 John B’Smith III 1,936 0.47 John K. Rees 1,791 0.44 Bruce Bolling 7,556 59.1 9,049 63.9 Elizabeth "Betty" Jones 1,907 14.9 5,121 36.1 Ben Haith 1,315 10.3 Roy A. Owens 1.146 9.0 Steven A. Wise 567 4.4 James Joseph 302 2.4 Bruce Bolling (incumbent) 1,505 70.3 2,386 68.0 Roy A. Owens 448 20.9 1,121 32.0 Robert Polk 108 5.0 Charles H. Durant 80 3.7 Bruce Bolling (incumbent) 4,264 70.3 Roy A. Owens 1,803 29.7 Bruce Bolling (incumbent) 998 57.1 2,330 60.1 Roy A. Owens 391 22.4 1,547 39.9 Michael Long 358 20.5 Dapper O'Neil (incumbent) 32,374 16.4 44,758 17.3 Christopher A. Iannella (incumbent) 23,566 11.9 40,270 15.6 Rosaria Salerno (incumbent) 24,447 12.4 37,113 14.4 John A. Nucci 22,253 11.3 35,723 13.8 Bruce Bolling 16,400 8.3 32,008 12.4 Peggy Davis-Mullen 12,860 6.5 25,658 9.9 Francis Costello 12,855 6.5 22,545 8.7 John Grady 13,512 6.8 20,375 7.9 Corbett 11,205 5.7 Boyce Slayman 8,251 4.2 Walsh 7,559 3.8 Hall 5,220 2.6 Murray 3,915 2.0 James Klocke 2,886 1.5 Christopher A. Iannella died in September 1992; Bolling served the remainder of Iannella's term, as Bolling had finished fifth in the general election for four seats.
Democratic Party State Committeeman elections
Bruce C. Bolling 6,314 99.2 all others 51 0.8 Bruce C. Bolling 7,678 74.1 Alexander Rodriguez 1,127 10.9 Leonard M. Lee 998 9.5 Louis A. Elisa II 569 5.5 Bruce C. Bolling 4,386 58.2 Charles Calvin Yancey 3,153 41.8 Bruce Bolling 1,462 72.3 Juan Lopez 387 10.1 Joseph P. McLean 171 8.5
Mayoral election
Thomas Menino (acting incumbent) 30,060 26.89 74,448 64.45 James T. Brett 25,052 22.41 41,052 35.54 Robert Rufo 22,517 20.14 Rosaria Salerno 19,605 17.54 Bruce Bolling 6,564 5.87 Christopher Lydon 3,630 3.25 Francis Roache 3,362 3.01 Diane Moriarty 991 0.89
Further reading
External links
Categories: Presidents Of The Boston City Council, Businesspeople From Boston, 20th Century In Boston, 1945 Births, 2012 Deaths, Deaths From Prostate Cancer In The United States, Deaths From Cancer In Massachusetts, Cambridge College Alumni, African-american City Council Members In Massachusetts, 20th-century American Businesspeople, 21st-century African-american Politicians, 20th-century African-american Businesspeople, American Lobbyists
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