Voters expected to flock to polls

LYNN – From political newcomers to seasoned veterans, candidates for city elected office will knock on doors, hold signs and make telephone calls in a final effort to get voters to the polls.Local polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. with 51,300 registered voters eligible to cast ballots.City Clerk Mary Audley on Monday said she anticipates voter turnout will roughly track 2009 city election voter percentages, with about one in three voters going to the polls. Nearly every candidate interviewed Monday said a competitive mayoral race and nice weather will bring out voters.”Ward 4 historically has among the city’s lowest turnout, but with the energy and interest we are mobilizing, we hope to have a lot better turnout, especially in the Latino community,” said Ward 4 City Council candidate Ariana Murrell-Rosario.But Ward 4 Councilor Richard Colucci, a veteran of political campaigns spanning three decades, said there is only one reason people go to the polls.”If people like a candidate, they vote,” Colucci said.The Ward 4 contest is one of five ward council races voters will decide today. All told, six political newcomers are vying for ward seats with first-time candidates Dianna Chakoutis and Jake Keo running in Ward 5. Both candidates said running for office is an experience – win or lose today – they would enjoy repeating.”I’ve had a blast walking around meeting people,” Chakoutis said.Keo said his feet hurt as he walked Ward 5 neighborhoods and knocked on doors, but he said meeting voters motivated him to keep plodding along the ward’s streets.”It’s remarkable meeting people you never thought you would meet,” he said.In Ward 1, where voter turnout for the Sept. 17 preliminary election ranged from 23 percent to 38 percent, depending on the precinct, candidate Debra Plunkett predicted turnout will double. She said good weather will pull voters out of their homes while Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi said the mayoral race and ward residents’ interest in property tax rates will drive voter interest.Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy planned to visit campaign workers at polling places today and her supporters rally tonight at the Franco-American veterans post on Western Avenue.”I gave up on trying to have a normal work day Tuesday,” Kennedy said.Council President Timothy Phelan anticipates a large voter turnout and said interest among residents in preserving Union Hospital is driving election interest. Phelan supporters gather tonight at the Knights of Columbus on Lynnfield Street even as the candidate walks neighborhoods hunting down votes.”I’m working hard; I’ve lost 12 pounds,” Phelan said.City Councilor at large Daniel Cahill on Monday said 5,000 new voters have registered since the 2009 city election that saw Kennedy win election as the city’s first female mayor. Cahill said ward races and candidates running for at large council seats as well as School Committee are adding to the interest in the mayoral race.At-large candidate Robert Clay Walsh predicted the 17 percent voter turnout for the preliminary election will double today.”People are looking for change. They will keep voting for it until they see forward movement,” Walsh said.Like former councilor Paul Crowley and candidate Miguel Funez, Walsh has run previously for elective office in the city.Ward 5’s current councilor, Brendan Crighton, is also seeking one of four at-large seats along with incumbents Cahill, Gordon “Buzzy” Barton and Hong Net.Ward 2 Councilor William Trahant Jr. and education activist Jesse Jaeger are on the ballot along with Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr and attorney Ronald Mendes. School Committee members Patricia Capano, John Ford, Rick Starbard, Donna Coppola, Maria Carrasco and Charlie Gallo are vying for six committee seats along with first-time candidates Lorraine Gately, Melissa Romaniello and Stanley Wotring.