Though the winner of the special municipal election to replace South End’s late City Councilor James Kelly will serve a few months in office, the two candidates who won the preliminary election say the chance to represent a historically powerful district is worth the efforts they have invested in their campaigns.
With the final election scheduled May 15, the candidates have already campaigned for four months — about as long as the winner will serve to complete the well-known councilor’s seat, which he held for 23 years before his death in January at age 66, until November’s general election.
About 64,000 people live in District 2, which consists of Back Bay, Bay Village, Chinatown, Fort Point Channel, the Leather District, Roxbury, South Boston and the South End, as well as parts of Downtown Boston and Dorchester.
The April 17 preliminary election was close, with the top three candidates’ vote totals within 2 percent of each other. Susan Passoni, a former research analyst for an investment banking firm, came in first, with 24.15 percent of the vote, and Bill Linehan, a longtime city official, finished in second place, receiving 23.67 percent of the votes. The run-off election May 15 between Passoni and Linehan will decide the winner of the spot that both candidates sought in 2005.
“We have strong name recognition based on running in 2005 for the same position,” Passoni said in an email.
South Boston native Linehan is a 20-year veteran of City Hall, who touts his former role as the director of operations for the Parks Department, as well as his experience working with various political campaigns.
Though the campaign process has been considerably lengthy considering the short term the eventual winner will serve, Linehan said the district needs a councilor as soon as possible, and the long campaign will better set up the winner for a chance at re-election.
“There’s no one representing the district right now, and that spot needs to be filled,” he said. “If people are satisfied with the district councilor [in November], that person will be in a position to do well [in the next election].”
Edward Flynn, son of former Boston mayor Raymond Flynn who finished third in the preliminary elections, agreed the district cannot go on much longer without leadership.
“We have many problems and issues that need immediate responses,” Flynn said. “There are dirty streets, a lack of police on the streets and the school system is struggling. The district needs a leader independent of [Mayor Thomas] Menino [who] can address these quality-of-life issues that the city hasn’t addressed in a very long time.”
Flynn said he is “happy” with his performance in the race because he was up against strong opponents. He said he would not plan on contesting the results.
“I worked hard on the campaign,” he said. “I did very well.”
Because the preliminary election results were so close, there is a big push to get residents of each neighborhood to the polls two weeks from now. Though almost half the district’s voting population lives in South Boston — where residents generally support homegrown candidates — many eyes are also turned to Chinatown, where the number of registered voters has grown rapidly over the past few years. Passoni and Linehan have both campaigned extensively in the area.
In preparation for the final election, Linehan said he is focusing on specific votes he did not get in the preliminary elections, but will also continue simply “knocking on doors and greeting people at coffee shops and bus stops.”
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