Recount sought in Lynn mayor's race

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

LYNN - Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. said today he will file for a recount of the Nov. 3 general election, which the eight-year incumbent lost by 27 votes to challenger Judith Flanagan Kennedy, a 10-year city councilor.

"It's so close, within a statistical margin of error, I think I owe it to everyone to take a look at the ballots and see if the vote stands," Clancy said in an interview. "No system is perfect."

Kennedy, the first woman elected mayor of this North Shore city, received 8,043 votes to Clancy's 8,016, or 49.94 percent to 49.78 percent, according to election results released by the Lynn city clerk's office.

Clancy, a former Democratic state senator and representative from Lynn, said he has hired Haskell Kessler, a Boston lawyer who specializes in election law, to oversee the recount for him. It is not yet known when the recount will start. Clancy said his campaign staff have collected the signatures of 10 registered voters from each of the city's 28 precincts, as required by state election law, to file for the recount.

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com