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After recount, result the same in Lynn mayoral race

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 18, 2009 05:15 PM

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Judith Flanagan Kennedy survived a recount. She will become the first woman mayor of Lynn, the state's ninth-largest city.

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

LYNN -- Councilor Judith Flanagan Kennedy remains the mayor-elect of this North Shore city, after a recount today of ballots cast in the Nov. 3 general election increased her margin of victory to 30 votes over incumbent Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr., according to city election officials.

Kennedy, the first woman elected mayor of Lynn, beat Clancy by 27 votes, 8,043 to 8,016, when the first tallies were made. But Kennedy picked up three additional votes in a hand recount of ballots today in the City Hall auditorium that stretched for more than six hours. The final tally was 8,053 for Kennedy and 8,023 for Clancy.

Only 12 ballots were challenged by either candidate, City Clerk Mary Audley said.

"Neither candidate really challenged very much. When they did, it was over voter intent," Audley said shortly after the recount ended at 3:30 p.m. "Each (candidate) picked up votes that way. There was nothing controversial. It all went very smoothly."

Clancy, an eight-year incumbent, said he was relieved the recount was over. "I wish her, her family and the City of Lynn nothing but the best," said Clancy, 59, a former Democratic state senator and representative from Lynn. "I am happy with everything we did, all the initiatives we did. ... I know better than anyone else the next few years will be very hard, economically, for cities and towns."

Kennedy did not immediately return a call seeking comment. She is a 10-year member of the City Council in Lynn, the state's ninth largest city with almost 90,000 residents. Her candidacy drew strong support from public employee unions, particularly the firefighters, who had repeatedly sparred with Clancy over funding issues. A lawyer no longer practicing, Kennedy works part-time as a driver for the MBTA Ride Program.