Menino promises shake-up in his staff

Saying ''I've been reborn" after his 2-to-1 victory in Tuesday's election, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday he plans an extensive review of his administration and will launch a major shake-up aimed at replacing staff in key positions.

''The only one who is safe is me," declared Menino, who said he will request letters of resignation from every department head. ''We're looking for new faces in our administration to bring new energy, new ideas as we move forward."

He wouldn't say whose resignations he probably would accept, but said only that those who have demonstrated ''productivity, management skills, and creativity" will be asked to stay.

The pledge is in sharp contrast to Menino's record during his first three terms in office, when he was renowned for a reluctance to hire new staff or let outsiders into his inner circle. Even after the Democratic National Convention, when he vowed to reshuffle his administration, he made only a handful of key moves.

But in a wide-ranging interview, an ebullient Menino said he is intent on major changes. ''I have to look at how we do things differently . . . how to bring people into the administration," he said. ''I'm full of ideas."

The mayor said he was ''very pleased, but surprised" by his strong showing in nearly every neighborhood. He called the results ''an affirmation of what my administration has been doing."

''Very few mayors are given the opportunity for a fourth term," he said. ''I have four more years. I have opportunities and things to do. People ask, 'What's your legacy?' My legacy hasn't been developed yet."

Menino insisted, as he has in the past, that he is not concerned with a legacy, calling it ''just a word, like vision." But he also conceded that he is hoping to take steps in the coming months that will leave a lasting impression.

He wants to find a new school superintendent who will continue the progress he insists the school system has made under Thomas W. Payzant, who is retiring.

He also wants to create more housing for moderate-income families to keep people from moving from the city, and develop the South Boston waterfront as a place for art and education, not just hotels and office buildings. And he said he wants to make the streets safer.

''That's a legacy," he said. ''Legacy isn't just one thing."

Offering no specific initiatives, Menino said he hopes to have some major changes in place by mid-December, when he will address the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He said that in his Jan. 2 inaugural address, ''I will give a better picture of where I hope to take this administration over the next four years."

Menino said the election proves that his administration has performed well.

''With education, we're doing a good job," he said. ''Crime is down. There is an issue out there with the greater availability of handguns. It is a nationwide problem, but as mayor I take responsibility for that."

But he vowed to do better. ''I've always said we could do a better job," he said. ''We will put things in place to do a better job. I'm not as satisfied as I like. If I were satisfied, I would not have run for a fourth term."

Menino also reflected on his consistently high popularity ratings and Tuesday's 2-to-1 ratio in his victory.

''You have to like people. You have to be willing to go out there and listen to people," he said. ''They want to know you're on their side. I may be mayor, but I live in the neighborhood and basically do what they do. I have grandchildren who go to the Boston public schools and I face the same challenges they do. I don't live in an ivory tower. We're a two-income family."

He said he's unfazed by the possibility that by the end of his next term he will become the city's longest serving mayor, longer than Kevin H. White or James Michael Curley.

''I don't care about that; I don't think about those things, ever," said the 62-year-old Menino.

He said he never felt that becoming mayor of Boston was his destiny. ''I'll never write the book that says when I was 5 years old I was walking down the street, holding my dad's hand telling him: 'Dad, I'm going to be mayor of Boston one day.' "