Election may put city in spotlight
Lawrence mayor's contest watched
LAWRENCE -- Only 72,000 people live in this Massachusetts city, but this fall's election could put them in the national spotlight.
On Tuesday, voters opted to send the city's incumbent mayor, Michael J. Sullivan, into the final election Nov. 8 against the second-place vote-getter, City Councilor Marcos Devers.
Sullivan, a white Republican, is seeking his second term in this majority Latino, heavily Democratic city. The Dominican-born Devers is trying to become the first Latino mayor elected in the state of Massachusetts.
If Devers unseats Sullivan, he will immediately be highlighted as proof that the Latino political machine in Massachusetts has come of age, especially among the growing population from the Dominican Republic. In recent years, Lawrence and a few other Massachusetts communities have elected Latino city councilors and School Committee members, but no Latino candidate has been able to win a mayoral seat.
If Sullivan is reelected, it could add to his star power within the GOP as someone who has won election twice by appealing to Democratic and Latino voters. Sullivan is one of a handful of Republican mayors in Massachusetts and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention last year for President Bush.
According to unofficial results, Sullivan won 54 percent of the vote in Tuesday's preliminary election, while Devers took around 29 percent. Knocked out of the final race were two other Latino candidates, City Councilor Carlos Matos and businessman Howard Tejeda. Matos took 15 percent and Tejeda, 1 percent of the vote.
Those results show that Sullivan is in good shape going into the final race, said Myles E. Burke, the mayor's chief of staff. ''People like what he's doing for the city of Lawrence," he said. ''He doesn't see color."
Charles Klinch, 24, a Sullivan supporter, said the mayor's broad appeal makes him like Sullivan even more. ''Even though he's running in a Democratic city as a Republican, he can take the Democratic votes," said Klinch. ''He's really won over the non-Anglo votes." Klinch added that he would like to see Sullivan run for Massachusetts governor one day, ''or even higher."
Sullivan has publicly dismissed such talk. ''I'm committed to Lawrence. When you want a pothole fixed, they don't ask you if you're a Democrat or Republican," the mayor said. ''Whatever the future will hold will be the future, but right now I'm focused on Lawrence."
Devers said despite Sullivan's taking more than 50 percent of the vote, he still likes his chances. ''We are just warming up. This is a great moment," he told supporters after results came in. ''We can still make history."
The city councilor said the quality of life in Lawrence is ''a real disgrace," with garbage everywhere and economic development falling behind.
Throughout the campaign, Devers has been reaching out to Anglo voters by sticking to such issues as education and unemployment, and shying away from ethnic politics that have plagued the city's past elections. For the most part, so have his supporters.
Before giving his speech Tuesday night, Devers started speaking in English, when a supporter yelled out for him to speak in Spanish. ''Please. Sit down. Later," Devers told the man, while the crowd chimed in to tell the man to be quiet. After giving his speech in English, Devers repeated the speech in Spanish.
Jon Damico, 32, a Devers supporter, said he doesn't hear Devers mention that he could become the state's first elected Latino mayor. ''Of course it would be a source of pride for him, but Marcos doesn't see color," said Damico.
However, Damico said, Lawrence voters should give the mayor's seat to a Latino candidate, because 60 to 70 percent of the city's residents are Latino. ''It's about time to let them take the reins," said Damico, who is white. ''But it's not about the Cambodians, the Asians, the Hispanics. It's us being one, and Marcos brings that to the table."
Damico said if voters cast their ballots based on the issues facing the city, Devers could win. ''Marcos has broad appeal," he said.
But to defeat Sullivan, Devers would not only have to win over supporters from the other defeated candidates; he probably will have to persuade some of the mayor's supporters, like Julio Morel, 38, to switch sides.
''The Spanish community is divided, and I believe if you're divided you are not going to go nowhere," said Morel, who was born in the Dominican Republic. ''There's only one candidate. Sullivan has done a great job." Morel said he liked the way Sullivan has handled crime and helped push through a new high school.
Morel said he would like to see a Latino mayor in Lawrence, but only after Sullivan's next term expires.
Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com. 