Lynners pine for mayoral matchup

LYNN – Kat Diaz thinks the $2 million-plus the city intends to spend on moving waterfront power lines is better spent on direct job creation and she hopes her idea becomes a debate point in this year’s mu-nicipal elections.She might get her wish if reports last week of one, maybe two local politicians considering runs for mayor materialize. Former Mayor Patrick J. McManus and City Councilor at large Judith Flanagan Kennedy are mulling mayoral races, but Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. to date is the only declared candidate.Competition for the city’s top job makes sense to Jamie Stevens, who said her interest in the fall city elections will be heightened if plenty of candidates are vying for elected office.Recent history suggests her wish might not come true.McManus bowed out of a 2001 election bid, citing family responsibilities and Clancy succeeded him without a competitive race for mayor. In 2001, eight candidates sought ward seats and 11 ran in the 2003 preliminary.In 2005, Clancy again ran unopposed and 14 candidates ran for 11 council seats: It was the smallest crop of candidates in half a century.By contrast, the 1961 city preliminary election attracted 35 aspiring councilors at large vying for city-wide office while 38 candidates scrambled for at large seats including nine who battled for a final slot in the Ward 3 election.Ward 3 also attracted nine candidates in the 1969 preliminary election. Another seven ran in Ward 1 that year. Ward 6 holds the half century record for attracting candidates: Twelve ran in the 1965 preliminary election.The past 20 years have seen a decline in the size of candidate fields for ward seats. Wards 2 and 5 attracted large fields in 1995 but the numbers have dropped since then with 14 candidates seeking ward office in 1999, including five in Ward 5.Southern Essex Register of Deeds John L. O’Brien Jr. said active election years have coincided with an intense interest in city affairs among residents. O’Brien represented Ward 6 on the council in the 1970s and recalls five, even six hour council meetings attended by a couple hundred outspoken residents.”People have so much going on today and they’re asking, ‘Will I have a job or health care tomorrow?'” he said, adding, “You’re making a tremendous commitment running for public office.”O’Brien ran for mayor in 1991 against McManus and then-incumbent Albert V. DiVirgilio. He raised and spent at least $80,000 and said a run today against Clancy could cost two times that sum if not substantially more.