Tom Menino

The most prominent thing on the Boston Redevelopment Authority's Web site is a Flash package that features Tom Menino standing in front of the Boston skyline - enhanced by the 80-story tower he wants to build at Winthrop Square.

For a building that never got built, Winthrop Square sure gets around:

In one of those wide-ranging interviews reporters love so much, Tom Menino yesterday proposed building "a medical research and residential complex on the South Boston Waterfront" - using some of that political capital that's apparently burning a hole in his pocket.

He explains: "Researchers love to get together. They speak their own language. They like to hang out together."

Isn't that why God gave us the Longwood Medical Area? Where, as the Outraged Liberal notes:

There are at least two research buildings on hold (including one hole in the ground) ... where the majority of researchers ply their trade near the institutions that employ them. It's always possible another life sciences firm will decide to join the overbuilding, but live-work space?

Granted, most researchers don't live in the medical area, but there might be a reason. Even scientists like to take a break from work every once in awhile.

Earlier:
The first dumb idea.

The preliminary precinct breakdowns from the city show that Michael Flaherty actually carried Ward 5 (Back Bay, Beacon Hill and part of Fenway), although barely (2,544 to 2,472). In the September preliminary, that was Menino country.

Floon also carried the day in Ward 16 in Dorchester, another area Menino took in September. Obviously, though, that and the Flaherty strongholds of Charlestown, South Boston and neighboring Ward 7 in Dorchester were not enough to overcome Menino romps in areas such as Hyde Park, Roslindale and Roxbury.

Matt O'Malley, who has much better eyes, dives into the numbers in much greater depth. On Blue Mass. Group, Bob has still more analysis of the numbers.

The Globe declares Menino A leader in touch, in gear. The Herald looks ahead to 2013 and wonders if Menino will really stick around that long.

John Carroll predicts Menino will regret running for that fifth term. David Bernstein hopes Menino uses some of his political capital to deal with "some very difficult things that need doing." Scot Lehigh starts with the nagging. Peter Gelzinis talks to some voters, provides a sort of O. Henry ending.

Call him Hizzonah again.

Boston today gave Tom Menino a record fifth term today, re-electing him by a 57-43 margin over challenger Michael Flaherty.

"Let's be clear: We haven't made history with this election, but we will in what we create of it," Menino told supporters. History will not record the win until we make "a new Boston Miracle for our kids," he said. "Complacency is the highest hurdle we face. Let's fend off the temptation to rest on past accomplishments."

Kevin McCrea explains why he's voting for Flaherty tomorrow - and how he almost endorsed Menino instead, he and his wife even went to dinner with the Meninos at Hammersley's Bistro in the South End. In the end, he writes it came down to a single issue:

WBUR declares Chuck Turner kind of a cult leader, says that helps explain why the Innocent Until Proven Guilty Councilor will win tomorrow.

The Globe compares Menino and Flaherty on education and crime.

Scot Lehigh reports on a visit by King Thomas the Eternal to the Globe, did not come away impressed.

David Kravitz, a Flaherty backer at Blue Mass. Group, dissects the Globe's endorsement of Menino, doesn't find much meat there.

The Globe endorses Menino.

The Herald reports Flaherty is going after the party-hardy vote and details the Kenneally-mobile.

John Carroll gets his crank on, describing Menino as "his usual incoherent self" at a WBUR forum yesterday and calling Flaherty a "Boston mayoral footnote."

Hey, what do ya know? I just got a call from Bill Clinton! Well, a recording of Bill Clinton, anyway, asking me to vote for his friend Tom Menino.

Odd, considering I live 30 miles outside the city limits. You'd think they would filtered their list to remove 508s or something.

Copiously annotated photos taken around 1:45 p.m. today.

Globe: Menino, Flaherty present opposing views of Boston in heated debate.
Herald: Michael Flaherty, Tom Menino take last licks.

Doug Bennett reports he's knocked on his 100,000th Boston door. The next Bennett challenge: Removing the 100,000 stickers he and his supporters have put on light poles and utility boxes.

District 7 Councilor Chuck Turner and challenger Carlos Henriquez debate Wednesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Vine Street Community Center in Roxbury. The main topic: "Does Roxbury matter?" Details.

The Jamaica Plain Gazette highlights this week's debate among at-large council candidates on park and open-space issues in the city. Somebody asked Felix Arroyo what "Asian Longhorned Beetles" meant to him; he replied he had no idea, but figured anything with horns was probably bad. The tree-felling beetles have yet to hit Boston, although people are starting to look for them, just in case.

The Herald endorses Menino for one more term, saying his pluses outweigh his prickly minuses.

The Phoenix explains why it wants to see Arroyo, Pressley, Connolly and Murphy as at-large councilors. Murphy? Yes, Murphy. Guy's grown in the job, the Phoenix says.

Mike Ball counters with his list: Kenneally, Connolly, Arroyo and Murphy.

The Globe reports Secretary of State Bill Galvin has ruled Michael Kineavy "inappropriately" deleted e-mail messages that should have been preserved as public records. He's referred the case to Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is no doubt relieved she won't have to decide what to do until after Nov. 3.

Challenger Michael Flaherty took the Ward 11 Democratic Committee vote last night 11-10, while incumbent Tom Menino got a 14-12 vote in Ward 19, which also includes part of Roslindale. Neither, however, won a formal endorsement because rules require a two-thirds vote for that.

Ed. note: I took down an earlier blog post on the votes because it had a couple of serious inaccuracies.

John Carrol found the whole thing muddled:

... So a debate that should have provided some answers for Boston voters mostly left them with questions.

For example, which of these makes for a better bumper sticker – ”Tom Menino: We haven't been charged with anything" or "Under a Flaherty administration, we'll have FiOS"? ...

Notes from tonight's debate:

Menino and Flaherty have at it again in a debate that starts tonight at 7 p.m. on Channel 2, NECN and WBUR.

Over in Brighton, Ciommo and Selvig have at it again in a debate tomorrow in a debate that starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Brighton Elks, 326 Washington St.

At-large council candidate Ayanna Pressley's campaign reports endorsements by City Council President Mike Ross, councilors John Tobin and Charles Yancey, State Senators Steven Tolman and Sonia Chang-Diaz and State Representatives Kevin Honan, Liz Malia and Martin Walsh.

Just getting over as I type: the first get-together of Progressives for Menino, featuring Sheriff Andrea Cabral and Boston Architectural College President Ted Landsmark.

Lindsay Crudele, who was there, reports that among those also in attendance were: Valerie Bassett of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, Mark Erlich of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, Lora Pellegrini of NOW, Boston Harbor friend Vivian Li, Mossik Hacobian of Urban Edge, Ellen Parker of Project Bread and Lyndia Downey of the Pine Street Inn.

Meanwhile, the Dorchester Reporter's Lit Drop reports the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers had a unanimous vote of no confidence in the mayor yesterday. William Celester, a founder of the group (yes, that William Celester), said the group plans stand-outs and leaflets against the mayor.

Race tightens a bit, but numbers show Menino would still win.

Menino for mayor, Ciommo for district councilor and Arroyo, Connolly, Murphy and Pressley for at-large councilors, according to somebody who has a copy of the sample ballot distributed last night on the Brighton road.

The Democratic ward committees in Ward 4 (South End and Fenway/Kenmore) and Ward 15 (Meeting House Hill and Bowdoin Street in Dorchester) voted last night to endorse Tom Menino's re-election bid, the Menino campaign reports.

Wards 5 (Back Bay, Beacon Hill), 13 (Savin Hill), 16 (Neponset in Dorchester), and 22 (Brighton) have previously endorsed him.

The Boston Police Department today announced a new flying squad that will use computerized data from a variety of sources to identify trouble spots in the city and then clean them up. As BPD informs us, the effort was actually announced by Mayor Thomas M. Menino: