Tom Menino for mayor

There have been other benefits to his unexpected mayorship: Coming from Hyde Park, not a traditional breeding ground for mayors, and lacking a stake in the system of neighborhood and ethnic spoils that often served to divide the city, Menino has been a force for unity. His efforts to welcome newcomers and respond equally to all communities of Boston are still refreshing. Critics insist he lacks an overarching vision. But the taming of the furies that so often raged in Boston, that caused anger in some neighborhoods and alienation in others, will be his essential legacy.

Menino could have retired with that legacy intact. Instead, he’s asking for an unprecedented fifth consecutive term, an act stemming from equal parts dedication to his job and hubris. It presents a difficult decision for many voters who respect Menino but yearn for new ideas, and a greater sense of Boston’s place in the world. Indeed, the time for new leadership is close at hand, as the invisible balance sheet tallying the benefits and detriments of a long-serving mayor starts to turn against an endless incumbency. But with a major financial challenge facing the city for at least the next two fiscal years, dramatizing the need for experience and minimizing the opportunity for new initiatives, that time is not yet here.

With faith that Menino can best guide Boston through those difficult straits and then cement his place in Boston history by inviting a real dialogue on the future of the city and how best to replace him, the Globe endorses Tom Menino for a fifth term.

Bostonians owe a debt of gratitude to Menino’s challenger, Michael Flaherty, whose aggressive campaign has sharpened their sense of the city’s strengths and weaknesses. There can be no doubt about Flaherty’s skills or his preparedness to govern Boston: He is a credible leader whose critique of Menino gained force as the campaign went on. While some of his proposals, such as his call for dismantling the Boston Redevelopment Authority, may be more symbolic than transformative, others, such as his pledge to implement 21st-century performance-based management, offer the hope for real improvements in city government.

In joining forces with Councilor Sam Yoon, his former rival, the 40-year-old Flaherty is emphasizing not only generational change but a return to a spirit of collaboration. With Yoon as his unofficial running mate, Flaherty promises to be open to new ideas. Both Flaherty and Yoon, who would serve in the somewhat undefined role of “deputy mayor,’’ insist that Menino’s administration is “all about one man.’’ This is the core of their critique, their reason for change.

Their depiction of a chief executive prone to petty piques and lordly in his dealings with developers contains some truth. But it is also overblown. While Menino may lose his temper with wealthy developers, he remains responsive to average citizens, traversing the neighborhoods daily and memorizing the smallest details of his job. While Menino is overly reliant on some longtime loyalists, his top officials have usually been strong figures. And while the mayor has grown accustomed to power, he isn’t closed-minded or dismissive of opportunities to improve the city.

In some important ways, Menino has sought to reverse his mistakes and claim the mantle of reform, embracing charter schools and demanding long-overdue changes in the Fire Department. The latter move drew the lasting enmity of many firefighters.

Flaherty, who accepted the endorsement of the firefighters’ union, nonetheless favors random drug- and alcohol-testing, one of the issues that led to the union’s impasse with Menino. That is to Flaherty’s credit. But in other ways, his support for the firefighters is misguided. He endorses a union-backed plan to create an unnecessary stand-alone hazardous-materials unit, which would require more overtime pay to firefighters for a service that’s already adequately performed. The firefighters’ union is precisely the type of special interest that a mayor should rein in. Flaherty’s reluctance even to view the union’s lurid and misleading ads against Menino, let alone to publicly distance himself from them, bespeaks a stubborn loyalty that raises doubts about his ability to function as mayor of all the people.

Those doubts may be unfair, especially in light of some similar acts of stubbornness by Menino. But unseating a successful mayor requires full confidence that the challenger will be an improvement. There are legitimate reasons to believe that Flaherty would be. And there are legitimate reasons to believe that he would not.

Back in his first term, an affable and humble Menino welcomed the help of state officials, the business community, and anyone else eager to make Boston a better place. Those collaborations, especially on public safety, were made possible by his willingness to share credit and blame equally. Outsiders heralded a new era of openness in Boston. Over time, Menino’s spirit of cooperation has weakened, and his circle of collaborators has winnowed to a cadre of city contractors and their backers.

In his fifth term, freed of a need to compete for votes and approaching his 70th birthday, Menino should rekindle the humility that marked his ascent to power. The opportunity is there. He remains well-liked by most residents, and appreciated as a rare politician who has the same regard for the most and least powerful of his constituents. He can take solace in the knowledge that his policies, particularly in promoting neighborhood stability, have wide support. He has the experience and political dexterity to build on those improvements even in bad economic times.

And his final act of humility should be to relinquish power as gracefully as he took it, nurturing potential successors and opening the door to a generation of “New Bostonians.’’ He never thought he’d be mayor, but the Menino era has been a good time for Boston. There is still more that Tom Menino can do to advance and protect the city he loves.