Lynn voters elect Kennedy first female mayor

LYNN – “Who says you can’t fight City Hall?” shouted Judith Flanagan Kennedy shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night as she celebrated her 8,043-8,016 vote win over Mayor Edward J. Clancy, Jr.The win was so close that 45 votes unofficially listed as write-ins for other individuals besides the official candidates could have made the difference for Clancy or Kennedy.As the city’s first woman mayor, the 47-year-old mother of two credited her win to a grassroots group of supporters who knocked on doors in the disparate neighborhoods.Clancy, who has served as mayor since 2002, spent more than $100,000 on a final election campaign aimed at reversing the second-place finish Kennedy handed him in the Sept. 15 preliminary election.Click here for PDF chartDespite a heavy advertising campaign and efforts to blanket the city with campaign fliers, Clancy’s final election results, precinct by precinct, nearly duplicated his preliminary election finish.Kennedy scored a strong win in Ward 2, her East Lynn home ward, while Clancy won his West Lynn base in Ward 7. But Ward 3 in East Lynn delivered votes to Kennedy despite ward councilor Darren Cyr’s election eve endorsement of Clancy.The contestants split precinct wins in Ward 4 and Ward 5 in the city’s center while Clancy won all of Ward 6 except Precinct 2.The city election office reported a 33 percent voter turnout, considered high by mayoral race averages.The mayor called Kennedy at 9:43 p.m. to congratulate her only minutes after she congratulated her own supporters, including union firefighters who endorsed her and long-time supporters of the late Patrick J. McManus who wore “Pat” stickers to remember him.”We reached out to a new group of Lynners who want a new voice,” Kennedy told her supporters, acknowledging that during the final weeks of the campaign “it was anyone’s race.”At the Franco-American Post, Kennedy tearfully credited her late father, James, as well as former Lynn mayor McManus as inspirations for her campaign. Diabetes confined James Flanagan to a wheelchair but he campaigned for his daughter and saw her through her 1991 School Committee win and the 1997 council at large victory.Kennedy said her administration will be made up of “a very diverse group,” adding she will “choose people on their merits.”Clancy didn’t make an appearance at the Hibernian Hall until well after 10 p.m. When he finally walked into the room packed with supporters, his wife Beth in tears, Clancy waved and said, “Nice to see you guys.”The terse comment elicited a round of applause. Once at the podium, Clancy congratulated Kennedy and her family and friends for running what the mayor described as “a tremendous campaign. That’s not an easy thing to do.”Clancy then urged the glum crowd to celebrate. “It’s a celebration of family and friends. There’s nothing to be down about. Nothing to be hurt about or given pause. It’s a wonderful evening,” he said. “Tonight is a celebration of democracy. That’s wonderful. That’s healthy.”A voice in the crowd shouted, “What about the recount?”Clancy replied, “A decision for tomorrow.”Clancy refused to talk to The Item, repeatedly nudging past a reporter on four occasions. A post-election call to the Clancy camp went unreturned.