City Councilors At-Large Michael Flaherty, Felix Arroyo and Stephen Murphy said they were satisfied with their finishes in Tuesday’s preliminary municipal election, in which the top eight candidates from a field of 15 were selected to run for four seats in November.
“Although I’m pleased, the results are only as good as what happens at the final election November 8th,” said Council President Flaherty, who finished first in Tuesday’s election with nearly 14 percent of the total votes. “The final election will have a much bigger turnout, so there’s still a lot of work to be done to reach out to the people who will vote then.”
Voter turnout for Tuesday’s preliminary election was about 15 percent, up from about 12 percent in the last preliminary.
Murphy, who came in fourth behind newcomer John Connolly in Tuesday’s election, explained the importance of strong voter turnout in the election.
“People need to understand that local government is crucial in dealing with important issues in daily life,” Murphy said. “I’ll get this message across by putting together a strategy to target and campaign in the weak spots [of voter turnout].”
Arroyo also said the final election will be different from the preliminary because voters elect the mayor on the same ballot.
“The mayoral race will certainly have an impact on our City Council race,” Arroyo said. “People come out in force to vote for the mayor, and when they see our names on the ballot, they’re forced to cast a vote.
“I hope when voters look at the ballot and see a name that is neither Irish nor Italian, they’ll vote to re-elect me,” he continued.
Arroyo, who was first elected in 2003, finished second on Tuesday with more than 12 percent of the votes.
Anne Shultz, a member of the Massachusetts League of Women Voters and a regular attendee at Council meetings, said she would like to see more women running for City Council.
“The last thing we need is another middle-aged Irish man from West Roxbury to run for Council,” she said. “And with John Connolly in third place, it looks like that is what we may get. Six of the eight finalists are of Irish descent, and there is only one woman who will be in the final election.”
This year’s City Council race drew several candidates because Councilor At-Large Maura Hennigan, a 23-year Council veteran, is giving up her seat to run for mayor.
Councilor Jerry McDermott (Allston, Brighton), the only incumbent district councilor in the preliminary election, said he will campaign for November’s election by knocking on doors and using the same grassroots methods he waged before the preliminary election.
McDermott won with two-thirds of total votes on Tuesday, when voters chose two of three candidates to run in the final election. Candidate Paul Creighton received more votes than Daniel Kontoff, and will be on the ballot in November.
McDermott, who represents a district populated by many Boston University students, said he plans to initiate legislation to protect these constituents if he is re-elected in November.
“Although students may only live in this area for the school year, we need to realize that when they’re someone’s son or daughter living away from home,” he said. “This is a part of the population that needs protection.
“Boston University and Boston College students living in Allston and Brighton are often targets of breaking-and-entering,” McDermott said. “Burglars prey upon them because they have all the latest gadgets, like computers and iPods.”
McDermott said that neighborhood crime is not the only thing he is concerned about.
“I also want to raise the level of awareness on issues like binge drinking and sexual assault,” he said. “A half-dozen students from Northeastern alone have to get their stomachs pumped each week — but it just shouldn’t happen.
“Boston University has a great website detailing the disciplinary action that comes with violating its alcohol policies, but students living off campus also need to be accountable.”
McDermott said he has strong support in the Council to begin an initiative to petition to eliminate alcohol advertisements on the T’s Green Line.
“Ads for alcoholic beverages are wallpapered all over the subway — particularly on the B Line, where advertisers know all the students are,” he said.
Councilors said yesterday’s quick City Council meeting was brief because the upcoming election is filling their schedules.
“Although [Wednesday’s] meeting was short, this doesn’t mean that we won’t have productive meetings until after November 8th,” Flaherty said. “We’re certainly going to keep moving forward despite the election excitement.”
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