Boston's interim mayor gets nod in primary, faces runoff on Nov. 2.

Thomas M. Menino, the acting mayor of Boston, took a large step toward removing the word "acting" from his title by besting seven other candidates in the city's nonpartisan mayoral primary on Tuesday.

Menino was appointed mayor this summer by the city council when former Mayor Raymond F. Plynn became U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Menino received 27% of the vote and will face state Rep. James Brett, D-Suffolk, in the Nov. 2 general election. Brett came in second with 22% of the vote.

The acting mayor's victory surprised many in the Boston area. While Flynn thrived on promoting his gregarious personality, Menino is not as proficient a public speaker and - by his own admission - does not like to make television appearances.

Menino worked closely with the Flynn administration while serving on the city council from 1984 until this year. He also chaired the council's Ways and Means Committee from 1989 to 1992, devising the five-year capital spending plan the city adopted in 1989.

In addition, Menino chaired the city's Commission on the Homeless in 1985 and 1986, and the city's Committee on Government Finance from 1992 through the present.

Menino, 50, received a degree in community planning from the University of Massachusetts. He has written opinion pieces in local newspapers on curtailing the spread of AIDS amongst drug abusers.

Brett, 43, has also had a long career in public service. He is serving his seventh term representing the state's 14th District and is the chairman of the House Banks and Banking Committee.

Issues on which Brett has been active include prison expansion, prosecution of street gangs, and stricter penalties for violators of child pornography laws.

Brett is a graduate of American University and earned his master's degree at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Former Suffolk County sheriff Robert Rufo finished third with 20% of the vote, city Councilor-at-large Rosario Salerno was fourth with 18%, city Councilor-at-large Bruce Bolling was fifth with 6%, Christopher Lydon was sixth with 3%, former Boston police commissioner Frances M. Roache was seventh at 3%, and Diane Moriarty was eighth with less than 1% of the vote.

Moriarty was the only Republican in the race.

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