New In The Phoenix -- Flaherty vs. Yoon

In this week's issue of the Boston Phoenix -- in print tomorrow, online now -- I have a cover story about the September 22 preliminary election for Boston mayor. That prelim is, for all practical purposes, a primary between Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon for the "not Menino" party nomination, and that's how I analyze it.

I'm going to get some grief from Kevin McCrea's supporters, I'm sure, for dismissing his chances. For the purposes of this analysis, that's exactly what I've done. I will repeat here what I saidon BNN last night: McCrea's chances lie in a "Chris Gabrieli" strategy, of parachuting in with an effective ad campaign and impressive debate performances that overcome his lack of name recognition, institutional support, and field organization. That's a tough strategy for a municipal election, but I'm eager to see him try it.

Anyway, here's the story -- let me know what your thoughts are:

Yoon or Flaherty: Who will win the chance to challenge Menino?

And you'll want to check out my colleague Chris Faraone's overview of the 13 newcomers challenging for at-large city council.