Menino Endorses Markey as 'There When We Need Him'

Calling him a friend to his city and state, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate special election nominee Congressman Edward Markey in Dorchester on Friday morning.

Speaking at a rally at the International Brotherhood of Eletrical Workers Local 103, Menino, a Democrat, said Markey has been with the city "at every corner."

Menino said Markey helped the city receive more Homeland Security funding, has been "out front" on gun control and sustainability.

"He's there for us all the time," Menino said.

Markey welcomed the endorsement, calling Menino "America's greatest mayor" and a "transformative figure" for Boston and Massachusetts.

"He has taken Boston and truly made it that shining beacon on a hill," Markey said. "His name might be Tom Meni-NO, but he says 'Yes' to anything that makes Boston a greater city." 

Speaking to reporters after the rally, Menino said that if the June 25 special election leads to a low turnout, he expects Markey to defeat Republic nominee Gabriel Gomez of Cohasset.

"They don't have the excitment they had," Menino said of state Republicans. "(Former Republican Senator) Scott Brown had the excitement. There's no excitement for (Gomez)."

The race between Markey and Gomez took a nasty turn this week when Gomez called Markey "pond scum" for running an attack ad featuring images of Osama bin Laden.

"I don't think that the people of Massachusetts want to hear any name-calling," Markey told reporters after the rally. "I think what they want to hear are real proposals. [...] They want to hear about who the next Senator is and how it's going to affect their family. And that's what I'm going to focus on."

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