Boston Mayor Thomas Menino
WPRO Newsroom
On Thursday morning, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino officially announced he would not be seeking another term. It would have been Menino’s sixth, an unprecedented feat.
Former Providence Mayor and WPRO host, Buddy Cianci, spoke with Gene Valicenti on the WPRO Morning News Thursday about his interactions with Menino. Buddy said he first met Menino when he was a newly elected mayor.
“He came up in the ranks, he was a councilman,” Buddy said. “He basically was a nuts and bolts guy. They called him an ‘urban mechanic’ – he would be involved with potholes and all that kind of stuff.”
Buddy said he think Menino, 70, would have been able to get re-elected again.
“He’s popular, and I think there’s no question he could win another term,” he said.
The longest-serving Boston Mayor told reporters outside his home on Thursday that spending more time with his family was part of his decision to retire. He’ll hold a rally at Faneuil Hall in Boston at 4 p.m. today to say farewell, though he does have nine more months in office.
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras called Menino an “example to all of us young mayors.” He said he had met with Menino before to seek his advice.
“I wish him nothing but the very, very best,” he said.
Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian told WPRO that he met Menino during national mayoral conferences. He said Menino’s leadership was a “galvanizing force,” especially for the mayors of New England.
“He would say to us, ‘Regardless of Democrat or Republican, we all need to be fighting together,’” said Avedisian.
Avedisian, who has been in office for 13 years himself, called Menino’s 20-year tenure an “amazing feat.”
“And his popularity was still really good,” he said. Avedisian said he doesn’t think there will be as many long-term leaders like Menino in the future.
“The dynamic has changed dramatically,” he said. “You’re not going to get people who are going to decide to make municipal government a career.”
