Newcomer breaks into top 4 in preliminary council race
Eight finalists include an Asian American
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in Wednesday's City & Region section about the results of the city preliminary election gave an incorrect result for Boston Councilor at Large Felix D. Arroyo's finish in the 2003 election. He placed second.
Three incumbents and a first-time challenger finished at the head of the pack in a Boston preliminary election that also put the children of two former mayors and the city's first Asian-American candidate for City Council on the November ballot.
Council President Michael J. Flaherty was the top vote-getter among the eight finalists for the council's four at-large seats, followed by incumbent Felix D. Arroyo. But in a result unusual in Boston elections, John Connolly, a first-time candidate, beat incumbent Stephen J. Murphy, according to unofficial results the city released last night. There were 15 candidates on the ballot yesterday.
''I feel terrific; this is great," said Connolly, a 32-year-old lawyer from West Roxbury whose father, Michael, was secretary of state. ''I am thrilled and amazed. It's thanks to a lot of people's hard work in every neighborhood."
Sam Yoon, the son of Korean immigrants, also surprised some observers with a strong fifth-place showing, ahead of Patricia White, Matt O'Malley, and Ed Flynn. White is the daughter of former mayor Kevin H. White. Flynn is the son of former mayor Raymond L. Flynn.
The race attracted several strong contenders because Councilor at Large Maura A. Hennigan is vacating her citywide spot to challenge Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Many of the candidates in this year's field have tried to appeal to immigrants or attempted to tap into the growing political power of Boston's black and Hispanic communities.
The election yesterday was also the first since Boston settled a federal lawsuit earlier this month alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act. The US Justice Department sued the city in July, accusing it of improperly influencing and coercing Hispanic and Asian-American voters who have difficulty understanding English. Federal monitors were joined at polling places yesterday by observers from the state and neighborhood groups. There were no serious problems reported by early yesterday evening.
Turnout was light, and some speculated that a crucial Red Sox doubleheader kept some voters away from the polls. City officials pegged the turnout at 15.1 percent, better than the 13.6 percent who braved a rainy day for the preliminary election two years ago. But the 2003 turnout was the lowest in almost two decades.
''The interesting thing is it's a beautiful day, which should bring the voters out," said Flaherty, who is heavily favored to hold onto his citywide seat. ''But the Sox have a double-header . . . and people are focused on the pennant race. They may think it's more important than this race, and I would agree."
Some voters blamed the low turnout on recent hurricanes, which have dominated the news.
Janet Hehir of Brighton said there was no compelling issue that got her to the polls yesterday. ''I voted for Patricia White because she's a woman," said Hehir, 45.
Flaherty, who has made no secret of his mayoral ambitions, said he campaigned around the city and found the same mix of voters everywhere: city employees, seniors, and union workers.
Even though the top eight candidates advanced, finishing in the top four gives a candidate instant credibility and the sheen of a winner. But preliminary election results can be misleading: In 2003, Hennigan and fellow incumbent Arroyo finished fourth and fifth in the preliminary election, and newcomer White finished third. But in the general election, Arroyo and Hennigan moved up, and White was eliminated.
Yesterday, Flaherty finished a comfortable 2,100 votes ahead of Arroyo, and Arroyo beat Connolly by about 1,400 votes. But Connolly and Murphy were much closer, with fewer than 200 votes between them in the third and fourth spots. And at least two other candidates appear to have a chance at grabbing the fourth and final seat. Yoon finished fewer than 1,000 votes behind Murphy, and White trailed Murphy by about 1,200 votes.
In 2003, Arroyo finished fifth, more than 1,500 votes out of fourth place. But in the general election, he came in third. Many political observers believe that liberals and minorities come out in greater numbers in November.
But Murphy said he was satisfied with yesterday's results, pointing out that he finished much closer to Connolly than Yoon did to him. ''I'm very gratified," he said. ''If the election were held today, I'm Councilor Murphy again."
Yoon was buoyant, pronouncing the results fantastic. He said he was confident he would do even better in the general election.
''I need to distinguish myself; it's fairly easily done," he said. ''What I've done with my life is very different from what the other candidates have done. That is what people will see if they care to dig a little deeper than my Asian-American identity."
Under the terms of the settlement of the federal lawsuit, Boston will be scrutinized by federal officials during elections and must provide bilingual help to voters who don't speak English. The city only had to ''make best efforts" in the preliminary vote yesterday, but the requirements will be mandatory in the general election in November.
Monitors from Secretary of State William F. Galvin's office, as well as observers from the Chinese Progressive Association, Vida Urbana, and the Mayor's Advisory Task Force, which is supposed to keep track of the city's compliance, also were at polling places watching the vote.
The observers said yesterday evening that the elections were going smoothly, with only a few minor problems. Galvin said his staff encountered ''run-of-the-mill administrative calls or people trying to bring an absentee ballot to the polls." Lydia Lowe of the Chinese Progressive Association agreed; her only complaint was poll workers asking for identification when they should not have.
At Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Chinatown, two poll monitors from the Justice Department and one from the Secretary of State's office kept an eye on interaction between voters and poll workers, filling out forms when an election official did more than simply translate for a voter.
Some voters who do not speak English use the sample ballot to memorize the numbers of the candidates they want to choose, such as the fifth or the ninth on the list, said precinct warden Paul Lee, who speaks Toisanese, a Chinese dialect. Yesterday he helped a voter count out her choices the way she had memorized them at home.
When several voters told him ''I want the Asian guy," he recounted later, he pointed to Yoon's name and told them, ''I think he's the only one."
''We're not here to influence voters; we're here to make sure they get to vote for the candidate of their choice," Lee said.
Meanwhile, in a special election to fill a vacant state Senate seat, state Representative Patricia D. Jehlen bested Alderman Bill White of Somerville, 56 percent to 43 percent. Jehlen, a Democrat, will replace the late state senator Charles Shannon, who died earlier this year, to represent the district that includes Medford, Winchester, one ward in Woburn, and most of Somerville.
Globe correspondents Emma Stickgold and Kristen Green contributed to this report. 