Boston elects longtime Mayor Thomas Menino to a record 5th consecutive term

By BOB SALSBERG , Associated Press

Last update: November 3, 2009 - 8:48 PM

BOSTON - Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has won an unprecedented fifth consecutive four-year term.

With 95 percent of precincts reporting, Menino had 57 percent of the vote to City Council President Michael Flaherty's 43 percent. Flaherty has conceded the election.

Menino has already been in office for 16 1/2 years, longer than any in the city's history.

History shows it's tough to unseat a Boston mayor. No incumbent has lost the seat in 60 years.

The last one was James Michael Curley, who was ousted by John Hynes in 1949 after a term interrupted by a five-month federal prison sentence for mail fraud.

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