Two weeks after Boston Mayor Thomas Menino called hometown candidate John Kerry’s campaign “small minded” and “incompetent,” the two Democrats had a private chat Monday following a ceremony honoring victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Mayor Menino said to Senator Kerry that the most important thing he can do is to work for the election of John Kerry,” Menino spokesman Seth Gitell said. “Mayor Menino said that the time is now to focus on the future and the important presidential election in November.”
Menino’s outburst against Kerry came after the presumed Democratic nominee refused to cross a police and fire union picket line to address the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which Menino hosted in Boston last month.
Menino and the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association are engaged in a bitter contract dispute. The police union has picketed many Menino events and has threatened to protest during the Democratic National Convention in Boston July 26-29.
Asked about the meeting with Menino, Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said: “They’ve been talking by phone. Things are certainly better. I think everyone’s on the same page and there’s an understanding about working together and moving forward.”