Mass. Holds Primary Despite Attacks

AP ^ | Wednesday, September 12, 2001 | STEVE LeBLANC

[JohnHuang2]

BOSTON (AP) — Stephen Lynch, a conservative former ironworker from a working-class Boston neighborhood, won the Democratic primary Tuesday and advanced to a special election next month in which he will likely be the favorite to replace the late Rep. Joe Moakley.

Lynch, 46, will face veteran state Sen. JoAnn Sprague in the Oct. 16 special election in the heavily Democratic 9th Congressional District. Sprague, 69, easily defeated banker William McKinney for the Republican nomination.

The winner will serve the remaining year of Moakley's term. Moakley, a Democrat who held the seat for three decades, died in May after a battle with leukemia.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Lynch held a 40 percent to 28 percent lead over fellow state Sen. Cheryl Jacques. State Sens. Brian Joyce and Marc Pacheco earned 16 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

The excitement of the first open election in the district in nearly three decades was dampened by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

A New York judge called off the city's primary to select candidates for mayor and other city offices after the attack on the World Trade Center's twin towers.

There was no word on when the election would take place. Four Democrats and two Republicans are battling to succeed Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican barred by term limits from running again.

After the attacks, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said he considered asking the state's highest court to suspend polling. He ran into opposition from acting Gov. Jane Swift and Attorney General Thomas Reilly.

``We will not bend to the terror that has been inflicted on our citizens and our nation,'' Swift said from a state emergency bunker, a Cold War relic in Framingham. ``The election will continue.''

There were no victory parties. Lynch read a brief statement condemning the attacks to a subdued crowd of about 100 supporters at a union hall in Dorchester and thanked those who came out to vote for him.

Jacques, 39, had tried to paint abortion opponent Lynch as too conservative for the district. Lynch was also arrested in the 1970s for smoking marijuana and fighting with protesting Iranian students. He has admitted being late in paying more than $6,000 in back taxes in the 1980s.

In other elections Tuesday:

—In Minneapolis, Sharon Sayles Belton, the city's first black and first female mayor, finished behind Internet consultant R.T. Rybak in a 22-candidate primary. The two Democrats will face each other Nov. 6.

—In St. Paul, Minn., Democrats Randy Kelly and Jay Benanav were the top finishers in a 16-candidate mayoral primary. They will face each other in November to succeed two-term Mayor Norm Coleman, who plans a Senate bid in 2002.

—In Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick and Gil Hill were the top finishers in the nonpartisan mayoral primary. They will face each other Nov. 6 to succeed Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, who is not seeking a third term.

—Michigan state Rep. Alan Sanborn won a Republican primary that ended David Jaye's bid to return to the Senate. Jaye was expelled in May for behavior that included three drunken driving convictions and accusations that he assaulted his fiancee.

—In Connecticut, community activist Eddie Perez took a step toward becoming Hartford's first Hispanic mayor, winning the Democratic primary. In New Haven, incumbent Democrat John DeStefano Jr. appeared headed for victory over state Sen. Martin Looney. In Waterbury, the Democratic primary appeared too close to call, with state Rep. Michael Jarjura and consultant Larry DePillo virtually tied. The winner will face Republican Dennis Odle in November. Republican Mayor Phil Giordano was arrested on federal child sex charges in July.

For Education And Discussion Only. Not For Commercial Use.

[JohnHuang2]

My heart-felt prayers for the victims and families of this cowardly act.

[Vigilanteman]

Stephen Lynch, a conservative former ironworker from a working-class Boston neighborhood

Do they have conservatives among the Democrats in Boston? Or do they mean he might be a liberal who at least has the strength of character of the late Rep. Moakley?