Race for clerk's post gets personal

A man pulled up in an unmarked sedan, wearing a Richard Nixon mask. He identified himself only as ``Mike" and began thrusting fliers into the hands of people gathered for a candidates' forum at a Jamaica Plain high school.

``NO CROOKS for Clerk of Court," read the colorful handouts, which included a picture of Nixon and news clippings about the arrest 25 years ago of one of the candidates. The man got back in his car and sped away.

As the clock ticks down to election day Tuesday, a time when candidates and their supporters tend to use extreme measures to gain an edge, you might expect such tactics in high-stakes campaigns such as gubernatorial races. But few expect such vitriol in a race for a court clerk's job, in this case, the Suffolk County Superior Court clerk of criminal business.

``It's absolutely outrageous," said Acting Clerk Joe Rubino, who has worked at the court for 38 years. ``I've never seen anything like this before."

The race has pitted Maura A. Hennigan, a former city councilor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate, against Robert J. Dello Russo, a North End resident who is an assistant clerk magistrate. It may not be a highly visible office, but both very much want the job and its $110,000 salary.

Both have held the usual neighborhood fund-raisers and launched colorful websites, citing their experience and desire to serve the public. Hennigan, a city councilor for more than 20 years before giving up her seat last year to run for mayor, said she wants to overhaul record-keeping and evidence procedures at the court. Dello Russo, a former aide to House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and seven-year clerk magistrate, said he wants to ``continue the line of professional administrators who oversee the administration of justice in Suffolk Superior Court."

But then there are tactics in the contest that get personal.

The masked man at the event Tuesday night was clearly a Hennigan supporter, though the candidate said she has no connection to him. Along with a picture of Nixon on the fliers was a picture of Dello Russo, who was indicted in 1981 on charges of receiving stolen property for purchasing a Cadillac limousine from a car-theft ring.

Reports have since been posted on a political blog recounting the convictions of his two sons, one on assault charges in 2002, the other on drug charges in 1998. Another posting on the same blog, bluemassgroup.com , included accusations published in a 1983 Globe article that Dello Russo, a former funeral director, conducted funerals at the same time he was being paid to work at the Legislature.

Dello Russo said he was acquitted in the stolen property case; he said he didn't know the Cadillac was stolen. He has said the actions of his sons are no reflection of his ability to perform the court job. And he said he used vacation time to conduct the funerals.

His campaign, meanwhile, has mailed out literature that depicts Hennigan as a cartoon character with a shopping cart, saying she is just shopping for another public paycheck. Dello Russo enlisted five of Hennigan's longtime colleagues on the council to endorse his candidacy and posted their names on his website.

``At least there was no masked man involved," Dello Russo said. ``It is what it is."

Hennigan denies any connection to the negative tactics, saying Dello Russo is the one getting nasty. ``It's just so amazing," she said.

The race will probably be decided in next week's primary election because there is no declared Republican challenger. The clerk has a six-year term and is responsible for record-keeping and case flow.

Some politicians have called it the ``velvet coffin" because it offers high pay and virtually lifelong job security. Lawrence S. DiCara, a former city councilor and longtime political observer, said clerks have been known to hold their jobs for 35 to 40 years.

The acting clerk said he doesn't think the posts warrant such heated competition. In fact, Rubino said, the job is ``really boring."

``You have to be a certain kind of person to do this," he said.

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.