City Councillor Michael Flaherty has picked up the official endorsement of the city's firefighters union, Local 718. The campaign made the announcement on Friday afternoon, a day after Flaherty rolled out four other union endorsements. A public endorsement event will be held on May 9th at Firefighters Family Day in Neponset's Pope John Paul II Park.

The union has long had a rocky relationship with the incumbent Mayor Tom Menino, a dynamic that was alluded to in the press release.

“As active residents in the city of Boston, our firefighters work
courageously to protect our great city on a daily basis. We look forward to
working with a Mayor that respects the job we do and who has the integrity
and leadership required to tackle the challenges that affect us all,” union president Ed Kelly
said in the statement.

Menino has not yet said whether he will be a candidate for re-election, although his campaign has been gearing up for action in recent weeks. Sam Yoon, an at-large councilman from Dorchester, and South End businessman Kevin McCrea are also in the race.