Thursday, 4:30 PM
Menino: Kelly caused 'some trouble,' but nobody worked harder
(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)
Mayor Thomas M. Menino spoke to reporters today about the death of long-time City Councilman James M. Kelly at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester.
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
A somber and reserved Mayor Thomas M. Menino recalled James M. Kelly today as a devoted public servant whose dedication to the city demanded respect -- even if people disagreed with his politics.
"I've lost my friend. We are going to miss him in Boston," Menino told about a dozen reporters in the lobby of the Strand Theater in Dorchester, where he is scheduled to give his State of the City address this evening.
"He caused some trouble a lot of times," Menino continued, "But you couldn't find a harder working guy than Jimmy Kelly."
The mayor waxed for about 15 minutes about how he and Kelly were two of the only people he knew that were so dedicated to their constituents that they would go to community meetings at 8 a.m. on Saturdays. He talked about how Kelly refused to vote for any school budget up until three years ago as a lingering protest against the court-mandated busing of the 1970s.
Menino said he and Kelly may have had philosophical differences, but he didn't think Jimmy Kelly was racist, as some of the late city councilor's critics have long charged. There was, however, one thing people could always count on from the seven-term City Council President.
"You always knew where Jimmy Kelly stood," Menino said.
