Yoon joins Flaherty mayoral ticket, touts ‘collaboration'

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) – Teaming up in an effort to unseat Mayor Thomas Menino, mayoral candidate Michael Flaherty and former candidate City Councilor Sam Yoon have joined forces. Flaherty has brought Yoon onto his ticket as candidate for deputy mayor, with the announcement made Tuesday morning outside Boston’s City Hall. Flaherty said that moving the city forward would require new political leadership, a visionary to “tap into the intellectual capital.” “That is why today I am inviting, asking my friend, my colleague Sam Yoon to join me in this effort to change Boston, to get our city back on track and take Boston to the next level,” Flaherty said. “It’s been all about one person, folks, in Boston for the last sixteen years, which has also stifled debate, discussion and good ideas. Moving our city forward is going to require someone willing to share, someone willing to embrace, someone willing to have a common goal, which is to make sure that our city is the best city that it possibly can (be).” The morning following his preliminary election win, Flaherty told NECN’s Good Morning Live that he by adding his vote totals to those of Yoon and Kevin McCrea, the preliminary results would be a dead heat. Bringing Yoon into his campaign could be a major get in terms of votes come the general election on November 3rd. During Tuesday morning’s press conference, Yoon promoted the idea of collaboration between the two candidates which netted the most votes in the preliminary election behind Mayor Menino. “Boston politics for too long has been too much about getting credit, not enough about collaboration,” Yoon said. “Over the next five weeks, we’re going to fight to change that.” Mayor Menino has been in office for 16 years, a point which both Flaherty and Yoon have been sure to point out during their respective — and now joint — mayoral campaigns. “I believe that, together, we’ll be able to do more for this city than a fifth Menino administration would ever dare to dream about,” Yoon said. “Michael, thank you very much for making this historic fight. Together, we will change Boston.”