By Howie Carr

By Howie Carr

You, too, could land a cushy council seat May 15, 2005 By Howie Carr

Are you still looking for that dream job?

It's not too late, friends, but you have to move quickly.

Tuesday is the filing deadline for the Boston City Council elections.

Here's what you get: Base salary, $75,000. Two - count 'em, two - downtown parking spaces. Another $135,000 for "aides."

As they would say on a TV game show, actual retail value $250,000. And that doesn't even include however many Red Sox tickets you can steal, or scalp, or both.

It's a shame Vinny the Animal Ferrara doesn't get out of the stir until Thursday, because otherwise, Paul Scapicchio, the incumbent from the North End, might be looking over his shoulder, in more ways than one.

If the Animal stands up at a candidates' night on Hanover Street and tells everybody he knows how to twist arms, who could possibly doubt him?

The current city councilors, as well as the mayor, Mumbles Menino, a former councilor, know just how sweet their deals are.

That's why they've changed the filing deadlines, to keep you from trying to grab their parking spaces and their pensions.

It used to be that a Council candidate had until late July to submit his signatures.

Now, the deadline has been silently moved up to May 24.

But first you have to get down to City Hall, by Tuesday, and apply to get your nomination papers printed up.

Then you, or any other unemployed layabout, have another week to round up the signatures.

Unfortunately, members of the city's largest demographic group - illegal aliens - aren't allowed to sign, or at least they're not supposed to.

Still, you should be able to get signatures from 200 Americans.

That's the number you need to get on the ballot for one of the nine district seats.

For an at-large seat, it's 500. (That number used to be 1,500, but it was just too darned much work.)

You read a lot of hooey about the "new Boston," but the reality is, most of the at-large candidates are still Irish, just like, as always, the High Sheriff of Suffolk County and the former Speaker of the House are in photo finishes with the grand jury.

The more things change. . . .