A Republican Subs for Kerry With Relish

The New York Times > Washington > The Democrats: "First, John Kerry, the putative Democratic presidential nominee, decided Sunday not to attend the annual meeting of the nation's mayors here, refusing to cross a picket line of police union members feuding with Boston's mayor. Then, on Monday, Boston's mayor, Thomas M. Menino, who is not only a Democrat but also the host of the Democratic National Convention here in July, welcomed a stand-in for Mr. Kerry: Mitt Romney, the Republican governor of Massachusetts. Mr. Romney, not generally considered a friend to Democrats, seized the opportunity to praise Mr. Menino and needle Mr. Kerry.

Mr. Romney had declined an invitation to attend the conference on Saturday because of scheduling conflicts, said his spokeswoman, Shawn Feddeman. But when he heard about Mr. Kerry's decision on Sunday night, he called to ask if he could take the senator's slot. "A mayor, a governor and a president have a responsibility to make tough decisions and balance budgets. A senator doesn't, and that's a big difference. Senators don't have to balance budgets. Senators don't have to make those kinds of trade-offs. That's what the mayor has to do, and that's why I want to be here for him."

Mr. Menino and the city's largest police union, the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, have been at an impasse for months, and the union has been trying to make things increasingly difficult for the mayor as the convention approaches. While the union will not be trying to block access to the site of the convention, Jim Barry, the union's political director, said that if no agreement was reached, pickets would be dogging Mayor Menino during the convention, protesting outside the delegation parties where he was host and staging a rally outside City Hall. Mr. Barry said the union members, who have been without a contract for two years, wanted a 16 percent raise over four years. The city has offered 11.9 percent."