2011 elections

The secret burial grounds of candidate signs

adamg — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:55:24 +0000

Mike Ball discovered this cache of signs for Will Dorcena's at-large council bid yesterday - on the porch of Dorcena's Hyde Park home. Destined for the recycling truck or re-use?

Posted under this Creative Commons license and tagged as universalhub on Flickr.

Tolman's successor picked today

adamg — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:28:54 +0000

Technically, it's only a primary, but since there's no Republican in the 2nd Suffolk and Middlesex race, the winner of the Democratic primary will be the next senator, WBUR reports.

Linehan remains a city councilor

adamg — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:57:49 +0000

The Globe reports a recount showed Bill Linehan really did beat Suzanne Lee - and that a council redistricting plan he authored would shift two precincts where he did really poorly out of his district.

Lee seeks recount in narrow loss to Linehan

adamg — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:01:29 +0000

South End Patch reports Suzanne Lee will formally ask the city elections department to recount votes in District 2, where officials said she lost to incumbent Councilor Bill Linehan by just 87 votes.

Connolly vote collapses in Hyde Park

adamg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:42:04 +0000

Steve Poftak looks at the numbers from Tuesday's election, notices that John Connolly's tally in Hyde Park and the neighboring part of Roslindale dropped more than 1,000 votes from 2009:

What's the explanation here? Well, my best guess would be a certain 60-something Readville resident and civic leader might have been less than fully supportive.

Chris Lovett also looks at Hyde Park's numbers - from 1999, the year of Dapper O'Neil's last hurrah.

Linehan barely holds on

adamg — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:47:50 +0000

With all precincts now in, city numbers show incumbent Councilor Bill Linehan defeating challenger Suzanne Lee by just 87 votes in District 2 (South Boston, South End, Chinatown).

Pressley tops ballot

adamg — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:27:54 +0000

Pressley victory speech by Mike Deehan/Dorchester Reporter.

Ayanna Pressley, the first-term incumbent whom many thought was most vulnerable to defeat this year, topped the field of candidates for one of four at-large City Council seats.

Baker takes District 3; defeat for Menino machine

adamg — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Both Baker and O'Toole camps are telling the Dorchester Reporter that Frank Baker will be District 3's new councilor, replacing the retiring Maureen Feeney.

O'Toole called Baker to concede barely 30 minutes after the polls closed.

Menino forces had come out heavily in favor of John O'Toole.

He voted, will you?

adamg — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:00:24 +0000

Honey Fitz says get out and vote. In Boston, seven people are running for four at-large council seats and there are contested district races in 2 (South Boston, South End and Chinatown), 3 (Dorchester) and 7 (Roxbury).

In District 3, where O'Toole and Baker and battling to replace outgoing incumbent Feeney, the Dorchester Reporter is tweeting the latest voting numbers and other observations.

In District 2, Lee vs. Linehan, David Bernstein calculates that turnout in precincts Lee won in the preliminary are up dramatically, but that turnout in precincts Linehan won are up even more so.

Our special Election Day Citizen Complaint of the Day comes from Brighton, where a peeved citizen reports:

No "I voted today" stickers at Patricia White Apartments. What's the point of voting? (But despite that, the civilian poll workers and the Boston police officer were all super friendly and professional. Thanks for their community service!)

Photo of John Fitzgerald from the BPL Leslie Jones collection. Posted under this Creative Commons license.

No, John Connolly hasn't had a last minute change of heart about Michael Flaherty

adamg — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:25:43 +0000

Dave Atkins of Roslindale reports he's gotten two of these Flaherty cards, both signed, in slightly different handwriting, by "John."

Am I supposed to mistake this card as an endorsement of Michael Flaherty by John Connolly?

Connolly, of course, has flooned Ayanna Pressley, but is also running as a sort of non-slate slate with the other two incumbents, Felix Arroyo and Steve Murphy.

Flaherty gave up his at-large seat to run for mayor in 2009. Sean Ryan and Will Dorcena round out the field in Tuesday's election, in which voters will pick four at-large councilors.

At-large candidates don't have much to say about Whole Foods issue in JP

adamg — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:26:22 +0000

The Jamaica Plain Gazette quizzed the seven candidates on some JP-specific issues. Only JP resident Sean Ryan had any criticisms of the way the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council handled the matter.

Speaking of the neighborhood council, the Gazette also reports that among the Whose Foods protesters outside the new store on its opening day earlier this week was Ben Day, the council's new chairman.

Day said that he was there to support locally owned businesses, affordable housing and culturally appropriate food in Hyde Square.

The Gazette did not say when Day is planning protests outside the Rent-a-Center or CVS or whether he considers Scottish food culturally appropriate for Hyde Square.

First Kardashian and Humphries, now Yoon and Flaherty

adamg — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:02:13 +0000

The Dorchester Reporter notes that oon sent out a city-council endorsement e-mail from his new aerie in Washington that doesn't mention fl.

Murphy vs. Flaherty for endorsements

adamg — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:20:03 +0000

Both the Phoenix and the South End News have endorsed incumbent at-large councilors Connolly, Pressley and Arroyo. But the Phoenix endorsed incumbent Murphy because he "has made wise use of that position, while the News endorsed Flaherty because "the sheer volume of his past successes as a City Councilor, the important issues raised during his campaign for mayor, and his on-the-ground experiences as a life-long Bostonian make him ready and able to serve the city again.

Both papers had advice for their endorsees: The Phoenix told Murphy to concentrate on Boston instead of his quixotic bids for state office; the News told Flaherty to concentrate on specific programs rather than his two-year-old hatred of the mayor.

Bay Windows, owned by the same folks as the South End News, also endorsed Flaherty over Murphy, citing his strong support of the gay and transgender communities.

Michael Flaherty vs. the Gang of Four

adamg — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:27:44 +0000

The Globe tags along with former City Councilor Michael Flaherty at a meet-and-greet at the Forest Hills T stop, where somebody asks him if he's really just running for mayor again.

Peter Gelzinis writes Flaherty's making a mistake thinking the road to the mayor's office is through the City Council chambers.

In a world where death lurks behind every corner

adamg — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:18:52 +0000

One man dared protect your children from FROZEN MEAT PATTIES.

Gin Dumcius reports that seems to be the gist of the mailer John Connolly just sent out:

In at-large race, Connolly sends out epic-looking mailer touting expired frozen food investigation. Mailer red and white front: "WARNING: Contents inside were not suitable for children. Until John Connolly Took Action"

Back in March:
Councilor: Schools kept buying meat even as frozen meat kept piling up in warehouse.