Nov 3, 2009 9:42 pm US/Eastern
Keller: What's Next For Mayor Menino?
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Boston Mayor Tom Menino.
WBZ
Four more years.
That's the response of a clear majority of the (paltry) Boston voter turnout Tuesday to a year's worth of anti-Tom Menino drumbeat.
Read: Election Results
You know the litany – he's been in way too long... he's tired and stuck in a rut... he hasn't fixed the schools… his development policies are autocratic and haphazard… his administration is better at settling scores and deleting e-mails than governing.
None of those criticisms were entirely fair, or unfair. But in the end, the litany was outweighed by the tireless Menino work ethic, and the clear improvements that have occurred in the city during the Menino years.
There may be a damning hole in the ground at Downtown Crossing where Filene's Basement used to be, but there is brand new housing and commercial development in city neighborhoods that went without for years.
And let it be a lesson to all other incumbents – an especially rueful one for the incumbent mayors who appear to be dropping like flies across the state this election night – that there's no substitute for having met, and made a favorable impression on, a majority of the residents of your city.
What's next?
Tough times for Menino.
He enjoys a gratifying triumph over his enemies in the Firefighters and Teachers Unions, but the crushing budget issues remain, and he has to find a way to work with them going forward.
Chronic problems like the dropout rate and gang crime aren't going away overnight.
Tom Menino can consider Tuesday's result a reward from city residents for a job generally well done.
But he should keep in mind that stressed constituents want to know – what have you done for me lately?
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