2 poised for run if Yunits leaves

Although they say they would not run against incumbent John T. Yunits Jr. next year, two of Brockton's best-known politicians already have launched unofficial campaigns for mayor.

City Councilor James E. Harrington and state Representative Thomas P. Kennedy are raising funds and assembling organizations in case Yunits decides to step down after 10 years on the job.

''If he doesn't run, I will definitely be a candidate," said Harrington, an at-large councilor for 11 years.

Kennedy, who has been in the House since 1983, said, ''If there were to be an open seat, I would give it a long, hard look." He noted that he reluctantly decided not to run for an open state Senate seat in 1996. ''I am not going to easily pass up another opportunity," he said.

Kennedy and Harrington both have held a number of fund-raisers in recent months, with more scheduled this month. Kennedy held a $100-per-plate fund-raiser at the Brockton Country Club nine days after his Nov. 2 reelection.

Yunits was a little-known Brockton attorney when he captured the mayor's job in 1995, unseating incumbent Winthrop H. Farwell Jr. Yunits has enjoyed broad support from most of the city's traditional political factions and has been reelected easily four times. Last week, he said he has not decided whether he will seek a sixth term.

''It is the intention of my wife and I to talk about it over the course of the holidays and make a decision sometime in January," he said.

Yunits has presided over the city during a period of strong municipal finances, rising property values, a surge in home construction, and new economic development. He oversaw the construction of three new schools and lured a professional baseball franchise to the city.

In Brockton political circles, speculation about Yunits' political future has been rife since early fall, when US Representative Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston said he would run for US Senate if John Kerry won the presidency. Yunits was asked then if he would run for Lynch's seat in Congress, and he expressed interest.

Seeing the potential for falling dominos, candidates for Yunits' job then began to make moves. The mayor's refusal to declare his intentions, even after Kerry lost the presidency, has sparked more conjecture about his future.

Yunits has not tipped his hand, although people who know him well say that nine years in the job have taken a toll. Yunits said the job is ''a challenge, but it's also the greatest job in America."

The only announced candidate for mayor is Jass Stewart, head of a local multimedia production company. Stewart, who is black, is the first nonwhite mayoral candidate in Brockton's history.

Unlike Harrington and Kennedy, Stewart has said he is running regardless of whether Yunits is a candidate. Stewart, who this year married his same-sex partner, has never held elective office.

Harrington and Kennedy, both Democrats, are established figures in Brockton politics. They also have been friends for years, and when the prospect arose of a contest between them, they decided to discuss it over lunch at a restaurant.

By their accounts, the meeting was friendly, though neither deferred to the other. ''If it's the two of us running, we will do it in a gentlemanly way," Kennedy said.

Kennedy, 53, began his political career 30 years ago when then Brockton Mayor David E. Crosby appointed him an aide. Kennedy later served four terms as councilor from Ward 2. He has been a state representative for 21 years and is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

When he was a 19-year-old seminary student, Kennedy fell while washing windows and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him confined to a wheelchair. He lives with his 94-year-old mother on a residential street near downtown.

Harrington, 56, owns an insurance and financial services company with offices in Brockton and Taunton. He served two terms as Ward 5 councilor and was first elected at-large councilor in 1993. He lives on the city's west side.

While Harrington, Kennedy and Stewart are the only politicians actively contemplating the mayor's post, others could join the fray before the election next fall.

At-large City Councilors Todd G. Petti and Thomas G. Brophy said last week they would consider running for mayor but will not make any moves until Yunits declares his intentions.

''Jack hasn't given any indication of what he will do," Petti said. ''He's got everyone waiting at the gate."

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@globe.com.