Menino Announces Run For Unprecedented 5th Term

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briv

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Surprisingly, I haven't yet found a discussion about this here yet, so I thought I would start one.

From the-few-days-ago Globe:
The Boston Globe said:
Menino not ready to leave just yet

Launches campaign for unprecedented 5th term as mayor

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff | April 22, 2009

He has been spotted filming a campaign commercial, and the headquarters across from City Hall is up and running. Today, Mayor Thomas M. Menino will make it official and formally announce that he is running for election to a fifth term, according to a member of Menino's inner circle.

Even though the announcement promises to be anticlimactic because of his earlier campaign activity, Menino will seek to maximize publicity with a whirlwind of events, including a downtown kickoff and two neighborhood rallies, according to the person who has been briefed on the plans and was only authorized by Menino to speak anonymously.

The 66-year-old Menino is already on track to be the longest-serving mayor in city history, with 16 years and six months in office when he finishes this term in December. If he wins and completes a fifth four-year term, he would have spent more than two decades as mayor.

A message left seeking comment at his campaign headquarters yesterday was not returned.

But the mayor's confidante who described today's plans said his campaign theme will be "Moving Boston Forward."

The mayor is also launching a campaign website and a platform with the overarching message, "Having a great record is something to run on, having a vision is something to run for," the person said.

The announcement is scheduled to take place this afternoon at Digitas, a high-tech company with 750 Boston-based employees and a headquarters downtown. Rallies are set this evening in Roxbury and Roslindale, where Menino announced his first run for mayor in 1993.

Menino joins two city councilors and a South End businessman in the race. Councilors Michael F. Flaherty and Sam Yoon and construction company owner Kevin McCrea have already announced their intentions to run against Menino.

All are hitting similar notes with their campaign slogans: "A new season for Boston" (for Flaherty); "A new way of politics" (for Yoon); and "It's time for a change" (for McCrea).

In his speech today, Menino is expected to say that while he stands on his record, he has "the vision, the dream, and the confidence that things can be even better," said the person briefed on his plans.

One Menino supporter, Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral, said she had been invited to attend one of the mayor's events today. "I genuinely believe that, especially right now, with the economic situation in this city, that he's the person best equipped to lead this city," Cabral said yesterday. "I really believe that."

As for the lack of mystery surrounding Menino's intentions in recent weeks, Cabral said she believed there were still questions swirling. "It isn't real until the candidate formally announces," she said. "When the candidate formally announces, they're formally in the race."

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.
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So what do you think about this?
 
I think he's in trouble unless he can get the Filene's project restarted in time for the election.
 
I wonder how much the folks in W.Roxbury, Hyde Park (high voter turnout), JP, Roxbury Dorchester, & Mattapan (high density) really care about Filenes.

I think they are more in-tune to things like potholes, neighborhood parks and city services. I don't think the condition of Downtown Crossing is going to weigh heavily on their decisions.
 
While this puts in the awkward position of looking like a Menino defender (which I'm not), I still don't see how his challengers can successfully tie these things to him when this scene is repeating itself across every city in America.
Simply put, it is bigger then the mayor's office.
I doubt any of his competitors will be able to offer a viable solution to any of these problems.
 
I'm coming to the slow realization that Menino might actually be the best candidate. Flaherty and Yoon are from the dark ages, and I'm only about 50/50 on McCrea (although I could go w/McCrea as a protest vote).

As for Filene's, I don't think the average Boston voter particularly understand this issue or really cares about this issue. To them, the big issues are schools and other city services. They'd be more than happy to write the Filene's failure off to "Greedy Developers."
 
On any given day there are lots of Roxburians, Dorchesterites, and other below-the-South End neighborhood people in DT Crossing. I'm assuming they care a little.
 
It can make Menino look bad in an ad, that's why it could have a big impact.
 
Menino is a dope, and so are his announced opponents.

John A. Keith should run for mayor.

With a bag full of ideas tailored to these times, he should win.
 
ablarc, thank you for the comment and suggestion. Truly, if I thought I could have picked up the 3000 signatures in time, I would have seriously considered switching races.

There is good story about the Mayor's political history in this month's Boston Magazine.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/menino/

Interesting point, the Mayor was 40 before he ran for office for the first time.

See? There are no age limits when it comes to politics. We should all try it.
 
Just came across this piece on our beloved Urban Mechanic, also in the pages of Boston Magazine. We bitch about Menino's meddling in development, so in that respect, there's nothing new to learn here...

NB: I generally don't like to resurrect old/inactive threads without good cause, but this seemed the best place for this post. And it's bloody quiet around these parts...we need some fodder for discussion...
 
All and all I honestly think Menino truely cares about the murders in this city. Maybe more than any one other thing. I think his hearts in the right place, but we need more than just good hearts obviously. But the fact remains that the main reason why poor neighborhoods commit crimes (violent and non) is the simple fact that they're poor and have to fight for scraps. Inner cities are the front line of the inequalities of this world. And when combined w/ greedy scumbags on Wall St royally fucking everything up, its only a matter of time before budget cuts force good programs that reduce violence to end. The true solution would be quite obvious to E.T., redistribute the wealth, take SOME of the property tax dollars in well-to-do Beacon Hill or Wellsely (where the kids don't even go to public school), and put into schools and after school programs in Rox/Dot/Mat. Obviously money from outside Boston would be a govenor thing. Ofcourse the philanthropic rich and their underlings (middle class republicans) will have no part of that. To me it really is that simple. That and never underestimate the greed of the ruling rich (hence regulations). Everything else we do can help reduce violence, but not end the main cause. Its really a mamal thing, take 5 mice put them in a cage and only give them enough food for two and watch the carnage ensue. Meanwhile in cage two 5 mice have enough food for 10 and won't share.
 
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Ughh... All signs pointing to Mumbles trying for another term. Heard on WBUR this morning that he has been on a fundraising tear the last 6 weeks.
 
GW2500 said:
All and all I honestly think Menino truely cares about the murders in this city. Maybe more than any one other thing. I think his hearts in the right place, but we need more than just good hearts obviously.
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That was the thesis of the article Boston Magazine ran about him a couple months back. They acknowledged his passion/dedication for crime reduction, but argued that he was doing too much and hopping between too many new programs for any progress or success to actually happen. As far as crime goes, he needs to establish a unified program, let it run its course, and worry about the other numerous issues we have in Boston in the meantime.
 
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