Former Lynn mayor McManus dead at 54

LYNN – Former Lynn Mayor Patrick J. McManus was stricken at his home Friday morning and died.Police received a 911 call from McManus’ Baltimore Street home at 9:28 a.m. Friday after family members’ attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.A family friend said he was working on his computer on the second floor when he apparently suffered a heart attack.McManus entered the political arena in 1985 when he earned enough votes to secure a seat as councilor at large despite limited political experience. Almost immediately upon his arrival to the council, McManus began to align himself for an aggressive run for the office of mayor, a goal he reached just six years later.The 1991 race for mayor pitted McManus against both incumbent Albert DiVirgilio and Register of Probate John L. O’Brien Jr.Although both DiVirgilio and O’Brien were well known and widely popular in the city, McManus’ hard-fought campaign and ability to win over new supporters secured the beginning of what would be a 10-year run as the city’s leader.In the 1993 election, McManus faced another challenge from the well-liked Joseph Scanlon, who actually out polled him in the preliminary election. Despite the challenge, McManus rebounded to win a second term, and politically, never looked back.Through 1999, no political opponent mounted a serious threat to his political dominance.McManus was a high school sports standout at Lynn English High School and a longtime city councilor who opponents and supporters alike said ran his campaigns “like a deer” and applied a gregarious and competitive nature to everything he did in his life.Upon graduating from English, McManus went on to earn multiple degrees from Suffolk University, Bowdoin College and Boston College and was certified as a public accountant.McManus was the captain of the English football team and as a freshman at Bowdoin College he played on the school’s first freshman football team and scored the school’s first touchdown.Along with practicing law and entering politics, McManus used his education to teach others, beginning as a substitute teacher in the Lynn Public School system and later teaching at both North Shore Community College and Salem State College.Through the bulk of his tenure as mayor, McManus set his sights on grand ideas.He started construction on a large extension of Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute, launched construction on a brand new Classical High School building on O’Callaghan Way and started the renovation of Lynn English High.McManus was also the architect of a massive plan to finish up a combined storm and sewer project for the city’s Water and Sewer Commission. That project and his decision to merge ambulance service with the fire department brought him political criticism from many, but brought praise from others for his efficiency in office.During the latter years in his tenure as mayor, his ambitions took on an international scale and he used his connections with the U.S. Conference of Mayors not only to develop his ambitious water plan, but also to become interested and learn about the politics and community of the People’s Republic of China.This interest in the Far East led McManus and wife Deborah (Dorgan) to adopt four children from China.McManus took extended trips out of the country during his last years as mayor, something that inspired heated criticism from many in the city, including former mayors.In 2000, he announced he would not run for another term, citing in part a commitment to his growing family.The decision shocked few in the city and eventually resulted in a smooth transition of power to state Sen. Edward J. Clancy Jr., who won the vacated seat unopposed.In many extents, McManus fell off the political map, spending the following years with his growing family and dealing with growing business interests in China.His announcement this winter to challenge Clancy and seek a sixth term surprised some but not all of his close associates.Friends and associates have said Mc