Councilors keep seats; White loses

The results marked a dramatic comeback for two leading liberal voices on the City Council: Hennigan, the council's longest-serving member, and Arroyo, the first and only Latino to serve as a Boston city councilor. Before the vote, most analysts said one of them would almost certainly be left out of the top four against better-funded candidates.

Council President Michael F. Flaherty easily topped the ticket, as he did in the September preliminary election. Councilor Stephen J. Murphy came in fourth, less than 1,000 votes ahead of White, and the other three at-large candidates finished far behind White.

White, who finished third in September, said last night that she fell victim to a "liberal explosion" in the final tally. As her father walked into her campaign party at West Roxbury Pub on Centre Street shortly before 10 p.m., she told him: "I'll be all right. I'm a pro, Dad."

All nine district councilors cruised to reelection, meaning the current crop of 13 councilors will be back for another two years. Ten-term incumbent Charles C. Yancey comfortably turned back a tough challenge from first-time candidate Ego E. Ezedi Jr. in District 4, which includes parts of Roxbury and Mattapan.

A dreary day in Boston most likely held down turnout, but 24.6 percent of the city's 270,798 registered voters cast ballots. That's far more than the 13 percent in the September preliminary election, and a touch above the 24.5 percent turnout in 1999, the last time council races were determined with no mayoral contest on the ballot.

White's strong showing in the September election meant that five strong candidates, including the four incumbents, were scrambling for four at-large council seats.

But the voters in the final tally apparently had different preferences than those in the preliminary, or they were persuaded to change their minds. Hennigan and Arroyo, who finished fourth and fifth in the preliminary race, vaulted past White to claim the third and second spots, respectively. White dropped from third to fifth.

"Patricia had the opportunity, but apparently, it just didn't work," said Larry DiCara, a former city councilor and a close City Hall observer. "The turnout moved the vote left, and it was to the progressives' benefit. And money cannot buy an election."

Arroyo assumed office this year, after a fifth-place finish in 2001 proved enough to give him the job when one of the at-large councilors resigned his post. He finished 1,500 votes out of fourth place in the preliminary race and, with little grass-roots organization in place, seemed destined to lose his council seat before he ever got comfortable.

But yesterday he leaped to second place as the minority community was galvanized on his behalf, and after Flaherty offered his endorsement last week. Minority activists urged bullet voting for his candidacy, a strategy in which voters marked ballots for Arroyo but no other candidates in an effort to concentrate their voting strength.

"I'm just floored by Arroyo's vote," said Joyce Ferriabough, a Boston political consultant. "Flaherty's coattails helped, but Felix would have made it without them. There was a whole team effort: blacks, Latinos, progressive whites."

Hennigan, meanwhile, appealed to voters as an elected official who is willing to stand up to council leaders and Mayor Thomas M. Menino. As she made the rounds of the city yesterday in a final campaign push, voters stopped her to say they appreciate her work to identify and fill potholes and her service as a public check on Menino's power.

Hennigan said she was thrilled for both herself and Arroyo, a close ally whom she was in the uncomfortable position of jockeying against for a council seat. Hennigan had accused Flaherty of trying to engineer her ouster by publicly stating his support for Arroyo and White.

"Everyone wanted to pit us against each other, and we wouldn't do that," she said. "It just goes to show that the city of Boston is not for sale. You don't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and buy glitzy commercials to win an election."

Elsewhere in the region, Springfield voters sent Charles Ryan back to the mayor's post after 35 years out of office, as he squeaked out a victory over state Senator Linda J. Melconian. In Somerville, Joseph A. Curtatone was elected to succeed Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay, defeating businessman Tony Lafuente.

Maine voters overwhelmingly defeated a measure that would have cleared the way for a $650 million casino to be built in the southern part of the state.

The results in Boston represent a significant victory for Flaherty, who is completing his second year as council president and harbors mayoral ambitions. Flaherty, who won a third two-year term on the council as the top vote-getter, put much of his political capital on the line by endorsing Arroyo and could benefit from the move in the form of increased support from Latinos down the line.

Flaherty, 34, downplayed any talk of his own future runs for office, or his help in getting Arroyo elected. He told his victory party that voters responded to his message of affordable housing, school choice, and getting drugs off the streets.

"The message resonated," Flaherty said. "That's what they're talking about, and that's what they want their City Council to fight for."

Arroyo called Flaherty's endorsement a "positive step," but said most of the credit for his victory must go to his campaign staff and community organizers. Many in Boston understood the importance of having a minority represent Boston in an at-large seat.

"The people understand my message of respect and participation of everyone in the city," Arroyo said. "People want to be inclusive, and be part of a new Boston where everyone counts."

Murphy told his supporters he was relieved to win by what proved to be a "comfortable margin." But he acknowledged some anxious moments as returns showed him to be in danger of losing his seat.

"For awhile there we weren't sure," Murphy said. "It's always a little up in the air until it's finally over. It's finally over."

White's candidacy attracted many of the political friends of her father, and the interest of big-money donors that allowed her to go up early and often with the television advertising. In the end, White said, she failed to get across many of her views, and said voters turned away from her on the mistaken presumption that she doesn't strongly support progressive policies.

Globe correspondents Brendan McCarthy, Sasha Talcott, Ron DePasquale, Adam Krauss, and Shari Rudavsky contributed to this report. Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com.