How is mayor menino

A working-class kid with a speech impediment, Menino knew what it meant to be laughed at, counted out and have doors closed repeatedly. This cruelty fed an insatiable work ethic that made him focus on results and not flash. It also fed a desire to help people in need.

If Bill Clinton was unofficially the first black president, then Tom Menino was easily the first unofficial black mayor of Boston. That says something astonishing about a young man who grew up in the midst of a Boston painfully divided along racial lines.

Tom Menino became mayor as a little known city councilor from Hyde Park whose most discussed quality was his mumbling. The reality is that no one had ever been better prepared to be mayor. We should all be thankful that in an age when politicians so often disappoint, Tom Menino made the most of his immense talents, led the city into national prominence, and gave her residents a quality of life that made Boston the envy of almost every other American city.

Rest in peace, Mr. Mayor, thank you for loving and leading Boston in a way that touched all of us. Skip to main content. Menino was also among the first big-city mayors to see the opportunities that technology afforded local governments to help solve recurring problems. He set up an office that developed a pioneering smartphone app for residents to report potholes and other apps to report graffiti and other nuisances.

He never sought nor showed interest in running for higher office. Mayor, it seemed, was the only political job to which he aspired. That would not, however, stop him from being at the forefront of major national issues. In , his administration began videotaping the court appearances of men arrested for soliciting prostitutes, promising to show on its cable TV station the arraignments of those convicted.

In , he underwent surgery to remove a rare sarcoma on his back. He spent six weeks in the hospital in for a series of ailments, including a respiratory infection. While he was in the hospital, he suffered a compression fracture in his spine and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. In May , he was back in the hospital for surgery for an enlarged prostate. In typical fashion, he declared on his release several days later that he would not let the latest ailment slow him down.

Menino focused much of his attention in his final months in office focusing on education, including an appearance before a legislative committee in which he advocated for more charter schools and flexibility to intervene in struggling urban schools. He instructed his staff to work closely with Walsh on a smooth transition of power. Menino left City Hall on his final day in office on 6 January to thunderous applause from city workers.

It has been the honor and thrill of a lifetime to be your Mayor. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Mayor Menino was re-elected to a second term without opposition in and won a third term in a landslide victory in November In , he earned a degree in community planning from the University of Massachusetts.

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