Kerry and Menino mend their riftSenator John F. Kerry shared the back seat of his campaign SUV yesterday with Mayor Thomas M. Menino, as the Kerry campaign set up a meeting to smooth over tense relations between the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and the mayor hosting his nominating convention.
Menino emerged from his 20-minute meeting with Kerry, much of it held as Kerry was whisked between campaign events in downtown Boston, saying he is ready to put his disagreements with Kerry behind him in the interest of a successful Democratic National Convention later this month. The mayor vowed to do all he can to help Kerry defeat President Bush, and said he considered his feud with Kerry over. ''I believe it is," Menino said. ''That's yesterday. I can't hold grudges. . . . I said, 'John, the most important thing we can do is to win this campaign, for the future of America, for my kids and my grandkids.' " Yesterday's talk was the first face-to-face meeting between Kerry and Menino since the outbreak of a public spat between the mayor from Hyde Park and the senator from Beacon Hill. The meeting was carefully choreographed by Kerry campaign aides, who made sure the discussion was witnessed by reporters. The clash between the two men over recent weeks had provided fresh evidence of the fact that Kerry and Menino have never had a close relationship. The mayor, who plays up his working-class roots and has a close relationship with the state's senior senator, Edward M. Kennedy, has been less cordial with Kerry. In May, Kerry's brief consideration of not formally accepting the nomination until after the convention drew a harsh rebuke from Menino, who did not learn of the plan until after it emerged in media reports. Last month, Kerry angered the mayor by honoring a police-led picket line at the US Conference of Mayors meeting Menino was hosting in Boston. Menino has been in a standoff with the city's police union over a contract that expired two years ago, and he labeled Kerry's staff small-minded and incompetent for the way it handled the cancellation of Kerry's appearance at the mayors conference. Last week, state officials denied the Kerry campaign a permit for a convention-week concert on the Esplanade. City officials had raised concerns about whether the event would strain police resources and about whether a political event would be legally permissible at the Hatch Shell. Kerry aides were eager to set up a face-to-face meeting between the two men yesterday, with Kerry in Boston for a series of campaign-related appearances and events. The two did not share a stage in public. Aides arranged the meeting so that they would get together in view of reporters to send a message that the two have worked out their differences. Yesterday morning, Kerry aides contacted Menino's staff, saying they wanted to arrange a meeting. At about noon, after Menino spoke at the dedication ceremony for a Sept. 11 memorial at the Public Garden, Kerry's campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, spoke briefly with Menino and asked him to wait for Kerry, who was on his way. Menino stood for about 10 minutes on the sidewalk, talking to aides and greeting bystanders. Cahill ushered Menino into the idling black Chevrolet Suburban that was to take Kerry to a reception at the Sheraton Boston, the hotel where Kerry skipped the conference of mayors meeting June 28. Menino spent about five minutes by himself in the SUV, bouncing his leg and looking out the tinted windows, as he waited for Kerry to leave the Public Garden, where he lingered greeting families. The two spoke during the ride and for a few more minutes in the garage of the Sheraton. Kerry then went to the reception, and Menino left for a 1 p.m. public event at the Franklin Park Zoo. Kerry aides declined to characterize the conversation, calling it private. But Cahill said before yesterday's meeting that relations between Menino and Kerry had improved in recent days. She noted that the two have begun speaking regularly by telephone; Menino said Kerry even called him to offer congratulations last week on the birth of his grandson, Thomas M. Menino III. ''Things are certainly better," said Cahill, who declined to elaborate on subjects the two have discussed. ''I think everyone's on the same page, and there's an understanding about working together and moving forward." At a fund-raiser after Kerry and Menino shared their car ride, Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, acknowledged Menino's wife, Angela, who attended. John Kerry also mentioned the Meninos. ''So here's the fight -- here's the fight -- Angela Menino will tell you, because Tom and I were just meeting, talking about the frustrations of trying to deal with some of the problems of the city," Kerry said. ''She knows it. They're living it on the front lines every day, as mayors are all across our country." Speaking to reporters at an event later in the day, Menino said Kerry did not offer apologies during yesterday's talk, quickly adding that he didn't think apologies were in order. He said they spoke about some of the public events being planned for the week of the convention, particularly the July 25 parties welcoming delegates and the Boston Pops concert that will be held on City Hall Plaza. Menino said he praised Kerry for his joint interview Sunday night with his running mate, Senator John Edwards, on ''60 Minutes." Describing his own conversation with Kerry, he called it upbeat and positive. ''I'll do anything I can to make this a great convention, and he will also," Menino said. ''It's about the future, not the past." Also yesterday, Kennedy, who had worked to smooth relations between Menino and Kerry in recent days, voiced support for the mayor in his negotiations with the city's police and fire unions. Kennedy praised the mayor for making ''remarkable progress" in settling contracts and said he hopes more progress will be made in the next two weeks. Nearly three-fourths of unionized city workers are now under contract. ''The mayor is tireless in trying to work this through, and I'm still very hopeful that we'll be able to get it worked on through," Kennedy said. The unions are asking delegates to boycott the delegate-welcoming parties Menino is organizing and to walk out of the FleetCenter when Menino addresses the convention.
Patrick Healy of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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