It was Mayor Thomas Menino’s toughest test in sixteen years and he passed with the highest grade: The onetime Hyde Park city councillor bested challenger Michael Flaherty of South Boston by 16,355 votes, thereby rolling to his fifth term and into the city’s history books.  Read more

In an early endorsement, the state’s largest gay rights group threw its support behind Mayor Thomas Menino in his bid for a fifth term. The political action committee for MassEquality, with 10,000 members in Boston and 200,000 statewide, touted the endorsement as its first on the municipal level. Scott Gortikov, in a statement, cited Menino’s “longtime support” for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues, along with his vocal advocacy for gay marriage, which Massachusetts legalized in 2004.  Read more