Hennigan takes campaign to the wire

Leaping from her car at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in West Roxbury, Maura A. Hennigan threw her arms around a retired firefighter whom she has known for 30 years. Alone in a line of volunteers for City Council candidates, John Brown, 66, held a sign that read: ''Maura Hennigan, Believe in a Better Boston."

A few hours later, campaigning outside the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston, she spotted Brian O'Hara, 50, her classmate from Holy Childhood School in Jamaica Plain, who was stumping for a city Council candidate. ''Elementary school!" she exclaimed and hugged O'Hara.

Just before that, outside Mary E. Curley Middle School in Jamaica Plain, she gave a big kiss on the cheek to Maryetta Doussard, 61, who was wearing a Hennigan T-shirt. The two have known each other since they campaigned a decade ago to improve air quality at the Agassiz School in Jamaica Plain.

The hugs and kisses multiplied throughout the day, as Hennigan, 53, neared the final hours of what many believe will be her last campaign in city politics. With polls showing her probably losing to Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Hennigan's Election Day became one frenetic goodbye to the voters who have helped elect her a dozen times.

She seemed to relish every moment, as she ducked into bus shelters, schools, and ran up to pedestrians on the street, hand outstretched for a shake and a last-minute plea for a vote. When a scheduling mix-up forced her to idle for a few minutes in the Toyota Camry she was riding in, she grew impatient.

''I can be doing other polls," she told an aide. ''I'm not a person who sits around and does nothing. That's not in my nature."

It was just about 24 years ago today that she was sitting at the Publik House Lounge on Beacon Hill, a glass of red wine in her hand, celebrating her first election to the Boston City Council. She was 29 at the time, recently laid off from the Boston School Department. The newspapers considered her headstrong, one of a few fresh faces to vie for council seats that year, along with newcomer James M. Kelly of South Boston.

The eldest of seven siblings, the daughter and granddaughter of state legislators, and great-grandniece of a Boston Common Council member, politics was in Hennigan's veins, she said. When she was 8, she campaigned with her father, James W. Jr., now 78, when he ran unsuccessfully for mayor. The two knocked on doors from Hyde Park to Beacon Hill.

''The Hennigan family are all with her today, and all those who have supported us over the course of generations now," James W. Hennigan declared as he walked his daughter into the Manning School in Jamaica Plain, where she voted.

Hennigan, the longest-serving city councilor, gave up a safe seat to challenge Menino, the city's popular, powerful mayor. With single-minded drive, she took out a second mortgage on her Jamaica Plain home to raise $400,000 for her campaign. Last week, after most pundits had written off her campaign, she took out a second mortgage on another house she owns, raising an additional $125,000, an aide said.

Hennigan said she does not know what she will do if she loses the election.

''If I don't win, I'm sure there will be lots of options that come out," Hennigan said.

Some people showered with her the cold realities of politics.

''What are you going to do?" barked Paul Kenney, 40, a landscaper who spotted Hennigan at a polling place at St. Monica Church in South Boston. ''Are you going to go back to City Hall?"

Hennigan sidestepped Kenney, saying she was focused on the mayor's race.

Most voters treated Hennigan respectfully. Good luck was the most common response she received at polling places. Every compliment and pat on the back seemed to touch Hennigan.

''I'm going through withdrawal," Hennigan said with a laugh after shaking many hands at St. George's Church. ''When you've been from this city all your life, it just is a very warm feeling running into people."

Hennigan said she was prepared for any outcome and was roiling with emotions yesterday.

''I am happy," she said while waving to motorists on Massachusetts Avenue in the South End, ''Whatever the verdict is, I am happy to accept it."

Back at St. George's Church, Brown, the retired firefighter, watched Hennigan greet a line of voters one by one, with a smile and a handshake.

''She's given it all she has," Brown said. ''If she doesn't make it, at least she can say she went down swinging."