Boston Mayor Thomas Menino gave a Rochester group some insights Wednesday into the success he had leading his city for about 20 years before deciding not to run for another term.
Menino was a guest of the lecture series organized by the group Reshaping Rochester, and the main thrust of his message was creating partnerships, especially between the business community, neighborhoods and government.
He is also in favor of tax incentives for businesses that are expanding or moving into a city, despite some of the controversy that occasionally arises about that idea.
"Urban areas have to be competitive and I had no problems with developers, if they're going to create jobs, we're going to give them a tax break, I want those jobs, jobs are the great equalizer."
Menino says tax incentives for businesses are fine as long as the businesses are required to meet certain benchmarks when it comes to job creation.
Menino was also hosted by Mayor Lovely Warren who showed him parts of the city, and he says he's impressed by the cleanliness of the areas he saw, and with the vitality of the businesses.
It was recently revealed that the former Boston Mayor was diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer. But Menino told me he still has a lot of energy, and a lot of things to accomplish. Menino calls the diagnosis a temporary setback, and says he doesn't have the time to slow down.
