That's right. Yoon will join forces with his one-time rival in an unprecedented bid to unseat incumbent Mayor Menino. Combined, Flaherty and Yoon earned 45 percent of the vote in last week's election. This is just 5 percent less than Menino. Here's the message Yoon sent to his supporters:
Dear supporters and friends,This is definitely going to shake up the race. Flaherty has also reportedly been courting the support of developer Kevin McCrea, who came in fourth in the preliminary election, hoping to pick up the support of his base. More here: Rivals unite to fight Tom Menino 'tooth & nail'.
Last Tuesday, almost 50% of people who went to the polls voted for change. They demanded new leadership in our city and a change in the way we do business. Even after Mayor Menino rolled out his political machine, spent a staggering $1.5 million, and used all the powers of his 16-year incumbency, half of the city voted against the status quo. Our campaign has said again and again that we can't wait four more years for change.
That is why this morning, I will be joining Michael Flaherty in front of City Hall, not just to endorse his campaign for Mayor - but to join it, and to work with him to bring the changes to Boston that we fought so hard for over these past months.
Starting today, I will campaign alongside Michael Flaherty as his future Deputy Mayor. This is a first step that will change Boston politics for good.
I realize that for Boston, a joint campaign, a Flaherty-Yoon "ticket," is new and different. But we have always said that Boston politics has been too much about taking credit, and not enough about collaboration. So Michael and I will be working together to make the changes that we need in city government.
Over the next several weeks, we will be unveiling our plans for the first 100 days of our administration.
This will include enacting term limits for Mayor - putting an end to the 'Mayor for Life' culture in Boston that has held us back. The Boston Redevelopment Authority has been a breeding ground for back-room dealing and misuse of funds. Michael has asked that as Deputy Mayor I lead the effort to dismantle the BRA and replace it with a true community planning agency.
Of course Michael and I won't agree on everything. But we won't need to. We agree on enough - and most importantly, we agree that change can't wait.
I believe this to my core. The alternative to acting now is standing still, and our city has been doing that for far too long.
We are asking for you to give everything you possibly can during these next five weeks to change our city. We are facing an entrenched political machine - a machine that won't give up power without a fight. We need your help and we need it now.
Join us - and let's change Boston for good.
Sincerely,
Sam
Breaking it down, if all of Yoon's 17,179 votes and McCrea's 3,340 votes went to Flaherty, the candidate would be locked in a tight race with Menino, with 39,978 combined votes compared to the 41,026 ballots cast last week for the Mayor. The mayoral election will take place on November 3.
