(Globe Staff Photo / John Tlumacki)
Michael F. Flaherty | Relying on army of campaign workers
AGE: 34
HOME: SOUTH BOSTON
What time he woke up: 4:55
a.m.
First person he talked to in the
morning: Campaign manager
Joe O'Keefe, who called to wake
him up.
What he had for breakfast: Just
tea. ''When the adrenaline's going,
you don't want to stop. You
always feel that if you sit down
to have a sandwich or something,
you'll miss something
you should have been doing.''
What his family members did
to help him: Most of his 40 first
cousins, who live predominantly
in South Boston, Dorchester,
and Hyde Park, worked the
polls. His mother campaigned
at St. Brigid's in South Boston.
Father, a former state representative,
cannot do so, because he
is a sitting judge.
Campaign items handed out:
Red-white-and-blue emery
boards with ''Re-elect Michael
F. Flaherty'' printed on them
(popular with older women);
5,000 doughnuts, sandwiches,
and soup.
How he got around on election
day: In a black Mercury Grand
Marquis, driven by Timothy Stack, retired from Boston Edison.
Estimated number of hands he
shook during day: More than
5,000.
Ground forces assisting him:
Seven vans; five sound trucks;
squads of cars on call to drive
voters to the polls; 700 campaign
workers citywide, working
out of three headquarters:
South Boston, West Roxbury,
and East Boston. ''Today, it's
like baseball. I'm the starting
pitcher. I worked all summer,
knocking on doors, doing the
events, the parades, the debates.
Now it's all up to the bullpen,
the campaign workers. All I do is stand outside and wave.''
Story amusing his campaign
workers yesterday: Someone
supposedly robbed a bank in
Charlestown next to a polling
place and knocked over two
Flaherty signs during the getaway.
Where he held his election
night party: At the Cornerstone
Pub in South Boston (the stepping-
off point of the annual St.
Patrick's Day parade), owned by
his uncle Tom.
What he will do today: ''We've
got City Council hearings scheduled,
so it's back to work.''
By Michael Kenney
