McQuilken concedes in Senate race

MILLIS -- State Senate hopeful Angus McQuilken yesterday conceded defeat in his tight race with Republican state Representative Scott P. Brown, saying the cost of a recount would be too much for cash-strapped towns to bear.

McQuilken, a Democrat, lost by about 1 percent of the approximately 37,500 votes cast in Tuesday's special election to fill a vacancy for a state Senate seat that stretches west and south of Boston. Yesterday, McQuilken bowed out, saying his campaign decided after "exhaustive research" with town clerks that a vote recount would be too expensive. The Senate district encompasses 12 communities, which would have to bear the cost.

"I'm hesitant to make our financially strapped communities go through the time and expense of a recount without a clear reason to believe that a recount would be decisive," said McQuilken, surrounded by about 35 friends and family as he addressed reporters at Millis Town Hall.

McQuilken congratulated Brown and wished him well. He also said he is "strongly considering" running for the seat in November, and warned Brown and Governor Mitt Romney not to view the GOP's victory as a mandate.

"If the needs of the district are not being met, people might just get that rematch in November," McQuilken, 34, said.

Brown, a state representative from Wrentham, said yesterday that he looks forward to such an opportunity. He said he will assume his Senate post as soon as Secretary of State William F. Galvin certifies the election. He said his first task is to fight for the district's communities in the upcoming state budget negotiations, and he said he has arranged meetings with town administrators.

"The Number 1 priority is to get a better shake when it comes to state funding and see how we can do that," Brown, 44, said.

The seat became vacant in January when Cheryl A. Jacques resigned to head the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay and lesbian advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Brown represented some of the towns in the state House of Representatives for six years; McQuilken was Jacques's chief of staff.

Romney campaigned arduously for Brown, and the race was viewed on Beacon Hill partially as a referendum on the debate over whether to legalize gay marriage in Massachusetts. Brown opposes it, while McQuilken supports it. State lawmakers meet in a constitutional convention this week to consider amendments that would permit or outlaw gay marriage.

Asked what the role his backing of gay marriage played in the election's outcome, McQuilken said that voters' main concerns were local issues such as jobs, education, and health care.

"The bottom line is, if I lost the election because of the [gay marriage] issue -- and I don't think that's what happened here -- I will sleep well at night knowing that I did the right thing," McQuilken said.

Brown declined to comment on whether he feels his stance contributed to his victory.

The Senate seat includes all or parts of Attleboro, Franklin, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley, and Wrentham.