Mayor Thomas Menino is backing the creation of a tribute to his predecessor, former Mayor Ray Flynn.
A bill (H 3029) creating a special commission to come up with ideas for the tribute is awaiting a hearing before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
Flynn, a former city councillor and state representative, served as mayor from 1984 to 1993, when he was tapped by then-President Clinton as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. Menino, then head of the City Council, took over as acting mayor and has held the post since.
The bill creating the tribute commission is being sponsored by state Rep. Nick Collins, a South Boston Democrat.
In a March 22 letter to the committee, Menino, who has sometimes clashed with Flynn, wrote, “I am pleased to offer my strong support and assistance toward a fitting tribute to my predecessor and my friend, Raymond L. Flynn.”
Menino cited Flynn for “bringing together young people” through his work with the Boston Neighborhood Basketball League,” his support for public housing and the homeless.
“There is so much more I could say – a new Boston City Hospital, the renovation of Columbia Point and the construction of Tent City, and the advancements of downtown projects such as the Boston Harbor Hotel – but the Mayor Flynn we know best is the one who stood up for the poor and needy, while opening up our city and its neighborhoods to a brighter future,” Menino wrote. “I hope that any tribute to Mayor Flynn will recognize the special impact he has always had for people who need someone ‘on their side,’ and to that end, I pledge my full support for this legislation.”
Menino and Flynn have not always been on the best of terms, including during the 2009 race for mayor, when Flynn supported Menino’s opponent, South Boston’s Michael Flaherty. (A Menino campaign spokesman at the time noted that Flynn had also once supported George W. Bush, a Republican.) Flynn also took to the Herald’s front page in January to criticize the administration’s response to a snowstorm.
