It’s been 20 years since someone other than Thomas Menino held the title of Boston mayor. As the Boston Globe reports, his “political machine” has been given the go-ahead to support either John Connolly or Marty Walsh, the City’s two remaining candidates in their race to succeed him.

“I said, ‘Do what you want to do,’ ” Menino told the Globe. “It’s not a dictatorship. I have an organization that’s committed to things I believe in in government. They want to make a choice, let them make a choice.”

Reportedly, ex-Menino money-raisers have aligned with Connolly while former “foot soldiers” have joined Walsh’s growing standing-army.

This trend was underscored by WGBH’s Peter Kadzis during his phone interview with BostInno last week. In his estimation, this race could come down to a battle between Connolly’s popularity across the City and Walsh’s ability to organize supporters and get out the vote.

Right now, the momentum is in Walsh’s favor; last week’s endorsements started with Felix Arroyo and John Barros before Charlotte Golar Richie put an exclamation mark on a strong week for the former union leader.

The Globe reports that Menino’s supporters have been split in their decisions to side with either Connolly or Walsh,  suggesting geography may play a key role.

This race could amount to a showdown between Dorchester and West Roxbury — two neighborhoods with strong voter turnout.

Kadzis suggested this last week, saying that while a neighborhood battle can’t reflect the entire pulse of the 2013 mayoral race, Dorchester vs.West Roxbury can serve as a metaphor for how people will vote come November 5.

A Walsh win in his hometown, Dorchester, appears to be a mere formality at this point. Will West Roxbury’s Connolly receive the same hometown love as his competitor?

That remains to be seen.

Perhaps an endorsement from Hyde Park City Councilor Rob Consalvo would go a long a long way for Connolly. But that is not a guarantee.

As Kadzis acknowledged, Consalvo’s home WARD — areas of Hyde Park — were strong supporters of Walsh during the September 24 preliminary.

Menino was elected as Hyde Park’s City Councilor five times.

Currently, the East Boston vote seems to be closest sure-thing that Connolly has in his back-pocket. Lets see if Menino’s disbanding team will give him a boost, or if Walsh will add another cast of supporters to his team.

 Image from pictureboston.com