Menino for US Senate? He's 'focused on being mayor'

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Much has been made about Mayor Thomas M. Menino's political muscle in the wake of last week's election, when a surge of Boston voters helped Democrats once again win all six statewide offices in Massachusetts.

The sweep prompted one writer on the left-leaning blog Blue Mass Group to urge Menino to look beyond Boston. The five-term mayor, the entry reads, should run for US Senate in 2012 against Republican incumbent Scott Brown.

"Think about it before you deny it out of reflex," the blogger wrote. "He'd be a great senator, and stands on the progressive side on the issues … He would win the election."

Menino would win, the blogger wrote, because he has a mastery of constituent services that matches the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. The mayor can fund-raise, has a vaunted political organization, and is extremely popular in Massachusetts' largest city.

"Can you picture Scott Brown outhustling somebody who's met 57 percent of Boston adults," the entry reads, citing a 2009 Globe poll. "And no barn coat and truck will out-common guy Menino."

Menino, 67, did not immediately jump at the bait.

"The mayor believes it's quite flattering and appreciates the recognition in all he has tried to accomplish," said his spokeswoman, Dot Joyce.

But.

"He remains focused on being mayor," Joyce said.