Nothing personal, but he has been around awhile and seems to be slowing down.
katesays
Dear Friends,
It’s being reported that Mayor Tom Menino will not seek another term in office.
Today we celebrate and thank Mayor Menino for his service and unquestionable love for our City. There is no doubt in my mind that we live in a better Boston because of Mayor Menino’s many years of thoughtful and caring leadership. Mayor Menino personally touched the lives of tens of thousands of Bostonians, and he ensured a higher quality of life across Boston’s neighborhoods.
Personally, I remember Mayor Menino as the city councilor for Roslindale when I was growing up there. He worked as a city councilor the same way he works as Mayor – as a caring, hard-working man who paid attention to people and their needs on an individual basis. None of us will ever forget his personal touch in running our City.
We need to have an informed debate and discussion about Boston’s future and the many challenges facing Boston, but today is not that day. Today is a day to thank a great man for being a great Mayor.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You have my respect and gratitude. I am thankful to have worked with you, and to have learned from you. You’ve given so much to Boston, and all of us look forward to working with you as you begin your next chapter of service to our City.
Sincerely,
jconwaysays
LOL at Conolly’s letter-he wasn’t that laudatory a week ago running against Menino
And this is truly an end to an era. While some here felt Menino was less than progressive, others like Sabutai and myself recognized he was an early leader on important cases from gay rights, gun control, AIDS, and community policing that was wholistic and not reactionary. He was the “social worker’s mayor” and clearly relished his job. When I worked for Mayor Daley in Chicago and asked him what other big city mayor he admired the most, I was expecting him to say Bloomberg but he immediately said Menino and added “without hesitation”. That’s strong praise in my book. He was mocked by the Howie Carrs and area standups but nobody knew the city like he did.
Here’s hoping Sonia Chang-Diaz or Pressly gets in. Not only capable of breaking embarrassing barriers but both are most capable of running the city in the right direction.
fenway49says
Nice letter. Wonder what he’d have said if Menino stayed in? I almost hope Menino would say “Just kidding!” to make Connolly own that letter, released before the official announcement.
seascrapersays
Menino’s strategy: satisfy suburban progressives with social issues, don’t rock the boat economically with big connected companies in Boston, throw just enough city jobs to the blacks and hispanics to keep those neighborhoods pacified.
jconwaysays
You just described the Daley/Emmanuel/Bloomberg strategy for sure. But Menino has been a strong and consistent ally of organized labor (same cannot be said of his Chicago counterparts), public education (Dr. Payzant was fantastic, push on good public schools rather than charters only), lowering crime (Boston has far fewer homicides than Chicago or New York per capita) and I would argue he was the first truly post-racial Mayor. Hopefully a strong progressive candidate of color can make a run so we can truly get past the ugliness of busing and racial division.
farnkoffsays
People of all races, creeds, and classes liked him. He was sort of an unlikely guy to champion gay rights the way he did, and deserves a lot of credit for that. He often seemed to be everywhere, especially before his health problems really started to affect him. I think he did a tremendous amount to get us past the “ugliness of busing and racial division”, partially by just being himself, being out there among all the people. It seems like back in 1993 there were whole areas of the city that weren’t much more than hopeless, crime-ridden wastelands. Now there’s still crime and violence, but not nearly as concentrated, and there is a sense that all neighborhoods are valuable and valued. However, the people who surrounded him had become too complacent in recent years, and Menino had acquired a certain skill of dodging responsibility for bad things, whole taking full and complete credit for everything good. Internal audits of city departments seemed unheard-of, and too often it took journalists to direct the mayor’s attention to problems. In addition, there was something about the operation of the BRA that always drove me crazy, with the Filene’s Hole being the most glaring example of a miserable failure of planning and kid-glove treatment of unscrupulous, well-heeled developers.
But he was very good for Boston, all in all.
jconwaysays
Over any Daley or Bloomberg. Daley’s nephew literally got away with murder, his son and relatives all got cushy contracts, he destroyed an airport in the dead of night without any oversight, and most of his associates ended up in prison. He was a lot better than his racist dad though. And Bloomberg combines the worst aspects of nanny state liberalism with terribly conservative policies on policing and education. So Menino is about as progressive as a big city Mayor can be, no corruption, and he truly loved being Mayor and didn’t view it as a stepping stone like Emmanuel clearly does.
fenway49says
as Pablo pointed out on the other thread, had the story early last night. He also posted, on his new blog yesterday around noon, that Menino’s health could have been a major factor in the election if had chosen to run. His read on the Globe/UNH poll was: As popular as Menino remained, even a small medical setback could have a dramatic effect. He suggested it was a factor that had Menino thinking long and hard about whether to run.
jconwaysays
He and his wife were both battling cancer, and as soon as it was clear hers was terminal he announced he wasn’t running for re-election. And we have seen little of him since. I suspect Menino made a similar decision, better to enjoy the golden years than did in office.
howardjpsays
and looking forward to more successes over the next 9 months. Several of us met with Senator Chang-Diaz’ staff regarding the Massachusetts Food Innovation Trust Fund that they co-sponsored, to advance job creating food projects from new greenhouses and farms to the expansion of a food incubators like CropCircle in JP to the old Pearl Meats bldg in Grove Hall. Thanks to Mssrs Conway and Farnkopf, among others, for their generous comments.
howardjpsays
“a food incubator” 🙂
Ryansays
for any future mayor to have the kind of enduring impact Menino’s had on the city…. though I’ll certainly wish them luck.
Menino deserves thanks for a job well done.
SomervilleTomsays
I grant you that Mr. Menino was an improvement over Ray Flynn.
Nevertheless, with all due respect, Mr. Menino doesn’t come close to Keven White when it comes to political chops, vision, or legacy.
SomervilleTomsays
Sorry Ryan, I didn’t mean this as a response to your comment.
howardjpsays
I lived in Mattapan during the late 60’s when the blockbusters and speculators were pitting people against each other and racial tension was rampant. No one in city government did anything to try to make things better and get people talking. This would be unthinkable in the post-White Administrations. Both men also won overwhelming reelections, White had a narrow win in 1975 and a bit wider margin in 1979, but nothing similar to the Flynn/Menino margins.
Nothing personal, but he has been around awhile and seems to be slowing down.
Dear Friends,
It’s being reported that Mayor Tom Menino will not seek another term in office.
Today we celebrate and thank Mayor Menino for his service and unquestionable love for our City. There is no doubt in my mind that we live in a better Boston because of Mayor Menino’s many years of thoughtful and caring leadership. Mayor Menino personally touched the lives of tens of thousands of Bostonians, and he ensured a higher quality of life across Boston’s neighborhoods.
Personally, I remember Mayor Menino as the city councilor for Roslindale when I was growing up there. He worked as a city councilor the same way he works as Mayor – as a caring, hard-working man who paid attention to people and their needs on an individual basis. None of us will ever forget his personal touch in running our City.
We need to have an informed debate and discussion about Boston’s future and the many challenges facing Boston, but today is not that day. Today is a day to thank a great man for being a great Mayor.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You have my respect and gratitude. I am thankful to have worked with you, and to have learned from you. You’ve given so much to Boston, and all of us look forward to working with you as you begin your next chapter of service to our City.
Sincerely,
LOL at Conolly’s letter-he wasn’t that laudatory a week ago running against Menino
And this is truly an end to an era. While some here felt Menino was less than progressive, others like Sabutai and myself recognized he was an early leader on important cases from gay rights, gun control, AIDS, and community policing that was wholistic and not reactionary. He was the “social worker’s mayor” and clearly relished his job. When I worked for Mayor Daley in Chicago and asked him what other big city mayor he admired the most, I was expecting him to say Bloomberg but he immediately said Menino and added “without hesitation”. That’s strong praise in my book. He was mocked by the Howie Carrs and area standups but nobody knew the city like he did.
Here’s hoping Sonia Chang-Diaz or Pressly gets in. Not only capable of breaking embarrassing barriers but both are most capable of running the city in the right direction.
Nice letter. Wonder what he’d have said if Menino stayed in? I almost hope Menino would say “Just kidding!” to make Connolly own that letter, released before the official announcement.
Menino’s strategy: satisfy suburban progressives with social issues, don’t rock the boat economically with big connected companies in Boston, throw just enough city jobs to the blacks and hispanics to keep those neighborhoods pacified.
You just described the Daley/Emmanuel/Bloomberg strategy for sure. But Menino has been a strong and consistent ally of organized labor (same cannot be said of his Chicago counterparts), public education (Dr. Payzant was fantastic, push on good public schools rather than charters only), lowering crime (Boston has far fewer homicides than Chicago or New York per capita) and I would argue he was the first truly post-racial Mayor. Hopefully a strong progressive candidate of color can make a run so we can truly get past the ugliness of busing and racial division.
People of all races, creeds, and classes liked him. He was sort of an unlikely guy to champion gay rights the way he did, and deserves a lot of credit for that. He often seemed to be everywhere, especially before his health problems really started to affect him. I think he did a tremendous amount to get us past the “ugliness of busing and racial division”, partially by just being himself, being out there among all the people. It seems like back in 1993 there were whole areas of the city that weren’t much more than hopeless, crime-ridden wastelands. Now there’s still crime and violence, but not nearly as concentrated, and there is a sense that all neighborhoods are valuable and valued. However, the people who surrounded him had become too complacent in recent years, and Menino had acquired a certain skill of dodging responsibility for bad things, whole taking full and complete credit for everything good. Internal audits of city departments seemed unheard-of, and too often it took journalists to direct the mayor’s attention to problems. In addition, there was something about the operation of the BRA that always drove me crazy, with the Filene’s Hole being the most glaring example of a miserable failure of planning and kid-glove treatment of unscrupulous, well-heeled developers.
But he was very good for Boston, all in all.
Over any Daley or Bloomberg. Daley’s nephew literally got away with murder, his son and relatives all got cushy contracts, he destroyed an airport in the dead of night without any oversight, and most of his associates ended up in prison. He was a lot better than his racist dad though. And Bloomberg combines the worst aspects of nanny state liberalism with terribly conservative policies on policing and education. So Menino is about as progressive as a big city Mayor can be, no corruption, and he truly loved being Mayor and didn’t view it as a stepping stone like Emmanuel clearly does.
as Pablo pointed out on the other thread, had the story early last night. He also posted, on his new blog yesterday around noon, that Menino’s health could have been a major factor in the election if had chosen to run. His read on the Globe/UNH poll was: As popular as Menino remained, even a small medical setback could have a dramatic effect. He suggested it was a factor that had Menino thinking long and hard about whether to run.
He and his wife were both battling cancer, and as soon as it was clear hers was terminal he announced he wasn’t running for re-election. And we have seen little of him since. I suspect Menino made a similar decision, better to enjoy the golden years than did in office.
and looking forward to more successes over the next 9 months. Several of us met with Senator Chang-Diaz’ staff regarding the Massachusetts Food Innovation Trust Fund that they co-sponsored, to advance job creating food projects from new greenhouses and farms to the expansion of a food incubators like CropCircle in JP to the old Pearl Meats bldg in Grove Hall. Thanks to Mssrs Conway and Farnkopf, among others, for their generous comments.
“a food incubator” 🙂
for any future mayor to have the kind of enduring impact Menino’s had on the city…. though I’ll certainly wish them luck.
Menino deserves thanks for a job well done.
I grant you that Mr. Menino was an improvement over Ray Flynn.
Nevertheless, with all due respect, Mr. Menino doesn’t come close to Keven White when it comes to political chops, vision, or legacy.
Sorry Ryan, I didn’t mean this as a response to your comment.
I lived in Mattapan during the late 60’s when the blockbusters and speculators were pitting people against each other and racial tension was rampant. No one in city government did anything to try to make things better and get people talking. This would be unthinkable in the post-White Administrations. Both men also won overwhelming reelections, White had a narrow win in 1975 and a bit wider margin in 1979, but nothing similar to the Flynn/Menino margins.