Lawrence Harmon ponders Councilor Charles Yancey's pursuit of a new high school in Mattapan and says the idea could work - if the city converts the current West Roxbury Education Complex into a K-8 school.

Yancey and Mattapan would get a state-of-the-art high school (open to students from across the city), even as secondary enrollment across the city drops, while West Roxbury parents would get the extra K-8 seats they've been arguing for for years, he writes.

Several city councilors said today they strongly back Councilor Charles Yancey's longstanding proposal to put a high school on a 20-acre parcel on the grounds of the former Boston State Hospital.

However, Council President Bill Linehan deferred any vote on the idea after several councilors also said that while they don't oppose the idea, they need more information on it. Among those: Mark Ciommo (Allston/Brighton), who chaired a hearing at the Mattapan public library just last night on the idea.

An angry Councilor Tito Jackson (Roxbury) today demanded an in-depth audit of finances at the city's only vocational high school.

BPS "should be absolutely ashamed" that the school has 62 staff vacancies just two weeks before school opens, Jackson said today, calling for a hearing to consider the issue.

Councilor Charles Yancey (Dorchester) agreed. "The situation at Madison is really at a crisis level," he said.

"The school is failing because we have failed these kids," at-large Councilor Ayanna Pressley said. "If the school is being set up to fail, the students are being set up to fail. Enough is enough."

The City Council voted today to urge the School Committee to hold off action on a proposal to eliminate school buses for 4,500 middle-school students until it can undergo more study.

City councilor Tito Jackson (Roxbury), who sponsored the unanimously approved motion, said making seventh and eighth graders take the T to school instead of traditional school buses could expose them to far more danger and may not even save the city any money.

In a debate that at times devolved into an incomprehensible roar as moderators did little to try to keep order, 11 candidates offered their opinions on everything from a casino vote to education. David Wyatt also attended, but spoke only during the two times he was asked a direct question.

Casino vote

John Connolly said East Boston residents will be hit far harder by a potential casino than anybody else, so they should be the ones to vote.

Dan Conley, however, says all Bostonians should vote. "It will affect our character, our culture and it needs a citywide vote." Almost said he opposed the casino when he compared it to the proposal to move the Red Sox to the South Boston waterfront. "Can you imagine if that had happened?"

Bill Walczak opposed the casino, period, called it "a public health disaster."

Charlotte Golar Richie didn't say who she feels about the vote - although she said she would oppose ramming a casino down East Boston's throat if it voted against it and the rest of the city voted for it, but said she would take some casino revenue and use it for crime prevention.

The two mayoral candidates joined a minority police organization today to criticize the lack of minority and women commanders in the Boston Police Department, but stopped short of saying they would not reappoint Commissioner Ed Davis.

Bill Walczak traveled to Malibu Beach today to push an agenda for dealing with climate change by both preparing the city for a rising sea - increased protection of buffering marshes and other steps to protect local buildings and infrastructure - and decreasing the city's production of greenhouse gases.

Among his proposals: 24-hour T service and converting bus and commuter-rail lines to electric service to reduce diesel emissions.

Charlotte Golar Richie announced this morning Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree has joined her campaign as a senior advisor:

She's an excellent candidate with deep roots in the community, rich experience in government and a vision for the city.

City Councilor Charles Yancey said today that while his name will be on the September ballot in Dorchester twice - once for city council, once for mayor - he will be spending all his time between now and then running for mayor.

Following an education forum at the BPL in Copley Square, Yancey said he is running a citywide campaign for mayor and that he will not actively campaign for the District 4 seat he has held since 1984. He said he's just doing the same thing a number of other candidates across the country have long done when they seek higher office.

Our own Don Warner Saklad provides the list.

Among the qualifiers: Charles Yancey, who is pulling a Paul Ryan by also qualifying to run for re-election as a city councilor, you know, just in case. The other city councilors running for mayor are all in just for mayor.