In July he officially became the longest serving mayor in the history of Boston.
On Tuesday he entered the history books.
Mayor Thomas Menino was elected to a historic fifth term as Mayor of Boston cruising to victory past City Councilor Michael Flaherty Tuesday night. Although Flaherty, and his unofficial running mate, City Councilor Sam Yoon, put up a good fight it wasn’t enough to topple the Menino dynasty.
“This is the greatest job in America,” said Menino Tuesday night. “I’m truly humbled at the fact that residents have chosen me to serve for this long. I hope to continue improving education, create new and exciting jobs and get Boston ready for the future.”
At the end of this term, Menino will have served 20 years as mayor.
“I still believe I have the energy and leadership ability to lead Boston forward,” said Menino. “But this is not about me its about the city and what we can do together to help each other move forward.”
Before he reached his historic milestone, Menino was in Eastie during a campaign stop at the East Boston Social Centers Monday night. It was the same place he ended his first campaign for Mayor of Boston 16 years ago. There, Menino greeted over 200 campaign workers and supporters at an energetic rally that included Senator Anthony Petruccelli, Representative Carlo Basile, City Councilor Sal LaMattina, former At-Large City Councilor John Nucci and YMCA Vice President Wendy Zinn.
In the place he feels very comfortable, a place with a rich Italian American heritage, Menino’s visit to Eastie Monday, marked the significance of his subsequent achievement.
“It’s certainly significant from a heritage standpoint,” said Petruccelli. “He was the first Italian American mayor and now he’s the longest serving so that says something about the man he is and no one works harder at the job than Thomas Menino.”
LaMattina also cruised to victory Tuesday night, easily beating challenger Chris Kulikoski of the North End in all three neighborhoods that make up District 1.