THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE MUMBLES

Boston's longest serving mayor, Thomas Menino, announced recently that he would not seek a sixth term in office.

Elected in 1993 as Boston's first non-Irish mayor, Mayor Menino defeated state legislator, James Brett, 64% to 36%.  After running unopposed for a second term in 1997, Menino defeated Boston City Councilor Peggy Davis-Mullen in 2001 for a third term with 76% of the vote and in 2005 garnered 67% of the vote in beating Maura Hennigan, another councilor. On July 13, 2009, Menino became the longest-serving mayor in Boston history. On November 3, 2009 Menino garnered 57% of the vote, defeating Boston City Councilor Michael F. Flaherty and securing an unprecedented fifth term.

Since I was a resident of Florida for a number of years while Mr. Menino was mayor, I missed the middle chunk of years he served the citizens of Boston.  Returning to Boston in 2004, I was witness to the good, the bad, and the mumbling of Boston's longest serving [and beloved by many]  mayor, Thomas Menino.

Below are the highlights and lowlights of Mayor Menino's remarkable career.

The Good:

Mayors Against Illegal Guns

On April 25, 2006, Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hosted a summit at Gracie Mansion in New York City, during which the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition was formed. The coalition, of which Menino remains co-chair, stated its goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The initial group consisted of 15 mayors; the 15 drafted and signed a statement of principles[6] and set a goal to expand their membership to 50 mayors by the end of 2006. That goal was met six months ahead of schedule, and led to its current membership of 210 mayors, with members from both major political parties and 40 states.

DNC 2004

Menino brought the Democratic National Convention to Boston in 2004. Though controversial in the beginning for fundraising difficulties, security concerns, protests by unions, and inconvenience to residents, Menino estimates the convention generated $150 million in business for the city; meanwhile, other estimates suggest the convention generated $14.8 million for the city.

Beantown to Greentown

In 2008, the City of Boston was ranked as the third greenest city in the US by Popular Science Magazine. In the last decade, there have been new initiatives around planting more trees in the city, single-stream recycling, increasing the solar power capacity of the city, investing in alternative energy, and biking. One of the most innovative ideas has been green building zoning, which requires large-scale private construction to be “green” by LEED standards. Boston is the first city to revise its building code to ensure green construction. The documentary The Greening of Southie by Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis tells the story of the first green residential building in Boston. The city has partnered with other government agencies and local businesses to accomplish its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7% below 1990 levels by 2012, and to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

The Bad:

Chick-fil-A opposition 

On July 19, 2012, Mayor Menino stated that he would work to prevent Chick-fil-A from opening restaurants within Boston, especially near the Freedom Trail, citing their opposition to same-sex marriage and what he called Boston's status as "a leader when it comes to social justice and opportunities for all."  The next day, Menino sent a letter to Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy. Menino urged the company to "back out of your plans to locate in Boston" because of his stance on gay marriage. Gay rights supporters applauded the mayors support of gay marriage rights, while first amendment advocates decried the potential for abuse of office to infringe on free speech rights.


Pledge to serve only two terms

In 1993 when running for mayor, Menino pledged to serve "only two terms, and that's it for me." In 2001, when Menino ran for a third term, he clarified "I promised I'd serve two terms - in every century."

Cronyism

In 2001, Menino personally intervened to help stop a chain drugstore from opening a few blocks from a pharmacy owned by a close friend and political supporter. The case raised the question of favoritism and cronyism in the city's zoning and licensing practices. 

Occupy Boston

In 2011, controversy arose surrounding Menino's decision to evict members of the Occupy Boston protest on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Menino later commented that "I simplify [sic] with their issues, some of those issues we really have to look at in America, but when it comes to civil disobedience I will not tolerate civil disobedience in the city of Boston." 

The Mumbles:

Mayor Menino has been good-naturedly [and not so good-naturedly at times] referred to as Mayor "Mumbles" Menino, because of his thick Boston accent and his penchant for malapropisms, as in the above paragraph where he said "simplify with their issues," rather than "sympathize with their issues."

Mayor "Mumbles" malapropisms have led to some hilarious pronouncements:


A typical example involves a reference to Boston's parking shortage as "an Alcatraz around my neck" (meaning, instead, an albatross around his neck). 

 He referred to former mayor John F. Collins as "a man of great statue" rather than stature. 

On a public service announcement about prostate cancer, Menino said, "Together, we can defeat prostrate (sic) cancer." 

Much like a cookie, I predict the Yankee dynasty will crumble and the results will be delicious for Red Sox fans. 

 During the 2004 presidential race, Menino was asked if he would run for John Kerry's Senate seat should the Senator win, and responded "I will not be candidation nor I'll seek, but I'll accept a draft.  

During a ceremony honoring Boston Bruins hockey legend Bobby Orr, Menino mentioned a number of "ionic" Boston sports figures, including "Varitek splitting the uprights." Jason Varitek was a member of baseball's Red Sox; Menino probably had Varitek confused with Adam Vinatieri, the New England Patriots football kicker known for game winning kicks in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII. 

Menino congratulated the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, an ice hockey team, as "great ball players on the ice and great ball players off the ice.






Mayor Menino's legacy of personal contact and meeting more Bostonians than any other mayor in recent history is a standard to which all future mayors will be held and judged by Boston's residents. 

 Boston has changed much over the last 20 years for the better, and this will be Mayor Menino’s legacy.  

May he enjoy a long and active life.

h/t Wikipedia; Beacon Hill News