Two candidates remain in Allston-Brighton race

Jerry McDermott and Mark Ciommo defeated seven candidates in a special preliminary race yesterday to fill the vacant city council seat for District 9, representing Allston and Brighton.

McDermott took the lead with 1,661 votes and Ciommo was a close second with 1,315 votes. The two contenders will advance to a final run-off special election on Dec. 10.

The special election was the first of its kind for the city council in more than 100 years, a result of the sudden death of District 9 councilor Brian Honan last July.

Honan’s memory was present at the polls during the day as well as at post-election parties last night throughout Allston and Brighton. Supporters of the McDermott campaign wore green ribbons that said ‘In Memory of Councilor Brian Honan.’ Several campaign supporters also said many of the candidates were friends of Honan’s and ran with the memory of his spirit and determination in mind.

John Hoffman, field organizer for McDermott’s campaign, said he originally worked on the Honan campaign when Honan defeated McDermott in the 1995 race for the district seat.

‘In ’95 I worked against Jerry [McDermott] with Brian [Honan] but after that Brian and Jerry became friends,’ Hoffman said. ‘Jerry only lost by about 100 votes but he put his differences behind him, and me and Brian had a lot of respect for that.’

McDermott said all candidates were thinking of Honan during today’s race and warned the ultimate winner must work hard to fulfill the legacy left by Honan.

‘If I can just fill one of his shoes, I’ll be doing a damn good job for the neighborhood,’ McDermott said, quoting State Senator Stephen Lynch’s response to the death of Representative Joe Moakley.

While both candidates held celebration parties near Brighton Center, the two agreed the hard campaign they will face in the coming weeks will resume immediately. Still, last night called for celebration as McDermott supporters gathered at The Green Briar on Cambridge Avenue and Ciommo supporters gathered on Market Street at The Corrib.

Ciommo, joined by friends and family, cheered and raised fists as the election results appeared on television screens above the bar. Ciommo said he was ‘very, very happy,’ and tired, but ready for the next leg of the race.

‘I can’t say that I was surprised by the results,’ Ciommo said. ‘I knew it was going to be close.’

Ciommo said he did not get any formal endorsements throughout his campaign, but said he received plenty of endorsements on Election Day.

‘How many endorsements did I get tonight? 1,315?’ Ciommo jokingly asked his campaign manager. ‘Those [votes] are the most important endorsements.’

Ciommo said his next step is to regroup and analyze the race and base his campaign on ‘quality, experience and commitment.’

‘[McDermott] has had two previous runs and this being my first I’m just going to work hard to get to the voters with my message, my qualifications and my experience,’ Ciommo said.

McDermott was greeted by a room full of campaign supporters chanting ‘Jerry, Jerry,’ as he arrived at his celebration party. McDermott’s first order of business was to take a family portrait, after which he thanked his biggest supporters of all – his family.

‘I really want to get back to work tomorrow so we can have an even bigger celebration on December 10. Who wants to do a standout at 6 tomorrow morning at Dunkin’ Donuts?’ McDermott joked.

He congratulated all the candidates who ran, especially Ciommo as well as candidate Dan McLaughlin who also had his party at The Green Briar.

‘Everyone of the folks that ran deserves a round of applause,’ for running a clean, positive campaign, McDermott said.

McDermott, 35, was raised and currently lives in Brighton and owns his own real estate company.

The director of the Veronica B. Smith Senior Center in Brighton for the past nine years, Ciommo, 45, also lives in Brighton and was born and raised there.