Kineavy takes leave over e-mails

Galvin, who is charged with overseeing the state public records law, said in an interview that he is considering taking further action against the Menino administration. Under state law, Galvin can turn the case over to Attorney General Martha Coakley for possible prosecution.

“Things are rapidly approaching a conclusion,’’ Galvin said. “We’ve made some very specific demands of them, to be blunt, and they haven’t been responsive. . . . We’re approaching some decisions in this area unless there’s a dramatic turnaround in their response.’’

Michael J. Kineavy, the mayor’s chief of policy and planning, announced his leave in a brief telephone interview. City officials said that Kineavy’s leave would be unpaid and that he would be free to work on the mayor’s reelection campaign, for which he has been a longtime political strategist.

“I’ve asked the mayor to grant me a leave of absence until we get by this,’’ Kineavy said. “I’ve become a distraction, and that isn’t good for the mayor or the city so, until this straightens out, I won’t be a part of city government.’’

The unpaid leave by a trusted aide in the throes of the mayor’s most contested reelection campaign was a dramatic and unexpected twist for Menino, who has been dogged by questions over Kineavy’s deletion of city e-mails and the city’s response to it.

“It is unfortunate that these things happen during political times but we hope this time will allow Michael to clear his name,’’ Menino said in a statement last night. “The city will continue to seek out information of any deleted items from within Michael’s computers and will continue to work in cooperation with the secretary of state’s office in this effort.’’

Yesterday, revelations that Kineavy had replaced his computer shortly after receiving a request from the Globe for his e-mails exploded onto the campaign trail, where Menino is seeking an unprecedented fifth term. Menino’s opponent, Councilor at Large Michael F. Flaherty Jr., demanded an independent investigation and said he sees a “cover-up and/or obstruction of justice.’’ His campaign sent messages on e-mail and Twitter urging supporters to demand that Coakley take action.

The investigation also has potential repercussions for Coakley, who is a leading candidate in a special election for US Senate. She was asked at a Monday press conference whether she was avoiding an investigation of the Menino administration because of her alliance with the mayor, a fellow Democrat.

Coakley denied any conflict, saying, “Any suggestion that I was backing away from it or balking at it is just inaccurate.’’

And Coakley’s office said yesterday that it is waiting to hear from Galvin before taking any action.

“Nothing has changed for us at this point,’’ said Coakley spokeswoman Emily LaGrassa. “We will await the findings of Secretary of State Galvin, who is in the midst of a very comprehensive review of the situation, and upon his findings we’ll make a determination as to whether any action is appropriate for us. It doesn’t make sense to duplicate efforts when the secretary of state is already reviewing the situation.’’

Galvin’s apparent frustration and Kineavy’s leave occurred nearly a month after the Globe reported that Kineavy had been routinely deleting thousands of his e-mails in potential violation of state public records law. Under state law, municipal employees must save electronic correspondence for at least two years, even if the contents are of “no informational or evidential value.’’ Penalties can include fine of up to $500 or one year in prison.

Dot Joyce, a Menino spokeswoman, said the city has cooperated with Galvin’s office, including preparing a report detailing which e-mails were recovered and where they were found.

“The mayor has made very clear from the beginning of this issue that the corporation counsel, along with outside experts, were to recover everything and anything . . . that the secretary of state’s office has requested,’’ Joyce said. “The city corporation counsel, along with outside experts, will continue and have been continuing to ensure that everything is being reviewed to have as comprehensive a report as possible.’’

But Galvin said the state supervisor of records, who works in his office, was so fed up with Menino administration officials that he wrote them an e-mail Friday calling their responses to the secretary of state “insulting and unacceptable.’’

Galvin declined to comment specifically on what action he might take as a next step, saying, “I’m not going to go there now.’’

“But this matter has been going on for quite some time now, and it needs to be resolved,’’ Galvin said. “And as of this hour, it is not.’’

Kineavy’s e-mails are also the subject of a federal subpoena as part of a corruption investigation against state Senator Dianne Wilkerson and Councilor Chuck Turner. The FBI and US attorney’s office declined to comment yesterday on whether the city had satisfied the subpoena.

At a campaign appearance in the North End, Flaherty renewed a previous call for an investigation by Coakley. “It’s common sense here that if they had nothing to hide, they wouldn’t be acting this way,’’ he said.

And last night, Flaherty issued an even tougher statement, saying, “This is about Mayor Menino and the culture at City Hall. The fish rots from the head down.’’

Speaking after he attended the same luncheon in the North End, the mayor bluntly dismissed the call for a new investigation and defended Kineavy, who has been a key strategist for Menino since he took office in 1993.

Menino said his administration has been “forthright’’ in turning over information about Kineavy’s computer and the e-mails that Kineavy deleted in possible violation of state public records law. “I’m trying to be as upfront as I can, and people are trying to make a political issue out of it,’’ Menino said.

He added that “until someone proves otherwise,’’ he has no reason to believe that Kineavy’s failure to remember that he was given a new computer in April was anything other than “an honest mistake.’’

He also brushed aside Flaherty’s call for an “independent investigation,’’ saying he was satisfied with Galvin’s ongoing effort to recover Kineavy’s deleted e-mails. “The secretary of state’s office is independent, isn’t it?’’ Menino said.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. Matt Viser of the Globe staff contributed to this report.