Mayors Menino, Giuliani Praise 'Brave' First Responders in Boston Bombing

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino this evening received condolences for the Boston Marathon bombing from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who compared it to the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack.

"One of the images that I take away from yesterday, having watched it all day, were your firefighters, your police officers and some of your citizens running right into the fire, and that reminded me of my firefighters and my police officers who ran into the building," Giuliani told Menino, speaking mayor-to-mayor in a joint interview with "World News'" Diane Sawyer.

Mayor Menino agreed, adding firefighters and EMS to the list of American heroes in Boston Monday.

"They reacted instantly and helped save lives," Menino said. "When it blew up, they moved quickly, and I'm very proud of what the first responders did yesterday afternoon."

"People of Boston should be, too," Giuliani said. "They should be very proud of their citizens, all of whom reacted in a very, very brave way, and I was very heartened by that."

The brief meeting between the two mayors of major American cities was a surprise for Menino, who did not know Giuliani was listening in on his interview with Sawyer.

Before being joined by Menino, Giuliani recalled being in London for the 2005 bombing that killed 52 civilians in the train system.

"They caught those people in less than a day," Giuliani said. "They caught them on tape.

"Now hopefully, they have tapes like that [in Boston]," Giuliani said. "They've got a lot of surveillance cameras in Boston - more than New York, less than London."

He suggested it was possible, too, that a spectator might have incidentally caught the moment on camera.

His advice to the people of Boston was to "go about their lives."

"They should not let whatever form of terrorist this is, they shouldn't let them win, because this is what they're trying to do. They can't capture us. They can't overwhelm us. They can't destroy us. All they can do is frighten us and try to stop us from doing the things that make us a great country. We shouldn't let them do that," the former New York City mayor said. "My heart goes out to them."

Menino told Sawyer that authorities continued to investigate the attack that left three dead and more than 170 wounded, going over the area with a "fine-toothed comb," and that a pressure cooker might have been involved.

"We don't have any other information that we can give to the public at this time, but I know the FBI, the Boston police [and] the state police are all working very closely on this investigation," Menino said.

He echoed Giuliani by saying he was optimistic that footage from surveillance and private citizens' cameras would allow officials to find the attacker.

"We have a lot of video on this, and we're looking at all that video and asking the public who might have cameras to give them to the Boston police so they can look at the information," the five-time Boston mayor said. "That's the most camera-ed area in the city of Boston."

Putting aside the deep-rooted baseball rivalry between the two cities, New York's Yankee Stadium planned to play the song "Sweet Caroline" during the Yankee game Tuesday night as a tribute to Boston, where the song is a Fenway Park tradition for the Red Sox.

"That's a historic moment when that song goes off at the ball game," Menino said.

"We are all together tonight," Giuliani assured him.

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Ailing Boston Mayor Menino won't seek re-election

BOSTON (AP) — Boston's longest-serving mayor, Thomas Menino, won't seek re-election for a sixth term amid ongoing health problems.

A person with direct knowledge of his decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Menino planned to announce he wouldn't be seeking re-election in November. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.

Menino's spokeswoman would say only that the mayor planned an announcement for Thursday. The announcement is expected to be made at an afternoon event at Boston's historic Faneuil Hall.

The 70-year-old Democrat was re-elected to a fifth four-year term in 2009. He has recently faced a series of health problems but has remained popular with voters.

Menino was hospitalized for eight weeks in the fall after a respiratory infection and a blood clot that was complicated by a spinal fracture and diabetes.

He told reporters in November that he had no plans to retire but deflected questions about whether he would seek another term.

Menino's decision is expected to trigger a political scramble to replace him as a new generation of political figures eye the mayor's office.

City Councilor John Connolly announced his mayoral intentions last month, regardless of Menino's decision. But Menino had been considered a heavy favorite had he opted to run.

As recently as January, Menino delivered an upbeat assessment of the city during his annual state of the city address.

Menino used a cane to walk to the podium and spoke vigorously about his plans for Boston. At the time, Menino gave no indication on whether he'd decided to seek a sixth term this year.

"Our progress is real. Our future is bright. The state of our city is striking, sound and strong," he said in prepared remarks that cited progress on economic development and crime reduction.

On Tuesday, Menino appeared at a rally at Boston City Hall plaza to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The previous day, he delivered a speech to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau in which he said he had never been more confident about the city and announced several new development projects and initiatives.

Menino became acting mayor after his predecessor, Raymond Flynn, left office in 1993 after being named ambassador to the Vatican. Menino, then president of the City Council, was automatically elevated to the mayor's job.

The circumstances prompted some critics to label him the "accidental mayor," a charge the sometimes-thin-skinned Menino was quick to reject. But he was elected mayor in his own right in November 1993 and won re-election by wide margins in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009.

The city's previous longest serving mayor, the late Kevin White, was in office for four terms, from 1968 to 1984.

Menino's longevity also exceeded the legendary Mayor James Michael Curley, who also served four terms, but not consecutively.

Menino built his reputation by focusing on the unglamorous nuts and bolts of running a major metropolitan city — fixing potholes, cleaning streets, even curbing the practice of saving a shoveled-out parking space by putting folding chairs or trash cans along the curb.

It's everyday commitments like those that earned him the nickname of the "Urban Mechanic."

The 2004 Democratic National Convention put Menino's political and negotiating skills to the test when the city's main police union threatened to picket over an unresolved contract.

It was only with the last minute help of other politicians, including Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, that a contract was reached in the early morning hours the day before the convention opened.

During his years in office, Menino also became a vigorous national voice in favor of stricter gun control measures.

He co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and criticized the National Rifle Association's call for more armed guards at schools after the Connecticut school shooting in December.

"That is crazy," Menino said. "Every victim of gun violence and their families knows that's crazy."

Menino also built a reputation for creating an impressive political machine that handily defeated challengers.

Last year, Menino also played a crucial role in helping elect U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, campaigning with her at stops across the city.

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Associated Press writer Bob Salsberg contributed to this report.

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