Mayor Thomas Menino confirmed Wednesday that he has joined the 2009 Boston mayoral race for what could potentially be his fifth term in office.
Menino, who is set to become the longest-serving mayor of Boston at the end of his current term, made the announcement on the 17th floor lobby of Digitas, a high-tech company in downtown Boston. The 66-year-old candidate barely met the May 12 deadline for candidate nomination papers at the Boston Election Department.
Prior to yesterday’s announcement, Menino left many wondering if his current term would be his last, but hopeful union workers called a summit for May 2 at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall in Dorchester to organize teams to support the four-term mayor, according to the Boston Herald.
Mayoral candidates Councilor-At-Large Sam Yoon and businessman Kevin McCrea said they are not surprised by Menino’s announcement and suspected he would run again.
‘I spoke with the other campaigns today,’ McCrea said. ‘No one is surprised by it.’
‘ Yoon said certain indicators hinted Menino was intending to run again.
‘[Menino’s candidacy is] not a surprise to me, not given the signals that he’s been sending,’ Yoon said.
The Boston Globe reported that Menino has been seen shooting a campaign commercial and his re-election website was posted online yesterday afternoon.
Candidates said they remain focused on bringing attention to the campaign and on recruiting target demographics.
‘The mayor joining the race still means we’re building up our organization’hellip;and getting our message out,’ Yoon said. ‘I urge college students to get involved.
McCrea jokingly said his target voters were more of an older crowd.
‘I was going for the elderly vote because until he got in, I was the oldest candidate in the field,’ he said. ‘Now I’m afraid that the elderly might be more inclined to go with Menino, since he’s 30 years older than I am.’
Jon Romano, spokesman for Councilor-At-Large Michael Flaherty, said Flaherty is running for all kinds of Bostonians.
‘[Flaherty’s] not running for mayor for just a small group of friends,’ Romano said. ‘He’s running for every citizen of this great city.’
Romano said after four terms, Boston is ready for a strong leader who will embrace a new economy, address public schools and bring tax dollars in on development without giving away our city.
’16 years later this is a different city, different country and different economy,’ Romano said. ‘This won’t just be about the past, but about the future.’
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